History / Preservation

Historic Anchorage Theatre Inspires State-Level Preservation Support
The Anchorage Historical Commission declared the 4th Avenue Theatre in downtown Anchorage a culturally and historically significant building that needs state protection.

Hidden Racial Tensions in 'Sundown Towns'
Some use the phrase to refer to Midwest towns where black people "aren't welcome after dark." A legacy of racial persecution has left majority-white places where black people feel their outlier status.

New Orleans Begins Removing Monuments to the Confederacy
The city of New Orleans has a plan to remove four monuments to the Confederate States of America, deciding that monuments to the racist cause of the Confederacy belong in a museum, not in the city.

Grand Canyon Development Plans Will Wait Another Year
The Navajo Nation is not moving forward with a controversial plan to build a tram that would connect tourists from the rim of the bottom of the Grand Canyon, along with commercial and retail space. The proposal isn't totally dead yet, however.

Texas State Legislator Targets Historic Preservation for Demolition
A bill under consideration in the Texas House of Representatives would tie the hands of preservationists, making it much easier for building owners to demolish or alter buildings without regard to historic significance.

A First Look at the Alamo's $450 Million Master Plan
The Alamo's 300th birthday is coming up in 2024, and a $450 million project to reimagine the Alamo Plaza aims to make a visit to the historic site a more memorable experience.

Design Activism, Texas-Style
With suburban sprawl a long-standing issue in Texas, one San Antonio-based architecture firm is aiming to strengthen and revitalize its city's downtown core.

A Glimpse Into The Past On The Streets of Long Beach
Viewers installed throughout downtown Long Beach gives visitors a glimpse into the city's past.

D.C. Metro's Recent Controversial Decision: Painting Over Brutalism
Controversy erupted last week in Washington, D.C., after D.C. Metro decided to paint Union Station's vaulted ceilings—a famous icon of the District, it's regional transit system, and the architectural style of Brutalism.

Restore Old Affordable Homes, Or Build Anew?
Fighting a plan to develop new affordable housing, some residents of Apalachicola, Florida prefer an effort to restore the town's dilapidated, though historic, housing stock.

The Revenge of the Kitchen
Long relegated to the back of the house, the kitchen as utility space is being replaced by the modern show kitchen. Located squarely front-of-house, newer kitchens often reinstate the "great room" idea.

FresYes: How Fresno Fueled and Funded a Comeback
Recently termed-out Mayor Ashley Swearengin sits down for an exclusive interview about how she planned for high speed rail investments, championed sustainable water management, and took steps to rebuild the local economy.

Crumbling Of Democracy Bodes Ill For Urban Design
Ironically, some of the greatest architecture of the past came from the most nefarious of sources: monarchies and dictatorships. Democratic design, though, can be bland and generic. What of design in our new undemocratic age?

Los Angeles' Iconic Angels Flight Railway To Utilize P3 Model
After appearing in the film La La Land, the world-renowned, iconic, 116-year-old Angels Flight will reopen to the public after a three-year modernization process.

Revoking a National Monument Not Easy, Even with Republican Congress
But that's no reason not to try, figures Republican Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, chair of the powerful House Natural Resources Committee, who has his sights on the Bears Ears National Monument, barely a month old.

Nation's First Transgender Cultural Historic District Coming to San Francisco
Developers will fund the Compton's Cafeteria Transgender, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual District to quell opposition to a proposed mixed-use development in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco.

A Community Planning Process—Even a Good One—Is Not Enough
Simply inviting residents to participate in design charrettes or a community planning process does not mitigate the significant loss they feel as they witness the physical destruction of their homes and lived history.

The Other $1 Trillion Infrastructure Plan
President Trump is not the only one proposing a huge infrastructure plan—Senate Democrats have their own. The cost is the same, but financing is different. The Democrats' plan does just what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned against.

Missouri Tax Reform Package Targets Housing and Preservation Tax Credits
Republicans in Missouri want to reduce taxes for corporations, so they are reducing tax credits for affordable housing, infrastructure, and historic preservation.

Preserving the Character of Little Tokyo
In the wake of rapid gentrification, an organization in Los Angeles is leveraging the arts to celebrate a community's rich heritage and keep social equity a priority.
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