(1.31) And the public is invited. So who or what is T. Gunny Harboe? Sounds like a Billy Bob Thornton character; or a football coach, or a roadie for Lynard Skynard; maybe an oil tycoon or a private eye. Why, you could be almost anything with a name like T. Gunny Harboe.

In fact, this Chicago native, and Brown alumnus, is an architect specializing in historic preservation and sustainable design and he will be speaking Thursday at the Providence Preservation Society’s Annual Meeting. Harboe was profiled last year in the Brown Alumni Magazine.

The nitty-gritty of preservation, especially when original elements have been lost, can include analyzing layers of paint and researching fuzzy old photos. Full-scale mock-ups must be created before on-site work can move forward. On rare occasions building codes and technical problems require design changes, but Harboe says he tries to minimize those.

Seen here is a completely out-of-control detail of the cast iron restoration in the Sullivan Center in Chicago — this is a job for T. Gunny Harboe! (Go here to view this and more of the work being done by Harboe Architects.)

Free and open to the public, 5:30pm, Thursday, January 31, List Art Building, 64 College Street, (directions)

The Providence Preservation Society is accepting nominations for properties on the brink.

Each year, the Providence Preservation Society (PPS) assembles the Most Endangered Properties List to highlight historic resources that are endangered by threats such as neglect, deterioration, demolition, development, insufficient funds, and adverse public policy. Our Historic Preservation Awards, on the other hand, recognize significant contributions to the preservation of Providence’s historic resources and the enrichment of its vibrant neighborhoods.

PPS relies on the public to be our eyes and ears in the community, helping to identify both threatened historic resources and admirable preservation projects in Providence. If you know of a building that is threatened, or a project that has brought new life to a building, please complete an online nomination form at PPSRI nominations.

There has been some recent good news for two buildings on the 2012 Ten Most Endangered Properties List: The Clarke Flower Shop was recently purchased at auction by real estate developer Peter M. Scotti; and there has been some renewed interest in the Dynamo House. Pictured here is the 1867 Kendrick-Prentice-Tirocchi House on Broadway if you’re looking for a little fixer-upper.

(10.12) As part of the 2012 Providence Preservation Society symposium, “Not Always Pretty: Behind the Façade of Historic Preservation in Providence” the Providence Athenaeum will host Will Fellows author of “A Passion To Preserve: Gay Men as Keepers of the Culture.”

The important role of gay men in the Historic Preservation movement has long been an open secret. Assuming the more acceptable guises of eccentric antiquarians, urban pioneers, collectors, or bachelor decorators, they have frequently been at the forefront of saving, interpreting, and advocating for our material and architectural heritage. Join us for a discussion of this little known but essential part of the history of preservation in America. Books available for sale and signing.

Little known? Doesn’t seem like much of a secret at this point. And on behalf of the straight people of the city of Providence I would like to say “Thank you, Gays!” (Bachelor Decorator should be the name of a show on Bravo.)

Free and open to the public, 5pm to 7pm, Friday, October 12, Providence Athenaeum, 251 Benefit Street (fb)

“Revival!” an evening of local music and food will consecrate the reopening of the venerable and notorious Columbus Theatre on Broadway. There are two performance spaces now. The main stage will feature Low Anthem and Brown Bird; and the Columbus Upstairs — the 199-seat room in the theater’s balcony — will feature Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores, Roz Raskin and the Rice Cakes, Sugar Honey Iced Tea, and Vudu Sister. Ben tells how this came about,

One year ago Jeff was eating a pizza on the corner of Broadway and America, gazing curiously across the street at the looming, shuttered bulk of the Columbus Theatre. . . “OPENING SOON,” on the weathered marquee, a tired and ironic staple of life on Broadway.

This theatre had seen everything . . . From the glorious heights of opera to the survivalism of it’s XXX film years, it has hosted everyone from Lightning Bolt to Julie Andrews.* It has been the subject of endless first amendment law suits. It has been over the years lobbied, condemned, bent and bargained for like a cherished property of Monopoly America. Jeff’s pizza was getting cold. He nodded (warm but businesslike) to the crossing guard and went to see a cellphone about a man [owner Jon Berberian].

A thing led to another thing and I can’t tell you what because I’d have to kill you, but let’s just say, the Columbus Theatre has become a rehearsal and recording home for we of The Low Anthem. It is a dream. We have set up shop in the 1930′s dance and acting school above the Broadway marquee. It is a magical place to work, replete with ghosts of bygone projectionists, world-class, double-proscenium acoustics, pop-corn machines, and enough ju-ju to drown a goo-goo.

Also on the schedule: the Moth-machine will fly; a mystery guest; food from Julian’s Omnibus and Nice Slice Pizza; and beer from Revival [natch] Brewing Company. Half of the profits from the concert will go to the ongoing restoration, and half will be donated to Atraves, a local nonprofit helping Nicaraguans build a better life.

*Love the juxtaposition of these names; ironically, it was Julie Andrews who eventually blew out her vocal chords.

$20 general admission (tickets), doors 6pm, music 7pm, Saturday, November 17, Columbus Theatre, 270 Broadway

The Providence Preservation Society’s 2012 Providence Symposium brings together a diverse group of speakers in downtown Providence to examine both the past and future of the historic preservation movement in the city. This year’s event — Not Always Pretty: Behind the Façade of Historic Preservation in Providence — explores the more nuanced and less pretty stories behind the 50+ years of preservation in our city, from the demolition and replacement of homes on Benefit Street, to removing historical interiors to “preserve” them in museums, to deciding what to do with the ‘ugly’ Brutalist buildings, and the politics and policies behind how, and by whom, the decisions are made.

Session topics include Tough Choices: The Policies and Politics of Historic Preservation where a panel of city and institutional planners, preservationists and developers will reflect on what aspects in the evolution of cities and neighborhoods are necessary to preserve, how these conclusions are made and who makes these decisions; It’s Not Easy Being Green: Sustainability and Historic Preservation with architects, environmentalists and developers exploring the challenges with historic preservation guidelines that do not always agree with the ever necessary green energy efforts; From Modernist Monuments to Concrete Carbuncles: The Challenges of Preserving Brutalist Architecture with featured speaker Brian Sirman discussing whether what we perceive as “ugly” architecture holds significance for our city;  and The Triple-Decker Menace where returning speaker C. Morgan Grefe will discuss the uncomfortable stories related to the immigrant settlement and working class construction that surged in the days of the Industrial Revolution.

Starts with free film screening of “Southside: The Fall and Rise of an Inner City Neighborhood” on Thursday, October 11 at 6:30pm at the RISD Museum Chace Center Metcalf Auditorium.

Student rates available, three locations, Thursday through Saturday, October 11 through 13, info at Providence Symposium

(8.16) Lecture Thursday at the Brick School House; the topic will be the South Elmwood area (to be followed by the ‘Walk the Walk’ part on August 23rd). The Providence Preservation Society (PPS) presents the third in its ‘Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk’ series.

From June to September, Executive Director James Hall will be taking preservation from the classroom to the taproom. Join him for a lively lecture, and again for an illuminating tour, ending at a notable neighborhood pub, that is also a preservation success story.

Each of the Talks and Tours is $10 for non-members, free for members.

5:30pm, Thursday, August 16, PPS Brick School House, 24 Meeting Street (directions)

(7.19) Join Providence Preservation Society Executive Director James Hall for the second in his series of four evening talks and tours — “Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk”.

From June to September, Executive Director James Hall will be taking preservation from the classroom to the taproom. Join him for a lively lecture, and again for an illuminating tour, ending at a notable neighborhood pub, that is also a preservation success story!

First, the talk: Hall will discuss the Armory District today at the PPS Brick School House building (opposite their headquarters on Meeting Street between Benefit and North Main). Then the walk: A tour of the Armory District will take place at 5:30pm, Thursday, August 2.

Free for members, $10 for non-members. Space is limited, sign up here or call 401.831.7440.

Talk, 5:30pm, Thursday, July 19, PPS Brick School House, 24 Meeting Street, (directions)

(6.28) Four neighborhoods; four talks; four tours. Taking preservation from the classroom to the taproom!

Thursday is the first walking tour of the PPS “Talk the Talk, and Walk the Walk” series. Join Providence Preservation Society Executive Director James Hall for a walking tour of the old Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Complex (the “talk” has already taken place, but it is unlikely that Mr. Hall has actually stopped talking).

The remaining three talks and tours will feature; the Armory District, South Elmwood, and Brown University’s Modernist Buildings (wouldn’t be surprised to see David Brusatt on that one). Each tour ends at a notable neighborhood pub. Mr. Hall is a lively speaker and good company.

Free for PPS members, $10 for non-members. Space is limited so go to website to sign up, or call 401.831.7440.

Brown & Sharpe tour meets at 5:30pm, Thursday, June 28, at the Edith Street parking lot at the Promenade (map here)

Another entry from the Providence Preservation Society Ten Most Endangered Properties list — back for a second year — the 1912 Narragansett Electric Lighting House at 360 Eddy Street.

To the east stands a long, rectangular block (turbine house, built 1925; boiler house, built 1917). These blocks both feature granite trim, tall, round-arch window openings with granite keystones and sills, tripartite windows above, granite stringcourses, and brick corbeling. . .

The first electric company in the city was the Rhode Island Electric Lighting Company (1882), which supplied the electric light for ten arc lamps in Market Square. Two years later, Narragansett Electric Lighting Company was formed by Marsden Perry and other Providence businessmen. The company’s first customer was the owner of a skating rink on Aborn Street. . . The complex was slated for development as the Heritage Harbor Museum, but has been left open to elements without a roof or windows for years as the development is stalled.

Don’t even think ‘luxury condos.’ The window treatments would be a nightmare, and let’s just retire that phrase anyway.

Dynamo House, 360 Eddy Street, Jewelry District, (directions)

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Little fixer-upper here. Not new to the Providence Preservation Society’s Ten Most Endangered Properties List, but this 1927 edifice had taken a few years off for additional shambles-enhancement.

A two-story Art Deco building with a flat roof and pier-and-spandrel construction, the former headquarters for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation is one of the only examples of the machine aesthetic in the architecture of Smith Hill. It was one of the first modernist buildings erected by the State of Rhode Island.

No plans to begin work on the building have been submitted despite its inclusion on the 2008 and 2009 Most Endangered Properties List.

30 Arline Street, Smith Hill (directions)

The thought that seals were ever forced to live in this murky freshwater pond is horrifying. But that’s all in the past and now the concern is for the deteriorating architectural oddity called the Seal House. The Providence Preservation Society has just released its 2012 ‘Ten Most Endangered Properties’ list and this is one of the new additions.

The Roger Williams Park Seal House was constructed in 1938 along with a monkey house and an elephant house as part of a Works Progress Administration project. The stone structure echoes rustic WPA designs built throughout the country during the Great Depression. This unique building has been unused since the Zoo consolidated in the early 1970s. With its stone chimney crumbling, copper flashing falling off, and slate roof failing, the Seal House sits in poor condition. Located directly adjacent to Roosevelt Lake, the stone walls at the base of the building are slowly eroding.

Detail of chimney after the jump.

The Seal House, Roger Williams Park, 1000 Elmwood Avenue

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A Providence 375 Event — Take this tour offered by Preserve Rhode Island and experience an entertaining show and tell of Providence’s history as well as a fascinating visit inside the Governor Henry Lippitt House Museum, the legacy of a prominent and influential family and a high-style Victorian home widely known for its authenticity, detailed faux painted finishes and intact interiors. The Governor Henry Lippitt House Museum is a historic property of Preserve Rhode Island.

The tour is being offered at 12:45pm and 2:30pm, October 15th. Space is limited, advance purchase recommended. Cost: $15 per person. Click on link for online reservations. For additional information call 401. 453.0688.

Meet before tour time at the museum location at 199 Hope Street, Providence.

The newly renovated Henry Bowen Anthony Fountain at Lippitt Park was brought back to life this morning at 11am and children promptly swarmed all around and started splashing. Just so. According to today’s ProJo,

Beginning in 2007, the Summit Neighborhood Association, aided by Councilman Kevin Jackson and the Parks Department, spearheaded an effort to raise money to restore the fountain. A grant of $58,000 was received in late 2009 from The Champlin Foundations and the Summit Neighborhood Association contributed $10,000 which, along with Parks & Recreation funding, enabled the $200,000 project to proceed.

Plans are to complete the landscaping in the fall. That makes sense, although it is hoped that those large swaths of bare soil will be seeded and stabilized with something in the meantime. Congratulations to all concerned.

On October 25th, Rhode Island Historical Society Graphic Archivist and Humanities Scholar Jim Damico will host a talk on his research into the glass negative collection at the Providence Public Library. From 6-8pm on Monday night, Damico, who has been working with volunteer members of the Paul Krot Community Darkroom, will discuss the local historical significance of these remarkable images and how they came to be a part of the Special Collections at the PPL.

In December of 2009, volunteer members of the Paul Krot Community Darkroom at AS220 began working with Providence Public Library Special Collections Director Rick Ring to unearth these fragile negatives. By organizing, cataloging and storing these materials in archival storage boxes and envelopes,  preserving the image quality and increasing public awareness to their existence through a public exhibition currently on display at Providence City Hall, generously funded by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.

Approximately 1,200 glass plate negatives have been cataloged and digitally captured create a virtual gallery of these historic artifacts and to make sure they remain in good condition and are available to the public beyond the public exhibitions scheduled this fall.

While the Glass Negative show will be on display at Providence City Hall until the end of October, the entire collection is now available in an online gallery and database created to provide unlimited access to this cache of photographic history.

For more information on the Glass Negative Preservation Project, contact Project Manager Krystal Grow at krystal@as220.org, or 401.831.9327, or visit: The Glass Negative Project.

Providence Community Library, the Friends of Knight Memorial Library and Trees 2020 are excited to present two free environmentally-themed films tonight at the Knight Memorial Library, starting at 6pm.

The Man Who Planted Trees (30 minutes animated)
This film tells the story of a shepherd who repairs the ruined ecosystem of a secluded valley by singlehandedly cultivating a forest over a thirty year period.

Return to the Forest Where We Live (60 min)
Return to the Forest Where We Live includes a look at the devastation of the urban forests in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Katrina. Other featured cities include Los Angeles, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Charlotte, North Carolina. This film was produced and directed by Louisiana Public Broadcastings Liz Barnes and written by Charles E. Richard (Louisiana: A History).

Ray Perreault, from Trees 2020 will be showing and discussing the films along with talking about tree planting opportunities in Providence.

6pm, Monday, Knight Library, info at 401.467.2700 x1603

One of 30 images printed from rare glass negatives that will be on display at the City Hall Gallery this October.

The Paul Krot Community Darkroom at AS220 and the Providence Public Library are proud to present a public exhibition of photographic prints made from rare glass negatives found in the library’s Special Collections Department. The exhibition, funded by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, will bring iconic images of local life at the turn of the 20th century to the public for the first time in their existence. These negatives represent both the evolution of the photographic process over the last 100 years, but also a significant portion of local and regional history. Most of these images, which have been cataloged, digitized and stored in archival envelopes and boxes, date from 1890-1940, and typically had never been enlarged in a darkroom. Many have never been printed or shown to the public before now. As the only publicly accessible black and white darkroom in Rhode Island, the darkroom at AS220 is the only facility still able to process these unique source materials and will show a collection of 30 prints at the City Hall Gallery through the month of October.

Support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities has also made it possible for AS220 staff and volunteers to create a permanent, virtual database of all 1,200 images in the glass negative collection, which will allow viewers to browse and purchase prints online, with all proceeds going to support the Providence Public Library Special Collections and the public access photo program at the Paul Krot Community Darkroom. Please join us in celebrating the rediscovery of this very special collection of photographs on October 4th from 5pm to 7pm. Prints will be available for purchase during the length of the exhibition. For more information visit the Glass Negative Project.

Reception Providence City Hall, Monday, October 4, 5pm to 7pm/Exhibit runs through October