|  Come help homeowners who are struggling to clean up
and rebuild their homes and lives. Join Heritage Conservation
Network in a series of hands-on workshops designed to preserve
damaged vernacular houses in neighborhoods hard-hit by Hurricanes
Katrina. If we can demonstrate the great interest in saving
historic structures, rather than demolishing them, we can make
an important impact on recovery efforts.
The scope of our efforts has grown as the needs have unfolded.
Our efforts will continue to focus on historic vernacular houses,
many of which are shotgun style houses. These houses were built
in the U.S. from about 1880 to 1930, and are associated primarily
with New Orleans, the Gulf Coast and the rural South. Their
styling gives a distinctive character to many modest southern
neighborhoods. Use of this style started in New Orleans where
houses had to accommodate very narrow lots laid out by the French
settlers. One theory is that the long narrow house type came
to America by way of free blacks migrating from Haiti where
similar styles are common. Shotgun houses are one room wide
with rooms placed back to back and feature a gable-front entry,
which at times has decorative detailing. It was said that a
shot fired straight through the front door would pass through
the doorways and out the back door without hitting anything
– hence the name.
Hundreds of historic houses of a variety of styles were damaged
or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Workshops will include houses
built through the post-World War II housing boom. Many of the
damaged houses can be saved with timely repair and preservation
work. Heritage Conservation Network in cooperation with the
Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, Neighborhood Story
Project of the Univ. of New Orleans and the Literacy Alliance
of Greater New Orleans, the Foundation for Historical Louisiana,
Architecture for Humanity and other collaborating organizations
will be holding a series of hands-on workshops at selected houses
to teach home owners and volunteers some of the skills needed
to repair and preserve these structures. The goal is to preserve
a neighborhood, as opposed to an individual structure, by rescuing
as many of its historic structures as possible in order to retain
the historic fabric and visual characteristics that along with
its residents, form a sense of community. The first few weeks
of work will largely involve condition assessment, documentation,
cost estimation and scope of work. This will be followed by
hands-on preservation and repair work.
Houses selected for workshops are described on the list of
Work Sites. If you have a preference
for a particular work site, please indicate it on your registration
form. As work on structures is completed, additional houses
will be added to the list. The number of sites that can be addressed
will depend upon the response from volunteers and the amount
of materials donated.
If you have a group that would like to participate, please
contact
us. We will continue to schedule additional workshops to
fit volunteers’ schedules. We will need a variety of building
materials for the repair and preservation work. If you have
a business and would like to donate materials, or if you know
of a business that is interested in making a donation, please
contact us to determine what materials are needed. With a large
cooperative effort, a positive effect will be seen in a number
of damaged neighborhoods.
Workshops are one week in length and participants may register
for as many weeks as they are available. The cost is US$310
per week; this fee covers the cost of participants' lodging,
breakfast and lunch, and insurance. Lodging will be at a hostel
in dormitory accommodations. The cost for participants not requiring
lodging, breakfast or transportation to the site is $90 per
week. There is no cost to area residents attending to learn
skills needed to preserve their own home. Lunch is provided
at the site. Financial assistance is available.
Transportation to the workshop is not included and is the responsibility
of the participant. Transportation will be provided from the
hostel to the workshop site.
Please bring attire suitable for the weather that will also
be protective while working. Sturdy shoes, work gloves, water
bottles and insect repellent, preferably with DEET, are required.
Please make certain that you have a current tetanus
inoculation, i.e. within the last five years. Please
be conscious that safety is an important issue at any work site.
Additional details will be provided upon registration.
If you have additional questions or have information for us, please
contact us at workshops@heritageconservation.net
or call +1 303-444-0128.
If you would like to help with the repair and preservation
of hurricane-affected areas but are unable to attend the workshop,
you can still participate by supporting our conservation efforts
with a tax deductible donation to HCN. Donations will be used
in a variety of ways - to sponsor a participant, to provide
materials needed for conservation work, or to provide teaching
materials for participants, just to name a few.
We have partnered with Groundspring.org to make it easy and
safe for you to donate online:
If you would prefer to mail in a gift, please use our donation form.
Photos this page are
courtesy of Jay Edwards, Professor and Director of the Fred
B. Kniffen Cultural Resources Lab, Louisiana State University
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