FW: PPS June E-Newsletter

In This Issue Preservation Education Events Volunteer Opportunities Membership Community Notes Quick Links Become a Member PPS Website Preservation Nation Upcoming PPS Events June 3 "Shop 'til You Drop" Wayland Square fundraiser June 4 Festival of Historic Houses Patrons' Party June 5 31st Festival of Historic Houses Support our work! Support PPS by mailing us your Eastside Marketplace receipts! A percentage of each dollar goes to support PPS programs. To learn more, e-mail PPS. June 2010 News Festival of Historic Houses House Tour this Saturday! 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Purchase tickets here, or see below for details. Preservation 2010 Ten Most Endangered Properties List Announced On May 12, we announced the 2010 Ten Most Endangered Properties List inside one of the listed properties, the c. 1867 Kendrick-Prentice-Tirocchi House - often referred to as the "Wedding Cake" House - at 514 Broadway.   Here is the 2010 List:   1. The Arcade 2. Atlantic Mills Towers The "Wedding Cake" House, c. 1867 3. Benjamin Dyer Block (western half) 4. Brownell & Field Co. Building; Terminal Warehouse Co. 5. Cathedral of St. John and Diocesan Properties 6. Downtown Providence National Register District: George C. Arnold Building, Providence National Bank Façade, and Teste Block 7. Grove Street School 8. Kendrick-Prentice-Tirocchi House (the "Wedding Cake" House, pictured at right) 9.  Rhode Island Hospital Southwest Pavilion 10. Temple Beth-El (Shaare Zedek Synagogue) Each year, PPS compiles the Ten Most Endangered Properties List from nominations made by community members. The List's purpose is to generate interest in and support for the preservation of these significant structures; to educate the public about the benefits of historic preservation and the unique architectural resources in our city; and to foster creative collaboration among property owners, developers and other interested parties to bring about positive changes in each property. For photos of the properties and more information, visit our website, and check out the NBC 10 coverage of the announcement here. Education Spring Children's Heritage Education Tours in Progress Hundreds of school children are learning about historic preservation this spring, led by PPS-trained docents. Bookings for the spring 2010 Children's Heritage Education Tours are now closed. Booked tours will continue through June 11. Bookings for fall 2010 tours, to take place from September 28 through November 25, are now being accepted. Teachers may contact Education Coordinator Kathleen McAreavey at kmcareavey@ppsri.org or (401) 831-7440, ext. 103. PPS Pilot Collaboration with Providence Career and Technical Academy PPS collaborated with the Providence Career and Technical Academy on a historic preservation pilot program during the 2010 spring semester. The program consisted of lectures and visits to preservation-related sites. Read the Providence Journal article about one of these site visits to learn more about the collaboration. Interns Graduate Longtime interns Michelle Cheng and Chris Aguiar are graduating from their respective college programs this spring and will be moving on from PPS. Michelle earned an M.A. in Arts Education from the Rhode Island School of Design, and Chris earned a B.S. in Political Science from Brown University. Both have demonstrated a remarkable commitment to PPS. Michelle's work as an intern in the Education Department has been exemplary (see below for more details), and Chris has been diligent in updating the architectural histories of properties in the Elmwood neighborhood. Both have managed their projects while excelling in their college programs, and we wish them well in their future endeavors. Neighborhood School Tour Program Revived and Revised PPS is reviving and revising its Neighborhood School Tour Program, first offered in the late 1950s. Tours focus on the built environments around elementary schools throughout the city.  Tours based around Asa Messer Elementary School and Fox Point Elementary School have been completed, and we plan to work throughout the city each year until each elementary school has a tour of its surrounding neighborhood. PPS thanks interns Erin Boyle, M.A. candidate in Public Humanities at Brown University, and Michelle Cheng, M.A. in Arts Education at RISD, for all of their help in developing these tours. Cocktail Fundraiser for Education On May 7, PPS supporters Andrea Sambrano and Mark Goldberg hosted a mini-fundraiser for PPS Education Programming. Attendees heard a presentation describing the programs administered by the Education Department, with a special focus on the Neighborhood School Tour Program presented by intern Michelle Cheng. The hosts prepared a generous buffet, and the evening offered a unique opportunity for old and new friends of PPS to enjoy each other's company while supporting the organization. SAVE THE DATE! - October 20 - 23, 2010 Rhode Island Colonial Architecture:  Real, Revival, Survival The 14th Annual Salve Regina University Conference in Cultural & Historic Preservation will be conducted this year in collaboration with the Providence Preservation Society. Further information will be posted on our website as it becomes available. Events Festival of Historic Houses - 31st Annual! June 3, 4, and 5 On Saturday, June 5, PPS presents its traditional house tour, featuring distinctive houses in the historic Wayland neighborhood. Houses will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Ticket-holders will also be welcomed to "The History and Architecture of the Wayland Neighborhood," a lecture presented by Robert O. Jones, Senior Architectural Historian for the Rhode Island Preservation and Heritage Commission, and "Thread Count and Linen Secrets," presented by Wendy Brown, owner of Wendy Brown Fine Linens,in her Wayland Square store. For more information or to purchase tickets, please click here. Festivities kick off on Thursday, June 3 with a "Shop 'Til You Drop" benefit from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Participating Wayland Square stores will donate up to 15% of your purchases to PPS.   The weekend continues with a Patrons' Party fundraiser featuring cocktails and songs of the Cole Porter era. This "de-lightful, de-licious, de-lovely" party will take place on Friday, June 4 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at an exceptional East Side house of that period. "De-lectable" food will be provided by Plantation Catering. Volunteer Opportunities Call for Volunteers - Festival of Historic Houses Needs You! Presenting the 2010 Festival of Historic Houses requires an enthusiastic corps of volunteers for the the day of the tour, Saturday, June 5, in the Wayland neighborhood on Providence's East Side. We're still looking for a few volunteers to join our strong team as house guides from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. House guides are stationed at a single location within each house to share historical and architectural facts about the property with tour-goers. Volunteers who commit to this shift may take the tour in the morning at no cost.  For more information or to sign up as a volunteer, please e-mail Volunteer Recruitment and Training Coordinator Stephen Coon at stephen.coon@verizon.net or download a 2010 volunteer form.  Membership Join us! Click here to become a member, renew your membership, or learn more about membership. Community Notes Urban Pond Procession Saturday, June 12, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. The Urban Justice League of Rhode Island is organizing the 3rd Annual Urban Pond Procession, winding from Mashapaug Pond (pictured at left) to the Temple of Music in Roger Williams Park, with live music, poets, and politicians along the way. To find out more, contact Holly at hewald@me.com. Ira Rakatansky:  As Modern As Tomorrow Book release and signing RISD Museum, Providence Thursday, June 17, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. Ira Rakatansky: As Modern As Tomorrow (John Caserta, Lynnette Widder, editors) documents houses and public buildings designed from 1944 to 1964 in an otherwise traditionalist part of New England by this RISD and GSD-trained practitioner of Modern Architecture. For more information about the book and a complete schedule of signing dates in the area, click here. Rhody Awards - Nominations Open The Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission and Preserve Rhode Island will jointly present the Rhode Island Historic Preservation Awards at their Preservation Celebration on October 21. To learn more about the awards and to download a nomination submission form, click here. The mission of the Providence Preservation Society (PPS) is to improve the quality of life in the city of Providence through historic preservation and the enhancement of the built environment. PPS is a nonprofit membership organization, exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and is recognized as a charitable organization.