HomeMy WebLinkAboutHDC1988-003 Letter To Mr. Allen Smith CC:Bill Kennedy, John,Tom,Molly,Ron,Jennifer and Bill Hall. From Cheryl Nichols 06/22/1988History, Inc.
June 22, 1988
Mr. Allen Smith
c/o Birnam Wood Nurseries
7901 Stagecoach Road
Little Rock, Arkansas 72204
Dear Allen:
When we received the certified letter concerning your plans across
the street at 1801 Gaines, it occurred to me that you might be interested
in the enclosed --a copy of a 1939 map showing the house that used to be
on those lots. It looks as if the house was situated closer to the corner,
allowing for a wide side yard to the south that buffered it from the
house at 1819 Gaines. (Mark and I wish we had a wide side yard to buffer
our house from the one next door. As it is, we get to listen to our
neighbors' parties, their teenaged son's music, etc.) In your case, I
would image that "side yard" translates into "English garden."
It is my understanding (the Quapaw Quarter grapevine has been at
work) that the house you plan to move to 1801 Gaines presently is located
at 1016 Commerce Street in the MacArthur Park Historic District. As a
member of the Little Rock Historic District Commission, which will hear
the request to move the house from 1016 Commerce, I feel compelled to
offer some words of caution and explanation, so that you will be aware --
if you are not already --that the request to move the house is out of the
ordinary and will be carefully scrutinized by the Historic District
Commission. (Please understand that I an, offering my uan opinions based
on what I know so far of the case and that these are not official opinions
of the Commission.)
In the "preservation biz," it generally is not considered good
raactice to move historic buildings, except in last-ditch efforts to save
struct am erw e clear y are oomed to demolition. Buildings
that are not on their orictinal sites usually are not considered eligible
for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, an indrea lon
that moving buildings tends to be frowned upon by preservation experts.
The house at 1016 Commerce is "doomed" only in the sense that its
present owner does not want it and is not maintaining it (i.e., it isn't as
if a highway is coming through or a shopping mall is being built). A case
certainly can be made for the fact that moving the house is in the current
best interest of the house, since the owner otherwise may allow it to
deteriorate to the point that rehabilitation will become difficult if not
impossible. However, it is going to be more difficult to show that moving
1721 South Gaines a Little Rock, Arkansas 72206 9 Phone (501) 375-2686
Allen Smith
6/22/88
Page 2
the house is in the best interest of the MacArthur Park Historic District
as a whole. At least at first glance, it seems the district just would be
lasin a historic resource and, possibly, setting a bad . I
think my fellow Commissioners would agree that we do not want to create
the impression that property owners who are not in sympathy with the
purposes of the historic district can get rid of historic structures simply
by making arrangements to have them moved elsewhere.
The owner of 1016 Commerce is going to have to come up with an
argument that will convince the Commission that movincl the house somehow
will be in the long-term best interest of the Mar -Arthur Park Historic
District. One possibility would be for the. owner to present to the
Commission architectural plans showing the structure he will build on his
property following the removal of the historic house at 1016 Commerce and
the urban renewal -vintage house at 1020 Commerce. Since the house at
1020 Commerce definitely does not enhance the historic district, if the
proposed new structure is well -designed and will be an asset to the district,
the Commission might look with more favor on the removal of 1016 Commerce.
Of course, the Commission also will have to be persuaded that the owner
actually will follow through with his plans for the property. Again, I
think my fellow Commissioners would agree that we do not want to allow the
removal of 1016 Commerce only to see the owner of the property abandon his
plans for a new house and leave the district or continue living in the
house at 1020 Commerce.
It is a difficult situation at best --the kind that tends to make
me wonder why I volunteered to serve on the Commission!
Please feel free to give me a call if you have questions.
Sincerely,
L�(
.
Cheryl G. Nichols
cc: Bill Kennedy
John Jarrard
Tom Johnson
Molly Satterfield
Ron Newman
Jennifer Polk
Bill Hall