Full Text
FORT RUSSELL RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY 1 WELCOME Welcome, and thank you for coming to tonight’s open house! For the past year the City of Moscow Historic Preservation Commission (MHPC) has been working with A.D. Preservation, a historic preservation consulting firm, to conduct a reconnaissance survey of the Fort Russell Historic District and the surrounding neighborhood. The goal of the reconnaissance survey is to inventory the current condition of properties within the Fort Russell District and also inventory properties on the periphery which may have the historical character to possibly be included within a potential expansion of the district. The existing Fort Russell Historic District was first established as a historic district in 1980 – 35 years ago – and currently contains 116 properties. Properties are required to be at least 50 years of age to be declared historic, so many of the houses built in the 1930’s were not included in the Fort Russell Historic District. This created an irregular boundary which makes it difficult to determine which homes are (or are not) in the District. The original boundary also left out many important buildings such as the McConnell Mansion, the 1912 Center, and the Methodist Church. OPEN HOUSE MEETING INSTRUCTIONS THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING TONIGHT’S MEETING! Tonight’s meeting is being conducted in open house format with representatives from the Historic Preservation Commission and A.D. Preservation in attendance to answer any questions that you might have about the Reconnaissance Survey Project. There are six poster stations that have been prepared for your review. We encourage you to view each open house poster in sequence and discuss the project with the Commissioner who is stationed at the poster. There is also an opportunity to provide written feedback on comment cards that are available at station Tonight’s open house materials and the draft Fort Russell Reconnaissance Survey will be made available for review and download on the website that has been created for the project. You can find the website linked from the Moscow Historic Preservation Commission’s webpage. ---PAGE BREAK--- FORT RUSSELL RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY 2 DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT The Fort Russell neighborhood is a historical, residential area, containing several schools and churches, located directly east- northeast of the city of Moscow’s central business district. As stated in the original 1980 district nomination, it is “strongly homogeneous not only in use but in style, scale, and texture,” with texture referring to the building materials, primarily frame and brick, as well as the rows of deciduous trees found throughout the district. Development within the Fort Russell Neighborhood Historic District followed a number of national and regional trends, and developed overall along very similar lines as the city’s central business district, which was listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 as the Moscow Downtown Historic District. The district features dwellings predominantly from the late- Victorian era into the early twentieth century, most notably representing the following styles and forms: Like Moscow’s downtown, the Fort Russell neighborhood began developing during the last few decades of the nineteenth century, with the earliest dwelling dating to 1875 according to Latah County Assessor data. A total of 59 of the 243 total sites, nearly one full quarter (24%) within the district’s recommended boundaries date prior to 1900, with construction and commerce slowing nationally during the mid- to late-1890s as a result of the national financial crash that hit in 1893. Once construction began again, around the turn of the century, the neighborhood experienced a major boom with approximately 13% of the structures dating to the single decade between 1900 and 1910 at which time Moscow was growing rapidly as a regional commercial center. Approximately 18% of the buildings within the expanded district were built between 1911 and 1920 as the city continued to grow steadily, another 14% between 1921 and 1930, and finally 20% going up between 1931 and 1940 indicating that residential growth continued at a higher rate than commercial growth during the Great Depression years of the 1930s when only three commercial structures were built in the downtown district. The remaining 11% is made up of 26 post-1940 dwellings scattered throughout the neighborhood. QUEEN ANNE GOTHIC REVIVAL COLONIAL REVIVAL ENGLISH COTTAGE TUDOR AMERICAN FOURSQUARE BUNGALOW ---PAGE BREAK--- FORT RUSSELL RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY 3 DISTRICT CHARACTER Within the proposed expanded district, the streetscapes exhibit a consistent character with setbacks and highly representative of a residential neighborhood dating between the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. The larger and more elaborate dwellings, many of which date earlier, are typically set further back on their larger lots than the more modestly sized dwellings which date later and exhibit smaller lots and narrower setbacks. Dwellings face toward the streets running both east-west and north-south without any specific direction being predominant. Mature trees line many of the streets throughout the district, and front yards are generally manicured with lawns and mature, established vegetation. The proposed district is anchored on the southeast corner by the historic East City Park and along the southerly edge by East Third Street, a road that has historically provided not only a physical but social and developmental boundary to the Fort Russell neighborhood. Modern development has occurred outside the northeast boundaries of the expanded district, providing a division between the established historical areas and more recently developed blocks. Institutional buildings provide anchors along the west and southwestern boundaries, including Russell School, the City Library housed in a Carnegie Library building, and the 1912 Center. All of the general characteristics found within the district upon the original 1980 nomination still remain today. Many of the individual dwellings have undergone alterations since the time of the original nomination. However, the overall fabric and character of the district remains, and representation of the period of significance is readily evident. For the most part, alterations have not compromised the buildings’ original form, nor have they reduced the integrity of location, setting, design, feeling, or association for the individual resources or for the district as a whole. The district still very strongly represents the late-Victorian and early-twentieth- century eras, as stated in the original nomination, and the dwellings associated with these periods are still very much representative of their periods. The individual resources and other physical and visible features continue to represent the district as defined in the original nomination. ---PAGE BREAK--- FORT RUSSELL RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY 4 SITE INVENTORY At the heart of the reconnaissance survey is the an inventory of each in- dividual property within the survey boundary. In the site inventory, each principal site is identified by a number that locates it on the project map (below). Sources used for dating purposes include a range of Sanborn maps as well as property tax and GIS data provided by both the city and county. All entries are categorized as contributing or non-contributing (NC) to the significance of the district, based on a big picture look at the district as a whole. The information that is contained on each individual site within the survey boundary includes: • Site the number of this site on the map • Address • Owner information as noted in Latah County property records (as provided March 2015) • Date of construction • Previous district status, notes the status in the original 1980 nomination with the site # from the original nomination following a comma (N/A if not included within the 1980 nomination, being located in the current expanded boundaries) • Determination of Eligibility (DOE) for the current amendment • Site Details describing the features of the property PROPERTY CRITERIA Within historic districts, there are generally two types of categories that individual properties fall under - contributing or non-contributing. Those properties recommended as contributing within the district retain historical integrity. Contributing buildings are generally those that relate to the expanded period of significance, continue to represent their original style and/or form, and also convey a general sense of simply fitting into the character of the Fort Russell neighborhood. Those sites deemed non-contributing are simply unable to strongly enough represent their original periods and/or any distinct historical period of change over time. Through the removal of historic fabric and/or character, some of these properties no longer relate to, or continue to represent the recommended historic contexts. Properties that are outside of the period of significance are also determined to be non- contributing. Below is a map of the contributing properties which are outlined in red and non-contributing properties outlined in blue. The property designations below are recommendations that will be reviewed by the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office, Idaho National Register Review Board, and the National Park Service for final determinations. ---PAGE BREAK--- FORT RUSSELL RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY 5 PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE The Fort Russell Neighborhood Historic District was originally listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, significant for both its historical and architectural significance representing a “rich display of early residential architecture… significant as well for the historical connections between the houses and many of the people who built the town.” It remains significant today for its associations with events, including community planning and development, education, entertainment and recreation, and religion, and as an embodiment of the architecture and landscape architecture during the period of significance. The current period of significance for the district begins in 1875, which corresponds with the earliest recorded construction date for any resources within the district boundaries, and extends through to 1930. The Historic Preservation Commission is recommending that the period of significance be expanded to 1940 to include historical properties that were constructed in the 1930’s. Post-1940 buildings are scattered in relatively small numbers within the proposed boundaries (accounting for just 11% of buildings within the expanded boundaries). Though modern construction begins to represent a different character moving beyond the period of significance, the presence of these buildings does not detract from the district’s strong character and identity as a significant neighborhood reflecting Moscow’s early growth. DISTRICT BOUNDARY The recommended district boundary reflects an expansion of the Fort Russell Neighborhood Historic District, to include in its entirety what Moscow residents consider to be the Fort Russell Neighborhood. The original reconnaissance survey area extended all the way to Sixth Street to the south. The reasoning behind analyzing the properties all the way to Sixth Street was because of the original plat boundaries of the Russell Addition, Russell 2nd Addition, and the Park Addition, which were all platted in the 1880’s. After inventorying and analyzing all of the properties within the original survey boundary, considering the revised period of significance, and looking at the character of the area, a recommended new district boundary emerged. The areas within both the original district and the expanded boundaries are cohesive in their integrity, significance and reflection of the Fort Russell neighborhood. Northerly boundaries are marked generally by topography, where a noted drop-off north of East D Street marks the edge of the cohesive neighborhood. The easterly boundary is generally situated at North/ South Hayes Street, areas east of North Hayes are noted by more modern development unrelated to the period of significance for the Fort Russell neighborhood. The southerly boundary follows East Third Street, including those properties along the north side of the street, which are more directly related to the Fort Russell neighborhood. East Third Street represents somewhat of a division socially and chronologically as far as the residential development in this area is concerned, so those properties along the south side of the street, and further south of Third itself, are not directly related to the neighborhood historic district. The west boundary is marked by North/South Jefferson Street, which generally marks both the edge of the Fort Russell neighborhood and the edge of residential development. Areas west of this are primarily commercial in nature and are not related to the contexts of the district. ---PAGE BREAK--- FORT RUSSELL RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY 6 NEXT STEPS Tonight’s open house materials and the draft Fort Russell Reconnaissance Survey will be made available for review and download on the website that has been created for the project. Questions and comments about the project and the National Register process may be sent to Moscow Historic Preservation Commission Staff Liaison, Mike Ray, whose contact information is provided on the project website. The next step in the process is receiving City Council authorization to proceed with a National Register Nomination for the expanded Fort Russell Historic District. Should the Council authorize submittal of the nomination, the Historic Preservation Commission will work with A.D. Preservation to prepare all of the necessary forms and documentation. Once the Official National Register Nomination Forms are prepared, they are submitted to the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office (ID SHPO). The ID SHPO then notifies affected property owners and solicits public comment. Once the ID SHPO has reviewed the nomination and public comments, it then goes before the Idaho National Register Review Board, which meets one or two times per year. The ID SHPO has indicated that the next time the Review Board will meet will be June of 2016. Complete nominations, with certifying recommendations, are then submitted by the ID SHPO to the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. for final review and listing by the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places. The National Park Service makes a listing decision within 45 days. January - August 2014 June 2015 Site Information Collection/Documentation Informational Open House Meeting September 2014 Draft Survey of Existing District January - August 2014 Historical Research October 2014 Draft Survey of Surrounding Area January - May 2015 District Boundary Refinement July 2015 Council Authorization To Proceed July 2015 National Register Nomination to SHPO July - August 2015 Review by Idaho State Historic Preservation Office June 2016 Review by Idaho Nat. Register Review Board Fall 2016 Final Review by Nat. Park Service - Wash. D.C. Fall 2016 Final Listing Decision by National Park Service GENERAL TIMELINE THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING! ---PAGE BREAK--- FORT RUSSELL RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY 1987 1930 1951 East D St East A St East First St East B St East Third St East C St North Hayes St North Polk St North Adams St North Lincoln St North Garfield St North Jefferson St North Van Buren St East Second St North Washington St South Polk St South Hayes St North Monroe St North Howard St South Monroe St South Howard St South Van Buren St South Washington St South Adams St Moore St Hillside Pl South Garfield St North Howard St East C St North Monroe St East C St EXISTING DISTRICT BOUNDARY PROPOSED DISTRICT BOUNDARY 7