Posts tagged organization
Certified Local Government training scheduled in conjunction with state preservation meeting
Aug 1st
For the second time in just six years, the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation will hold its annual meeting in St. Augustine. Set for the week of May 13, 2013, the conference will be preceded by a Certified Local Government training workshop made possible by a grant to the City of St. Augustine from the Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation.
The CLG workshops follow guidelines set by the Bureau and have been held in various locations across the state to educate and train historic preservation commissions and their related professionals that deal with identifying and regulating historic and archaeological resources.
St. Augustine received its Certified Local Government in 1986, the initial year of the program in Florida, because of its strong historic and archaeological preservation ordinance. City staff and the Historic Architectural Review Board are responsible for carrying out the CLG responsibilities.
Over the years, the city has been the beneficiary of numerous grants available to it because of it being a CLG, grants that haves supported the research necessary to inventory thousands of historic resources and develop nominations for seven National Register Historic Districts.
The training workshop will cover a variety of topics that include basic operations of a CLG as well as regional issues and challenges facing historic preservation commissions.
Following the training workshop, the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation will hold its annual conference. When St. Augustine last hosted the conference in 2006 it drew over 500 attendees, a record for the organization.
Topics range from historic building technologies and management plans, archaeological preservation and interpretation, and cemetery and landscape preservation using the culturally diverse resources of St. Augustine and St. Johns County for tours, venues, and interactive opportunities.
Both the CLG training workshop and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation annual conference are certain to draw the most knowledgeable preservation professionals from across the state and region as well as several national figures in the field from both the public and private sectors. And certainly, there is no more appropriate setting for historic preservation professionals to meet than in St. Augustine.
For more information, contact Jenny Wolfe, Historic Preservation and Special Projects Planner, at 904.209.4326.
Attleboro, Massachusetts Council Bites on White Alligator
May 23rd
by Jonathan Friedman, Local Editor, Attleboro-Seekonk Patch
In an effort to bring more attention to Capron Park Zoo, the Attleboro, Massachusetts City Council on Tuesday voted 10-0 to spend $8,000 to bring a rare white alligator from a St. Augustine, Fla. farm to the Attleboro attraction for four months. The reptile is expected to arrive in mid-May and be ready for public view by Memorial Day.
Councilor Jay DiLisio said there is already buzz about the white alligator, which he said should pay for itself with the extra visitors it will attract. The possibility of the reptile coming to the zoo has been reported in media throughout the East Coast and Councilor Mark Cooper said it is the talk of local school children, including his six-year-old.
The white alligator, DiLisio said, will help the local zoo as it competes with nearby larger facilities to remain relevant.
“When the zoo has the opportunity to bring in such a great attraction such as this white alligator … I think it’s something that we need to support 100 percent,” DiLisio said.
The councilor said director Jean Benchimol had assured him that Capron Zoo is “fiscally sound at this stage.” Recently, the city had agreed to pay upfront for an extra zookeeper. This was needed for Capron Zoo to retain its accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which is up for renewal in the fall.
AZA accreditation “means official recognition and approval of a zoo or aquarium by a group of experts” based on “high standards,” according to the nonprofit organization’s website. Capron Zoo is one of 224 accredited zoos or aquariums in the nation as of March, the website states. DiLisio said accreditation is needed for the zoo to have the chance to bring in attractions like the white alligator.
“I think it’s really rare for a city of our size to have an accredited zoo,” Councilor Jeremy Denlea said. “That’s something I’m really prideful of. And if [bringing in the white alligator] would help bring a little more limelight to the zoo and a little more attraction, I think that’s great.”
Benchimol told Attleboro-Seekonk Patch earlier this month that the farm would also send a regular-colored hatchling. The zoo’s education department staff will walk around with the newborn alligator, showing it to visitors who will be able to compare the green baby with the white adult.
Note: There are only 200 albino alligators in the world.
Flagler College’s Hotel Ponce de Leon Included in ‘Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places’ List
Apr 24th
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the organization asked Floridians to vote on the top 100 buildings in an online competition. The Fontainebleau Miami Beach took first place in the popular vote. The Ponce wasn’t included in the original list of 100 structures, but it garnered enough write-in votes to be recognized.
More than 2 million votes were cast in the competition.
The Ponce joins other Florida architectural structures including the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Cinderella’s Castle in Orlando, the Historic Capitol Building in Tallahassee, the Florida Aquarium in Tampa and the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed campus of Florida Southern College.
A former luxury hotel, the Ponce was built by Henry Flagler and it opened in 1888. It is widely considered one of the best examples of Spanish-Moorish Renaissance architecture.
When you first see Flagler College you will think it is part of the original old city. But the school was founded in 1968. The original Hotel Ponce de Leon, which now serves as the residence hall and is the center of the college was built in 1888 and is an architectural masterpiece.
Thomas Edison, whose winter home is in Fort Myers Florida, personally assisted in making The Hotel De Ponce de Leon the first building in Florida wired with electricity. In addition, Louis Comfort Tiffany of the famed Tiffany Stained Glass created the stained class inside the hotel.
The rest of the campus matches that historical architecture and as a result is a major attraction for visitors to St Augustine.
Statue of Henry Flagler at Flagler College, St Augustine
Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 24 majors, 29 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review regularly feature Flagler as a college that offers quality education at a relatively low cost; tuition is $22,500, including room and board. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for the historic beauty of its campus. The main building is Ponce de Leon Hall, built in 1887 as a luxury resort by Henry Flagler, who co-founded the Standard Oil Company with John D. Rockefeller.
For more information contact: Brian Thompson, 904-819-6249, bthompson@flagler.edu