| Wanamaker Restoration

This year’s tour is happening on June 26 and focuses on mid-century modernist homes in our community. We chose the theme of ‘modernist’ structures to coincide with a day long symposium being held at the University of Vermont by the UVM Historic Preservation Program and the Vermont State Department of Historic Preservation (http://www.uvm.edu/~modern/).  

Modernist structures are primarily buildings designed after the turn of the century that abandon traditional aesthetics in architecture and focus on geometric, austere forms that use modern materials. The style was popular in the United States after WWII. The styles that fit into this category are ‘Arts and Crafts’, the ‘prairie style’ coined by Frank Lloyd Wright, the ‘International Style’ and the ‘Streamline Moderne’ style (a good example would be diners and gas stations of the 50’s and 60’s).  As these structures age, there is a growing need to preserve this important time in history and in architectural design and theory.  There are national organization dedicated to this effort including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Recent Past Preservation Network.  There also is a growing interest in the design aesthetic of this period which can be seen in many of the contemporary, ‘sustainable’ designs in magazines such as DWELL.

One of the purposes behind the theme for this year’s homes tour to educate the public about this period of architectural design, while also gaining some exposure to different demographics.  Overall we believe that the tour will be a success and one of the most unique tours to date.  Many of the homes have the exterior modern design of the 50’s and 60’s, and interior decor and artwork that fits with the era.  As I’m sure you are aware, this is a bit of a departure from past tours. I understand that not everyone likes this period of design and may not be as interested in this tour as they were with ones of the past that highlighted mainly Victorian Homes of the late 19th century. That said, we believe that modernist homes deserve the attention of preservationist organizations such as our own, and are hopeful that this year’s tour will attract new interest from those who may not have been aware of our organization.