2007 AWARDS
NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION WEEK

*See end of page for Photo Gallery*

HISTORICALLY COMPATIBLE NEW COMMERCIAL

Location: 96 North Main Street

Owner: 88 North Main LLC, Lloyd Haines

Architect: Dave Richardson, Architectural Design Works

Contractor: Corey Vitus, Vitus Construction

Property owner, Lloyd Haines, had a vision. He envisioned a new multiple use building consisting of office, restaurant, and residential space for his property at the convergence of Main Street and Lithia Way. Like many downtown projects, this project wasn’t without its skeptics, but in the end, Lloyd’s vision became a reality. The Shasta Building at 96 North Main is one of the most attractive and functional buildings to be built in downtown Ashland for decades and has created an inviting entrance from the North to the downtown.

Using the Historic Odd Fellows Building as inspiration, Lloyd worked with three architects: Thomas Marineau who designed the original concept; Dave Thurston, who worked on implication and finally, with Dave Richardson who turned the concept into reality when the building was construction. Corey Vitus was up to the many challenges he faced when he acted as contractor and turned the vision into a beautiful finished product.

The biggest obstacle in obtaining approval to build the building was a 40 year old alder tree which had to be removed to make room for the building. Lloyd Haines solution was to have Master Woodcarver, Russell Beebe, turn the alder into a sculpture. This beautiful sculpture is meant to be a memorial to the First Nations of the Rogue Valley and sits at the entrance to a creek walk just north of the building which is a gift from the building owner to the citizens of Ashland and all who visit.

Location: 832 A Street

Owner/Designer: Ilene Rubinstein

General Contractor: Yedi Haslam

Builder: Chet Meck

The true art of historic preservation lies at the intersection of the realization of the intrinsic value of a structure and the vision of what is possible for its future. The Oliver Dews House is a 1902 single-story wood-frame vernacular built by Oliver Dews, who owned a drayage business in Ashland and was later employed by the railroad as a car repairer. Over the years, the house hosted a number of Ashland families and for decades, served them well. A number of exterior changes, including shingles, as well as more recent neglect and abuse had left the house a mere shadow of its former self.

The property was recently acquired by Ilene Rubinstein, who began a major renovation and renewal of the house, which now stands proudly as Chozu Bath and Tea Garden, one of the newest businesses in the Railroad District.

The project required a near total renovation of the house. Multiple foundations, load-bearing walls, and a complete side of the house required replacement. “As difficult as the process was, I enjoyed the process of healthy communication and developing my creative vision for the project,” says owner Rubinstein. “And I was supported by craftsman and artists from the community with wonderful talents. We are truly blessed to have them.

Historic preservation has always been about creative and innovative solutions that bring citizens together to better serve the greater community. Chozu Bath and Tea Garden is now one of the newest examples of how historic preservation works wonders in our own backyard.

Location: 157 Sixth Street

Owner/Contractor: Allison Louise Renwick

Designer: Brint Borgilt, Nautilus Design Studio

Contractor: Dragonfly Construction, James Stiritz

Hidden in front of 155 Sixth Street, along the alley, is a wonderful architectural surprise. This modest sized, multi-family, infill project effortlessly fits into this neighborhood of existing older homes.

The reason for this compatibility with adjacent historic homes is scale and proportion. This small architectural gem does not overpower its neighbors because of the designers understanding of vertical proportion relating to height and the horizontal proportion relating to the site. This understanding makes the project "fit-like-a-glove" into the neighborhood fabric. Further, the use of varied siding textures and colors provides scale but most importantly it makes the project a visual delight.

In addition to the proportion and scale, the builder also paid attention to the construction detailing, such as the beaded corner trim. This attention to details throughout created an excellent building, reminiscent of the craftsmanship of the early 1900’s.

Location: 385 Pearl Street

Owner/Contractor: John & Kathryn Slyt 

Architect: Jerome White Architecture

Contractor: Ken Krumdieck, Inc.

This is an excellent adaptation of the classical bungalow style as introduced by Greene and Greene in California and quickly adapted by other west coast architects to meet the demands for “modern” home. It captures all of the detail and materials but does not mimic the earlier forms. The workmanship appears to be very straightforward and the massing sits well on the site. The very wide roof overhangs and the rear deck form are especially attractive features.

Location: 150 Church Street

Owner: Robert & Susan Saladoff

Architect: Robert Saladoff

Contractor: Robert Burstein Construction

This beautiful property in an established Siskiyou Academy historic neighborhood has views of Mt. Ashland, a southern exposure, numerous old trees for shade, and proximity to Lithia Park and downtown. The property also had several physical constraints that influenced the design, including a narrow and sloping site, access issues, and a water run-off problem.

The design reflects the owners’ interpretation of a true Craftsmen home, placing emphasis on natural materials, exposed construction elements, custom joinery, and an organic color palette. The contours and volumes of the house are also broken-up with variations in the wall setbacks and bump-outs creating a more natural relationship with the surrounding landscape. The varying roof heights are covered with a Craftsmen style roof design of shallow slopes, large overhangs, exposed custom rafter tails, and half-round gutters and downspouts. These design elements help ensure that the home fits naturally into the site and neighborhood without mimicking the existing homes around it.

The overall design for the home also plays homage to its built history. From historic photographs, it can be seen that a farmhouse and a barn were once present on this property. The new design points to its history with a two-story volume orienting the house towards the street, and a simple, single-story volume at the rear of the house reflecting the barn that once stood on the property.

Overall, this new house at 150 Church Street is a great example of the Craftsmen tradition that fits comfortably into this established historic neighborhood.

Location: 160 Church Street

Owner/Contractor: James Williams

Designer: Brint Borgilt, Nautilus Design Studio

Contractor: Kevin Shawhan

Remodeling and adding to a hundred year old historic home is always a challenge, but an even bigger one when the home is in a Historic District and one of the most admired homes in the community. This was the case with the historic Elizabeth Smith house at 160 Church Street in the Skidmore Academy Historic District. The Smith house was built around 1890 and had had a poorly designed addition added to it sometime early in its life.

Homeowner, James Williams, was up the challenge as were his architect, Brint Borgilt, and contractor, Kevin Shawhan. They removed the addition replacing it with a much larger one that duplicates the design of the original home and marrying the old and new to create a beautiful seamless structure. Original elements, such as, projecting gable corners, decorative spindlework, fish scale shingles and window hoods were created to duplicate the originals. At the same time, all the systems of the home were brought up to modern standards which makes the home ready to provide the young family who currently occupy it and future occupants comfortable for a least another hundred years.

Location: 695 B Street

Owner/Contractor: Edwin Pearson & Amy Richard

Designer: Dale Shostrom, Shostrom Bros Ltd.

Ed Pearson and Amy Richard’s modest one and a half-story, wood frame dwelling was built in 1947 as a rental by the family of Richard Boulton, a mill worker at the Sugar Pine Lumber Company. Since purchasing the house in 1993, Ed and Amy have concentrated their efforts in creating a beautiful landscape, including a koi pond, and caring for their gigantic umbrella-like slippery elm tree, Ashland’s Tree of the Year in 1997.

Two years ago, they approached their good friend, Dale Shostrom, to design a kitchen-utility room remodel that necessitated a small 8 foot by 10 foot addition to the rear. Matching the existing siding and roofing, both of which had since been shrouded in aluminum was problematic. A new architectural composition roof was a no-brainer, and the owners thought the aluminum siding could be closely matched using cement boards on the new addition. After cringing, Dale grabbed a crowbar and discovered that the original 1x10 tongue and groove siding was in good condition: well protected by years of coverage by the old aluminum siding. Dale saw an opportunity and suggested a complete exterior restoration. That idea made Ed and Amy cringe – in unison responding “no way”!  Besides the extra money, they wanted to do the work themselves; they both worked full time, and could not rationalize the extra work and loss of leisure time.

Dale relentlessly argued his case, even suggesting that their long friendship and design contract could be jeopardized! He admonishingly added that Ed and Amy must be an inspiration and an example to others in the Historic District; that at our age, another year of homeowner remodeling would zoom by; that the extra cost would be a good long term investment, and plus, it would be good karma, add visual beauty and meaning to all of our lives, and provide worthy company for their historical elm tree.

Ed and Amy decided to go the extra mile; they had siding, trim and windowsills custom milled to match the original detailing destroyed by the aluminum siding installations. After endless hours (another year) of hard work and dedication, 695 B Street is now a shining example of historic restoration in Ashland’s Railroad District.

Location: 570 Fairview Street

Owner: Richard and Carlotta Lucas  (House sold to new owners Aug 2006)

Contractor: Richard Lucas, Lucas Renovation

The CIty of Ashland's Historic Commission Award for Historically Compatible New Residential Restoration has been awarded to Richard and Carlotta Lucas for their renovation of 570 Fairview Street, a true example of the California Bungalow style in a home dating back to 1910. Having worked many projects during their 31 years of working together, Rick and Carlotta immediately suspected there was a beautiful home hidden beneath that layer of vinyl siding and other late 20th century disguise.

After walking the interior and noting that all of the original finish woodwork was intact, Rick and Carlotta knew this home was meant to be their next restoration project. Upon removing the vinyl siding, the Lucas's discovered that this beautiful old home was actually one of the original stucco covered homes in Ashland - befitting its California bungalow style. Of course, they had to repair and re-stucco the entire exterior, reviving much of its original architectural detail, sich as the flared skirt at the plate line that had long been concealed beneath the unprepossessing vinyl facade. They replaced broken and missing window glass with matching wavy antique glass, and searched for missing interior hardware at Hippo and Restoration Hardware in Portland, ultimately selecting and installing pieces that reflected the original grace and beauty of this simple but very notable home.

By working to restore the original look and feel of 570 Fairview Street, Rick and Carlotta Lucas have set a high bar for Ashland contractors to emulate when restoring historic homes in our charming historic neighborhoods.

Friends of the Ashland Public Library

Representative: Terry Skibby

Author Ray Bradbury once said, “Without libraries, what have we? We have no past and no future.” Today, this sentiment has never been truer and more valid. The Friends of the Ashland Public Library was formed in 1983 by a group of civic minded citizens, who, in the works of their mission statement sought "to encourage, promote, support, and aid the development of library service in the area of service of the Ashland Public Library." 

Today we recognize an organization that has worked tirelessly for many years to support equal access to knowledge and information in an age where they have never been more important. Today, we salute those who had a vision, who honor the promise of each and every citizen to be the very best they can be, and who recognize that when we work together in support of great ideas, we are always a stronger community.

From fundraising, to supporting storytelling events for children, to author nights at the library and protecting historic books, the work of the Friends of the Ashland Public Library seem to have no bound. As citizens who recognize that learning truly has no boundaries; we would not want it any other way! Congratulations, and thank you for your dedication, your support and continued stellar work. As our community works together to refocus our support for a social and cultural institution of immeasurable value in one of our most historic and beautiful sites, we need you now more than ever!