STBA SPAB 2020 Online Sustainability Conference Begins October 6

This year’s STBA and SPAB Conference will take place online over three days focusing on key issues affecting the traditional built environment: embodied carbon, skills and research. The conference will feature some of the UK’s leading speakers to help participants understand the underlying issues, explore potential solutions and then discuss all this together with a Q&A session at the end of each morning.

The online conference is being held via Zoom;  FULL CONFERENCE TICKET is £100 for non-members and £65 for members for all three sessions. The conference is SPAB CPD accredited. Most presentations will last 40 minutes and be in a PowerPoint style. These will be made available after the conference. To register, go to: https://www.spab.org.uk/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=433

Stan Hywet Celebrates with Deck The Halls 2017

One of the highlights of the local holiday season is Stan Hywet’s annual Deck The Halls celebration, which is one of Ohio’s largest and most spectacular holiday traditions. The celebration runs from December 14-23 and December 26-30.

A million lights ensure that the holiday season always remains merry and bright.

The former Seiberling estate is illuminated inside and out with over ONE MILLION lights and this year, the historic Manor House is decorated and inspired by the theme of  Postcards from the Past. DAZZLE is a fantastic outdoor light show choreographed to three new songs this year and Gingerbread Land, the popular play garden has also been “dressed up” for the holiday season as well.

As always, the Great Hall is decked out in its holiday finest.

This year, the celebration is bigger and better than ever, and includes:

•Nightly tree lighting at 5:30pm. After Christmas, look for the Gingerbread Man.

•Live music in the Music Room, courtesy of area choirs and musicians.

•Self-guided tours of the Manor House included in ticket purchase.

•Freshly baked gingerbread cookies, savory warm pretzels, cocoa, hot cider, beer and wine for purchase in the Courtyard.

•Enjoy all of the above treats at the cozy warming fire in the Courtyard.

•Visit with Santa and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the Corral in the Courtyard.

•Take a family photo at two featured photo spots—perfect for that family holiday picture.

•Marvel at our new animated Gingerbread Bakeshop Window in the Courtyard.

•The tropical Corbin Conservatory is beautifully decorated for Christmas with a 20ft poinsettia tree.

•Shop for unique holiday gifts in Molly’s Shop.

•Enjoy light fare or a sweet treat in Molly’s Café after your tour.

For more information, go to: www.stanhywet.org

NYC Exhibition Highlights Downton Abbey Sets, Costumes and More

Just came across this story from Houzz about a new exhibition in New York City that opens today, the 18th, and runs through January 31st at 218 W. 57th. Having visited Highclere Castle--where the Downton Abbey series was filmed--the exhibition fills in some of the show-oriented details that aren't evident when visiting the historic house. Click on the photo below for the complete story.

Downton Abbey: The Exhibition
When: Nov. 18 through Jan. 31, 2018
Where: 218 W. 57th St., New York City
Cost: Starts at $30

Downton Abbey Comes to the Big Apple

Tudor House Continues to Serve Portage Lakes as a Community Treasure

When Frank Mason, a senior executive of the B. F. Goodrich, built this grand home on Turkeyfoot Lake and gave it to his grandson and his newlywed wife, Zeletta Robinson, he may not have dreamed that it would one day be a local civic center. Today, the Frank Mason Raymond home—known locally as Tudor House—or the Franklin park Civic Center, continues to charm guests as a serves as a popular wedding, meeting and banquet facility, often available without charge to non-profit organizations.

Located at 655 Latham Lane, in the Portage Lakes area of New Franklin, the beautiful 20-room, 2 ½ story, brick and stucco mansion sits on 5.8 acres, adjacent to Portage Lakes State Park, and has 335 feet of frontage on the west shore of the lake.

National Trust for Scotland Launches House Tour Program for Americans

Through its Grand Houses and Gardens Tour Program, set to run from September 15-23, 2017, Scotland’s National Trust has developed a deluxe travel package that will offer visitors a chance to explore a number of historic properties, including C.R. Mackintosh’s Hill House, Fyvie Castle, Falkland Palace & Garden, Craigievar Castle and many others.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's best known house - Hill House

The trip package is the first of its kind offered by National Trust for Scotland Foundation, USA (NTSUSA), which helps raise funds for the charity in the United States. Among the many trip highlights, art historian Dr. Evelyn Silber will lead a tour of Glasgow, taking in Charles Rennie Mackintosh's buildings, including the Glasgow School of Art as well as Hill House in Helensburgh, currently the subject of a fundraising appeal.

In the northeast, highlights will include Pitmidden Garden, the Robert Adam-designed Haddo House, pink-turreted Fyvie Castle, and Drum Castle, which now houses a contemporary art gallery.

Craigievar Castle was home to the Forbes
family for over 350 years.

"We are so pleased to offer an exceptional tour to Scotland designed with an American audience in mind, said Kirstin Bridier, executive director of NTSUSA. "This trip combines visits to iconic sites like Edinburgh Castle with behind-the-scenes access at National Trust for Scotland treasures including Haddo House and The Hill House. We can't wait to share the extraordinary beauty and history of Scotland with individuals from the US."

You can find out more HERE.

The Curse of Current Events

Even I am subject to letting my feeling be known when it comes to politics and current events in the news. As are many, I am deeply troubled by the course things have taken since the election of Mr. Trump to our land’s highest office—and I have made mention of it at least once in my TLG Tweets. But I think…only once.

Which is precisely the reason I maintain multiple accounts; most of my gripes and tirades are on my personal account, which is where I focus on other interests like book publishing, advertising, marketing and urban development in the town where I live. Political and personal tweets, as they are, seem to fit in much better there; I don’t feel right subjecting my TLG audience and followers to my political views, even though I expect that, for the most part, their views may be largely sympathetic to my own.

Historic Neighborhood Tours: Goodyear Heights

One of the more gratifying things one can do is to be able to put knowledge to good use, and I was able to do exactly this last weekend as I was able to lead a historic neighborhood tour of Akron’s Goodyear Heights through @Akron2Akron, a local group that helps organized and promote city neighborhood tours in an effort to help residents discover and appreciate the places where they live.

This pedestrian pathway and steps was dedicated to Clara Bingham,  a 47-year Goodyear employee who was popularly knows as "The First Lady of Goodyear."

I won’t go into a lot of detail in this post—there is a downloadable brochure I prepared; a PDF Dropbox link is HERE if you’d like to read more about it. In short, Goodyear Heights is one of the better American examples of the Garden City Movement as it was transformed into a high quality community for industrial employees of Frank Seiberling’s Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Planning began in 1912, when Seiberling used his master landscape designer, Warren Manning (who had already designed the grounds at his landmark Tudor-Revival mansion, Stan Hywet) to layout a small town for his workers.

Ohio Mart at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens October 3-6, 2013

For many, Fall is a favorite time of year, when you're ready for a rich ale, maybe some cool apple cider, or some other tasty treats. It’s also the time of year to visit Ohio Mart, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens’ annual artisan craft fair— held in the beautiful gardens on the Estate.  

Fall colors will be in evidence again this year from Thursday through Sunday, October 3-6, featuring, 120 artisans selling jewelry, handmade textiles, ceramics, sculpture, garden art, photography and more. Ohio Mart Hours are 10am-5pm, Thursday-Saturday; and 10am-4pm on Sunday. Stan Hywet is located at 714 North Portage Path in Akron, Ohio. 

While Ohio Mart always features a great assortment of juried exhibitors, there are a wide range of additional other activities to keep you busy. The Vintage Finds and Curious Goods Sale features the unusual and the collectible. Inside the Manor House, you can experience Inspiration in Bloom, a display of fresh floral arrangements and the Fallscape--lectures/demonstrations on home décor. Both of these activities are available via a Combo Ticket, which includes Ohio Mart and a self-guided Manor House tour.

Ohio Mart tickets: $9 adult, $2 youth (ages 6-17). Combo ticket: $15 for Ohio Mart + self-guided Manor House tour (includes Inspiration in Bloom and Fallfest). Onsite parking is $5. Free off-site parking is available on Saturday & Sunday with complimentary shuttle.