The future of Tucson’s historic motel sites
From 13 News: TUCSON, Ariz. – Community members are coming together to save three historic motels on Drachman Street in Tucson.
The Pima Community College Governing Board is seeking input from the community on how to reshape the former Tucson Inn Hotel, the Copper Cactus Inn, and the Frontier Motel.
However, not everyone is on board with the possible changes.
Carlos Lozano is the founder of Vanishing Tucson and he says the former motels are an important part of Tucson’s history.
Renovation Gives the Big Easy’s Dew Drop Inn New Life
In April 2021, the New Orleans city council approved plans to restore the venue. Photo courtesy Studio Kiro
From ENR.com: After suffering from years of lack of maintenance and water intrusion from Hurricane Katrina, the Dew Drop Inn, the legendary New Orleans hotel and nightclub, which once boasted greats like Ray Charles and Little Richard, is finding new life as contractors near completion of a historic renovation before the landmark’s planned opening this fall.
“Historic preservation projects of this magnitude require much planning, time and attention to detail,” says Pat Thomas, project executive at Ryan Gootee General Contractors. “With a deteriorated structure such as this, there was a ton of coordination with the civil and structural engineers and architectural team to make sure that we were rehabilitating the structure properly in conjunction with the historical preservation requirements.”
Miss Bellows Falls Diner slated for purchase, restoration
Miss Bellows Falls Diner Susan Smallheer — Brattleboro Reformer
From the Brattleboro Reformer: BELLOWS FALLS — The iconic Miss Bellows Falls Diner has been awarded a $100,000 historic preservation grant from the Preservation Trust of Vermont, a financial boost to local plans to buy the diner, restore it and reopen it.
A local group, Rockingham for Progress, Inc. has a purchase and sales agreement to buy the 1940s Worcester Lunch Car Co. diner from its owner, part of an ambitious $500,000-plus plan to restore the barrel-roofed diner and reassert its place in the Bellows Falls village dynamic.
Charlie Hunter, a local artist who is a member of Rockingham for Progress, said Monday that a closing on the purchase of the diner from Brian McAllister of Westminster is set for next month.
HGTV to Sell ‘Brady Bunch’ Home for $5.5 Million
Courtesy of Anthony Barcelo
From TheMessenger: The iconic home from classic sitcom The Brady Bunch is on the market — with a few updates from HGTV.
The famous home, located in North Hollywood, Calif., is being sold after the network purchased it in 2018 for $3.5 million. The asking price is now nearly double that — at $5.5 million.
Cincinnati’s American Sign Museum Restores and Showcases Rare, Historic Holiday Inn Sign
The complete Holiday Inn Great Sign. Photo provided by the American Sign Museum
Famous ‘Trolley Graveyard’ Sold to Scrapper
Nearly 60 streetcars from Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston have been stored in the woods near Windber, Pa., since the early 1990s. Photo by Steve Barry
From railfan.com: The largest private collection of trolley cars in the U.S. has been sold to a scrapper. But the torches are reportedly being held in abeyance through the end of the year to provide one last chance for museums or others to obtain parts or cars from the collection at Vintage Electric Streetcar Company in Windber, Pa. The site has become famous on the internet as “the trolley graveyard.”
Starting with the 1992 purchase of 14 PCC cars retired from Boston’s MBTA, Ed Metka took on the task of single-handedly rescuing as many as he could of America’s rapidly vanishing PCC streetcars. Those Boston cars cost just $500 to $1000 each, plus the cost of trucking them to the old Pennsy railcar shop in Windber. In subsequent years, the collection grew to include nearly 60 pieces in conditions ranging from nearly roadworthy to unsalvageable.