Danville Preservation League

Summit examines the effects of historic preservation on economic growth

By Denice Thibodeau
Register & Bee staff writer
Published: September 13, 2008

About 75 people gathered at the former Main Street United Methodist Church on Saturday for the second annual Preservation Summit, held by the Danville Preservation League.

This year’s theme was “Preservation Pays: Economic Development through Historic Preservation,” discussions focusing on how historic preservation efforts can help bring economic development to communities.

Danville Mayor Sherman Saunders led off the event, talking about the efforts Danville’s leaders have made to preserve the city’s historic integrity while bringing growth to the region.

“Over the past four years, we have accomplished the impossible,” Saunders said. “Through hard work, tenacity and sheer determination, we have transformed several of our historic districts into shining examples of historic preservation.”

Saunders pointed to the redevelopment of the Crossing at the Dan and the Tobacco Warehouse District, as well as the city’s aggressive downtown façade program, as examples of historic preservation successes.

Saunders was followed by Donovan Rypkema of PlaceEconomics, a Washington-based real estate and economic development consulting firm.

Rypkema told the crowd that historic preservation needs to be combined with housing, tourism, economic development and other factors to be a success.

He also pointed out that heritage visitors — those who visit cities and towns to see its historic buildings and places — have an important impact on local economies.

“They visit museums, Civil War battlefields, battle sites,” he said. “They stay longer, visit more places and spend two-and-half times as much as other visitors.”

The church was officially dedicated with a ribbon-cutting led by Saunders. It will be the new home of the Danville Preservation League and other preservation groups, according to member Sarah Latham.  

Local group buys Dan River sign

By DENICE THIBODEAU

Register & Bee staff writer

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

The Dan River sign that has been disappearing, letter by letter, from Danville’s skyline this week will be staying here, local preservationist Carla Minosh said Wednesday.

Minosh said she spearheaded a group of individuals who purchased the sign from a Maine-based antiques dealer, who had purchased it from Dan River Inc. and began taking it down from atop the White Mill building this week.

“He understood how much so many of us wanted this piece of our history to stay in Danville,” Minosh said.

She said the group paid $20,000 for the letters, but did not purchase the metal structure they were mounted on, which has deteriorated too much to be reused.

Minosh said the group hopes the sign ultimately finds its way into the hands of the Danville Preservation League or the Danville Historical Society.

In the meantime, it will go into storage.

“We plan to hold it in safe keeping until permanent plans for restoration and a final home can be made,” Minosh said.

She said the group will look into having historical preservation easements put on the letters to prevent any future owners from taking them out of Danville.

“They will always stay in Danville,” Minosh said, adding that future announcements would be made as the group finalized its plans.

Minosh said that more than six months ago, the Danville Historical Society was in talks with Dan River Inc. to purchase the sign, but talks ended when Dan River’s legal department cut them short.

“We need the public to understand that DHS was not sitting on their hands,” Minosh said. “Until now, it was not known by preservation groups that the sign had been sold.”

Some sad, some glad as sign fades away

By DENICE THIBODEAU

Register & Bee staff writer

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

The letters in “HOME OF” were taken down Monday; the “D” and “A” in “DAN” vanished Tuesday - slowly but surely, the sign that has represented Dan River Inc. and Danville for generations is disappearing from the skyline.

Anyone who hoped repairs were being made, or that some other explanation was responsible for the disappearing letters on top of the White Mill building, has become resigned to the fact that the sign is going for good.

Danville Deputy City Manager Lyle Lacy said he believes the sign, which read “HOME OF DAN RIVER FABRICS,” was sold quite some time ago to a man named John Norton.

When asked where Norton was from, or what the sign’s ultimate fate would be, Lacy said, “The answers you need are in this guy’s head.”

Catching the activity at the site is hit-or-miss.

On Monday, two men arrived in vehicles that had no company name on them. They climbed the sign’s frame - wearing no hardhats, though they did look like they had safety straps attached to the framework - and lowered letters with a rope and pulley.

A crane was at the site Tuesday morning, but by mid-afternoon it was gone. It is still uncertain what company is taking care of removing the sign - the workers’ vehicles do not have a company name on them, and they are working behind locked gates protected by “No Trespassing” signs and a security guard.

No permits were needed to remove the letters, according to Kim Baldridge, the city’s permit clerk. Baldridge said the new owner would need to file for a permit if he planned on removing anything structural, such as the frame the letters are attached to.

Reactions of Danvillians, near and far, have been mixed.

“I was saddened to hear of this (from a friend’s mother who still lives in Danville). My parents were born and raised in Danville and the town was a big part of my growing up years,” said Mary Van Horn of Colorado Springs, Colo. “My grandfather was a supervisor in the mill and stayed behind in World War II for the production of military-issued items. My grandparents lived on Park Avenue and at night we slept to the sounds of the mill and the whistle and the lights glowing in the upstairs window from the mill. It is a sad day to see the sign come down. We will hold many memories in our hearts.”

Lisa Reynolds, co-owner of In Good Taste on Main Street, said she is glad someone bought the sign, or at least the letters.

“It was part of Danville history and I didn’t like that they left it mangled and twisted,” she said. “It seemed to symbolize that overseas had won the war - made in America means squat now. It’s hard, but you have to let go of the past to let the future in.”

James Shaw of Richmond said he had a strong connection to the sign and Dan River.

“I was born in Danville and lived in Schoolfield, where I went to school and graduated from high school in 1944. Both of my parents worked for Dan River,” he said. “I later moved to Richmond and have been here 51 years. My wife and children have made many trips to Danville to visit their grandparents since 1956. The first thing we saw, driving down the hill on (U.S.) 58 towards Fall Creek, was the Dan River sign. It will be sorely missed, as well as the buildings that (were) Dan River.”

Danville resident Barbara Stancil was upset about the sign’s removal.

“I think it’s terrible to take it down. It’s an icon!” she said.

“It’s tore up; it serves no purpose,” said Marie Farris, of Marie Farris Photography on Main Street.

Farris said she appreciates old buildings, opening her arms wide to indicate her restored downtown location, but said sometimes restoration isn’t economically sensible.

“Sometimes you have to move on,” Farris said.

Letter by letter, sign coming down

Danville Register and Bee

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

The sign "Home of Dan River Fabrics" atop the white mill building continues to come down this afternoon.

City officials say a permit was not needed to take down the letters. A permit would be necessary to remove the structural framework for the sign.

Deputy City Manager Lyle Lacy said the sign was sold to a private individual, but Lacy does not know what the individual plans to do with the sign.

Read Wednesday's edition for local reaction.

Home of Dan River sign comes down

By DENICE THIBODEAU

Register & Bee staff writer

Monday, October 1, 2007

Two men take down letters from the "Home of Dan River Fabrics" sign Monday on the roof of the former Riverside 8 Cotton Mill building on Memorial Drive. Richard T. Davis (Register & Bee)

Since 1948, the “Home of Dan River Fabrics” sign atop the Riverside 8 Cotton Mill was a beacon to travelers coming into Danville - then the plant closed in 1997, and an August 2004 tornado twisted the “D” in “Dan” into an unrecognizable mess. The welcoming glow of the sign was merely a memory.

Now it appears the landmark’s days are numbered. On Monday afternoon, two men climbed the wire frame holding the sign up and took down, one by one, the letters in “Home of.”

No one seems to know what’s happening to the sign.

“That’s news to me,” Sherman Saunders, vice mayor of Danville, said when asked if the sign was being taken down.

Mayor Wayne Williams also said he was unaware the sign was coming down, but said he didn’t think Dan River Inc. would have to inform the city of their intention to remove the sign because it’s on private property.

It would, however, have been an appreciated courtesy if city were informed, Williams admitted.

City Manager Jerry Gwaltney and Deputy City Manager Lyle Lacy could not be reached for comment, and Calvin Barnhardt, the vice president of human resources for Dan River Inc., said he was unaware of the project.

“I heard a rumor a week or so ago that the sign was being sold for salvage,” Sarah Latham, of the Danville Preservation League, said Monday. “Then I was told it was only a rumor. I’m really taken by surprise. It’s a real pity that another meaningful and historical site appears to be disappearing.”

Residents who were at the Riverwalk Trail on Monday afternoon also were not pleased about news that the sign appears to be coming down.

“I don’t know who’s running this show, but they’re messing up,” said Claude Carter, who said he has lived in Danville for eight years, but traveled through the city his whole life. “I’m from the old school. I don’t think they should fool with the scenery. They should restore the sign, try to keep it.”

James Kates said he lived in Danville on and off for 69 years and misses the welcome he felt when he saw the sign.

“Any way you came into Danville, that was the first light you’d see,” Kates said. “I worked there for about 17 years. I never thought I’d see the day they’d tear that sign down - of course, I never thought I’d see the day the mill would close. The good old days are gone.”

Condominium project wins Virginia development award

From staff reports

Danville Register and Bee

Saturday, September 22, 2007

A new Danville condominium project has been recognized by the Virginia Downtown Development Association.

The Burton Condominiums, a condo project in the Tobacco warehouse district, won the award of excellence for populations under 49,999, according to a news release.  The award was announced by the association Friday.

Anne Moore, community development coordinator for Danville’s Department of Community Development, said the city’s investment in downtown and the warehouse district is paying off.

“We’re confident we’re on the right path,” Moore said Friday.

This is the third time the city of Danville has been honored by the state association for downtown innovations, said Liz Sater, redevelopment assistant.

“We were up against some great competition,” Sater said of the statewide recognition.

Sater said she would have been disappointed had they not won because of the hard work they’ve been doing.

Burton Condominiums were developed by Jerry Peters, who believes developers can cash in on history by using existing structures and remodeling them for other uses.

Construction started on the 29-unit complex in the spring of 2006 and work was completed in January, Moore said.  These top-notch condos range from $129,000 to $249,000, according to the Burton’s Web site.  The average price for a property is $175,000.

The building previously served as the center for Plug & Twist, which was made by Golden Leaf in Southside.

Preservation summit draws a crowd

By DENICE THIBODEAU

Register & Bee staff writer

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Prioritizing, implementing and funding preservation projects were among the topics discussed at the first Danville Preservation Summit on Saturday at Sacred Spaces on Jefferson Avenue.

During the morning, speakers from Danville City Council, APVA-Preservation Virginia, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources gave participants insights into various approaches that can be used for implementing successful preservation projects.

Adam Tomer, Danville City Council member, praised the strides taken so far in Danville, and said there is always more to do.

“Oftentimes, with historic preservation, it’s reactive - we wait until right before the ball’s going to literally hit the building, or the bricks come down, and we have a rally or we sign petitions,” Tomer said. “Meetings like today, it’s about being proactive … go into the meetings, come up with plans, present them to City Council … we’re on the right path, we’ve just got to keep it up.”

Tomer recommended focusing on getting elected officials behind the plans, having plans for raising money to complete the projects and having active citizens involved in the projects.

Louis Malon, of APVA-Preservation Virginia, talked about the benefits of historic preservation in communities, and how it helps connect the community to its past and future.

“My first task is to dispel the notion that historical preservation is about the stately homes of long-dead great white men,” Malon said. “Preservation is about a sense of place, valuing the building and landscapes that define your life. It’s about your house, the house next door and the church up the street, the market down at the corner.”

To feel connected to one’s community, he recommends taking walks through your own neighborhood and patronizing local businesses, and said creative thinking is key to making use of the resources in communities, to think of adaptive uses of historic building for purposes not originally intended.

“Perhaps nowhere do you have better opportunities or potential (for adaptive use of buildings) than here in Danville. You already have condominiums in tobacco warehouses, museums in train stations and restaurants in formerly residential buildings,” Malon said. “It’s up to you to be the agents of change in mentality so that you can be agents of preservation in your community.”

Robert Nieweg, of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, stressed how historic preservation can have an economic impact on communities, and its downtown key to business recruitment and business retention.

“Downtown is the historic center of the community and it is vital to the economic well-being of the community,” Nieweg said.

Nieweg highly recommended that any preservationist read “The Economics of Historical Preservation,” by Donovan Rypkema. He said the book gives facts and figures on how restoration helps in all areas of a community - pointing out, for instance, that one abandoned, rundown home can bring the values of its neighboring homes down by as much as 30 percent.

Nieweg said preservationists must cultivate allies and learn know how to talk about and understand the bottom line to be successful.

Kathleen Kilpatrick, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, had four practical suggestions for preservationists:

• Build a sustainable organization
• Be positive
• Keep your eye on the prize
• Become a resource for the city

She also said historical preservation had spiritual benefits to communities as well.

“It is the history in our communities, right next door, around the corner, that serves us as communities and serves us, in a very real way, spiritually, because it reminds us in a daily way that we are part of something larger,” Kilpatrick said. “It gives us a sense of orientation, a sense of pride, a sense of responsibility. Those are the things that make up citizenship … no community can exist without it.”

Anne Moore, community development coordinator for Danville’s Department of Community Development, showed a short movie that showed how much the city has done over the past four years, spending $54 million in restoring and renovating downtown, the tobacco district and other areas of Danville.

Burton Condominiums developer Jerry Peters talked about how developers can cash in on history by using existing structures and remodeling them for other uses.

The summit then broke up into smaller seminars, followed by task force workgroup sessions.

For more information on participating in projects the Danville Preservation League is working on, visit www.preservedanville.com.

Historical Society honors restoration work

By KYLE TAYLOR

Register & Bee staff writer

August 21, 2007

As it continues to promote preservation, the Danville Historical Society has recognized people who have helped restore property throughout the city.

The society presented awards at its annual meeting, which took place Monday night at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History.

Local residents were presented plaques for their dedication to restoring houses along Green Street and Main Street. They also were honored for raising consciousness about historic preservation and for their continued commitment to community renaissance. Award recipients included Carla Minosh, Dan and Sarah Latham, Eleanor and Hilton Douglas, and Laura and Fred Meder.

Awards were not only presented to people. Two projects were recognized by the Historical Society - the enhancements to the Crossing at the Dan and the Perkinson Rose Garden at the museum.

The Danville Science Center and the Danville Department of Community Development were presented plaques for the Crossing at the Dan improvements. James W. Perkinson, the Garden Club of Danville and the museum were honored for the Perkinson Rose Garden.

The Historical Society does not give out awards regularly - the last time the group handed out awards was in 2005.

Fred Meder said he and his wife’s love for old houses led to them buying and reconstructing a lot of the historical property in the city.

“Whatever city or country we go to, we like to see old houses,” Meder said. “It’s a lot of heritage here and a lot of beautiful homes.”

The Meders have restored four houses and planted 31 trees along Green Street.

A brief election also was held before the awards ceremony. The Historical Society welcomed in new officers, including Rose Shields who will succeed Bill Trakas as president.

Trakas said the Historical Society plans to continue working on protecting the Long Mill buildings from demolition.

Lasting Thoughts

It’s All About Presentation...England, Scotland, Danville

Evince
by Joyce Wilburn

Would you travel 3,939 miles to see the outside of a house, watch workers at shift change, ride a boat down a river or eat the heads, fins and guts of a plate full of fish? No? Let me rephrase.

Would you travel 3,939 miles to see Buckingham Palace, watch the Changing of the Guard, cruise the Thames River and eat an appetizer that is loved by many Englishmen? Yes!

These questions were asked of me by a fellow tourist while we waited with several hundred others to see the Changing of the Guard near Buckingham Palace on the very pleasant first day of summer in London, England.  We laughed about how ridiculous it sounds when events and places are stripped of promotional dress and viewed as what they are. As our conversation continued, my thoughts flew back to Danville and the message that this stranger had for our local decision-makers.  Its all about presentation she said and how any given city can create what potential money-bearing tourists want to see and buy.

I and thousands of others are living proof that considerable time, money, and energy is spent order to see and learn how others currently live and work and how they survived in times past.  This idea popped into mind as I traveled by train to visit a tartan weaving mill in Edinburgh, Scotland.  On seeing the medium-sized, multilevel building, my first impression was how much it looked like a miniature Dan River Mills!

Despite the cold, rainy, windy weather, tourists queued up at the Geoffrey Tailor Tartan Weaving Mill to choose different colors of yarn to be woven into a custom-made Kilt starting at $800 each.  But that s not all.  Yarn products and souvenirs available for sale lined the perimeter of the building on three floors and the center of each floor was open for visitors to view the material-making process from above or on ground level. It was an educational opportunity in addition to being a shopping Mecca.

Fortunately, my husband decided against ordering a kilt and we saved our money for the hundreds of little shops and restaurants that line the Royal Mile between the mill next to Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Strolling along, I couldn’t help but think how Danville has everything I had traveled thousands of miles to see.  It just needs the help of influential decision-makers to develop and promote it.
We have small castles along Main Street, in Forest Gills, and in Dan’s Hill.  We have the equivalent of a royal mile (or a few blocks, at least) on Millionaires’ Row, a rich tobacco and textile history worthy of a museum and working exhibition, a scenic river, and distinctly Danville dishes.  (How about Danville’s Midtown Chicken Salad as a signature dish?)

The last place I rushed to see and capture on my camera before hopping onto the final bus back to the hotel was the former home of Lady Nancy Langhorne Astor in London’s St. James Square.  The house, included in Fodor’s London’s 25 Best book because she was the first woman to serve in the British House of Commons, is a frequent destination for tourists. Danville has that too!  The white two-story house at 117 Broad Street is Lady Astor’s birthplace and is marked with an historical sign, which reminds visitors that the Gibson Girl, the personification of the 1900s American feminine ideal, lived here also.

We have it all in Danville. Now it’s time to look beyond what has always been and to see the potential for what we might become.  The winds of change are blowing and producing a powerful energy that will create a very different city.  The direction that change will take is still being decided.  Therefore, it’s essential that during this period of transition we all take a fresh look at the natural and historical resources we have.  Don’t look with your eyes.  Look with your imagination.  Talk to your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, your family, and anyone who will listen.  And then call, write, or email the people who are making the decisions about our city’s future.  Tell them your vision for the city.

England has its fictional Mary Poppins who brought drastic changes into a stuffy turn-of-the-century household.  Now Danville needs someone like her to bring a breath of fresh air into our 21st century hometown.  Let’s all collectively accept the challenge.

What will the future hold?

Danville Register & Bee
To the editor:

I also do not believe Dan River’s 125th anniversary was any reason for Danville to celebrate. I have my doubts that Danville will be a part of Dan River’s future.

But I understand that Dan River Inc. and its employees would celebrate the anniversary. In honor of that outstanding accomplishment, perhaps Dan River will repair its sign proclaiming Danville as the “Home of Dan River Fabrics.”

I’m happy for the employees who remain here, and even more so for others who have been invited back because their overseas replacements were unable to perform their duties with the same expertise and efficiency. It is indeed true that Dan River operates three distribution centers here. I only wish they were staffed by Dan River employees instead of outsourced by an out-of-state company.

Provided Dan River can “make ends meet” - and the recent letter writers are correct - Dan River’s future will be in Danville. Perhaps the new owners would also like to invest in Danville’s future and restore the White Mill. Renting it out as office and restaurant space might be a better moneymaker than selling it.

That won’t make up for losing the Schoolfield Recreation Center. That was a devastating loss. Please know, however, that some citizens did “open wallets and roll up their sleeves to save a building,” which would have been used by the community, benefiting many and preserving a special part of our history as well.

But since our own vice mayor actually praises CVS for “continuing that tradition” of the recreation center, and CVS seems to think a corner plaque “preserves history,” it’s hard to imagine what the future holds for Danville’s historical heritage.

DONNA SCHWEIGER
Danville

Group trying to save old mill buildings

By SUSAN ELZEY

Register & Bee staff writer

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Although the Schoolfield Preservation Committee was not successful in its efforts to save the Schoolfield Recreation Center from demolition, its members have reorganized to try to save other historic buildings in the community.

“After the loss of the recreation center, several of us got together and felt like we had to do something,” Jim Hyler, chairman of the original group, said Wednesday, “so we formed a new nonprofit corporation called the Schoolfield Preservation Foundation.

“Our mission is to undertake programs to preserve the history of the Schoolfield village and all that goes with that.”

He said the members hope to work with the owners of the Schoolfield Mill buildings to save as many of the buildings as possible.

Old Mississippi Brick & Heart Pine Co. in Crystal Springs, Miss., has been on site deconstructing the Schoolfield Mill buildings.

David Kleier, the real estate and development manager with the company, said the preservationists have spoken with him, but called the process a “work in progress.”

“Yes, we have talked and would like to be sensitive to what the group is trying to accomplish in preserving as much of Schoolfield as possible,” Kleier said. “However, that is predicated upon what makes economic sense to the overall project.”

Old Mississippi Brick is currently working with the Dewberry engineering firm to put together a master plan for what the company is trying to accomplish, Kleier said.

“We have not made any commitment as to what buildings will be saved,” he said.

Hyler said there are several obstacles to the foundation’s mission.

“Funding is a big issue, and we are asking the public and corporations for funding,” he said. “We also need capable personnel who are available to help sustain the operation.”

Hyler said the group is especially looking for younger members since many of the seven founding members are older.

“We want to expand the board to 15, with people who can help us,” he said. “Even at our stage in life, we felt strongly that we had to do something or the Schoolfield way of life will disappear. We don’t want to look back and say, ‘How could we have let that happen?’”

Long Mill hearing postponed

Danville Register and Bee

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The city’s request for a declaratory judgment in the Long Mill case that was scheduled to be heard this afternoon has been postponed. There is no word on when it will be held.