I believe our cities and towns have lost a lot of their uniqueness, making it difficult to distinguish between one place and another. Every town has similar big box retailers, food chains, shopping malls, and the like, which eventually turn into vacant areas once suburban sprawl shifts into another direction. Originally every town had something that set them apart from the next town, but as modern times have developed, and with it the advancement of technology, globalization has kicked in full gear and our towns and cities have suffered, turning into mass-produced places.
Tag: Florida
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What Makes the Ramsey-Donnelly Building Worth Saving?
The Ramsey-Donnelly Building was an early addition to the downtown commercial district of Mount Dora (see below) and has played an important role in town as it has been host to many of the area’s integral businesses. The building’s position on the corner of the main thoroughfares through town, both Fifth Avenue and Donnelly Street, has highlighted the building throughout the years and has made it an inviting building that successfully creates a dialogue between the building and the town.
(Photo credit: Mt. Dora, Fla – Nov. 2, 1926. 1926. What To Do In Mount Dora. Web. Apr.-May 2014. )
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Stained Glass Condition Survey: United Church of Christ, Tavares, Florida
For this project I visited the United Church of Christ in Tavares, Florida. It is one of the oldest churches in the area, built in 1888 on donated land from the founder of the town of Tavares. The church retains all of the original stained glass which was installed the same year. I was able to talk with one of the deacons who connected me with a woman who was part of a restoration crew back in the 1980s.
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ACL Railroad Station, Mount Dora, Florida
The Old Mount Dora A.C.L. Railroad Station was originally constructed in 1886 in downtown Mount Dora, Florida. The town would go through about three depots. The third and final depot was built in 1915. It was a one story building, built in the Frame Vernacular architectural style. At that time in history it took about $ 8000 to complete the construction. It was built through the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which primarily served the South, covering distances from Alabama to Florida to Virginia.
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Condition Survey: Simpson Building, Mount Dora, Florida
The Simpson Building is a historic, brick building located in downtown Mount Dora, Florida. Built in 1925 it originally served as a hotel; current day the four storefront spaces on the main level are rented to four different business owners, with each store operating a separate HVAC system. From the exterior, the building appears to have various moisture problems which can be observed through: salt deposits, mold and mildew, rust and stains, cracked window frame, and cracked and missing bricks. The best ways to prevent these moisture problems would be to: clean the exterior walls regularly, investigate the water runoff system and/or instill a properly functioning system, make sure all the window and door frames are repaired and in good condition, and insure that HVAC systems are in proper working condition.
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Condition Survey: The Donnelly House, Mount Dora, Florida
The Donnelly House was built in 1893 in Mount Dora, Florida, by John P. Donnelly, originally of Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Donnelly had moved from Pittsburgh to Mount Dora in 1879 and became the town’s first mayor. This house was built years later and was designed by the architect George Franklin Barber, as a mail order house in the Queen Anne style. He was very famous at the time for his mail order houses which were sent to various towns and cities across the nation. Currently this house is the home of the Mount Dora Lodge No. 238 F&AM, where they host meetings and gatherings of the club.
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Interior Assessment: the Shamrock Building and the Renaissance Building, Mount Dora, Florida
The two buildings documented are the Shamrock Building and the Renaissance Building. Both of these buildings are important in the downtown historic district of Mount Dora, as they were usefully implemented additions to the area. Since their original construction, they have been modified to provide better functionality for their new uses throughout the years. They both retain many fragments of their initial design and character, but mostly on the exterior, with regard to their interiors they have greatly altered.
The Shamrock Building, currently a realtor’s office, was once the former Mount Dora Bank and Trust built in 1925; it was the first and only bank in Mount Dora. The main entrance was formerly on the east facade of the building; but after its change to the Shamrock Building, the entrance was moved to the north facade of the building while the east entrance was filled-in and made to match the surrounding wall. As a bank, the ground floor was filled with a series of teller windows, metal cages, a large vault, and marbled countertops, floors, and wainscoting throughout. The second floor had a secondary vault and a mezzanine floor and office spaces on the third floor, all of which feature wood paneled walls.
After its transition to a realtor’s office, just about every bank related element on the ground floor was removed except portions of the marble flooring and wainscoting. All of the original light fixtures were removed and partitions and cubicles were introduced. The mezzanine and third floor offices were minimally changed. However, in 2008, a tropical storm wreaked havoc on the building, causing serious damage to the interiors. The water damage was so pervasive it damaged the wood paneling on the third floor and second floor mezzanine, and leaked completely through the building to the ground floor. Water damage is still visible on the interior walls of the ground floor. The wood paneled walls of the third floor offices are still in disrepair and a musty smell still permeates the mezzanine and third floor. Despite the damage and the alterations over the years, sections that remain of the original marbled floors and wainscoting are in very good condition.
A similar example is that of the Renaissance Building, which is currently a mixed-use commercial building filled with retail shops, restaurants, bars and office space. It was originally a hotel built in the 1920s, referred to as the Dora Hotel. The hotel functioned until the mid- to late-1970s and once the 1980s hit the building became vacant. It transferred several owners before it was retrofitted to serve as a mixed-use commercial building.
The interior aspects of the building have completely changed as the layout was altered to fit separate retail stores and offices, merge space for restaurants and completely open up the building to the public as a walk-through mall of sorts. The only historicity this building can claim is its slightly altered exterior; as for the interior, compromises have been made, but unfortunately not in favor of the protection and preservation of historic features. In this case, the Shamrock Building, and many buildings found in the historic downtown, the exteriors retain much of their historic integrity, but the interiors have changed too much and lack much of any connection to their former use.
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Mass-Produced Copies and Hyper-Developed Skeletons of Our Once Quaint Towns and Cities
I believe our cities and towns have lost a lot of their uniqueness, making it difficult to distinguish between one place and another. Every town has similar big box retailers, food chains, shopping malls, and the like, which eventually turn into vacant areas once suburban sprawl shifts into another direction. Originally every town had something that set them apart from the next town, but as modern times have developed, and with it the advancement of technology, globalization has kicked in full gear and our towns and cities have suffered, turning into mass-produced places.
There have been efforts through the Main Street Program, and they have been successfully carried out, but not every aspect of a town fits within this program. There are many other aspects of planning that need to be considered. It is already apparent in comparisons from decades before to present day; towns almost shift into one another without much change or consciousness of the transition.
As the Main Street Program focuses solely on the downtown area of a town, the surrounding business and residential community, which supported the downtown originally, is being overlooked as to its importance in the development of that downtown area. Areas that were considered nice residential communities and light commercial zones have been overlooked and essentially forgotten. The economic dynamic that once supported the town has changed; so even though the town is renovated, the economic support is not there to maintain that renovation and this is due in large part to ‘urban sprawl’ (where people have moved out of the downtown areas to be in newer and shinier suburban meccas). There have been a great deal of strip malls and larger stores built into those suburban areas which are now being abandoned because of tax incentives elsewhere and/or a change in the economy.
As much emphasis as has been put on the historic rehabilitations of a few buildings, there should also be consideration for past and present rehabilitation and development. Most developers tend to plow under open areas, trees, older buildings, and anything that might be in their way of projected development. Through the years, this approach has been very prominent and has caused a complete change in the makeup and appearance of the original town.
Examples of this phenomenon can be experienced along interstate corridors linking one metropolitan area to another. An example of this is witnessed in Florida, from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale to Miami. Infrastructure has not historically kept up with the developing areas and consequently retrofitting roadways, traffic patterns, sewage, electric and water, have changed the appearance of ‘quaint’ communities into hyper-developed skeletons. Examples of these ‘skeletons’ can be seen in towns and cities across Florida, such as Tampa, Jacksonville, and Orlando, to name a few. The original flavor of the town has morphed into a conglomerate of mega-roads and multistoried complexes. Towns located along a coastline have often been altered to an unrecognizable state due to the allure of high taxes and high-density complexes. This has greatly changed sleepy tourist destinations into high-priced, glamorous and glitzy tourist marketed meccas devoid of their unique originality.
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Overview of Mount Dora, Florida
The city of Mount Dora, Florida, is an older town that was settled in the late 1800s, and as the majority of the original buildings are still in existence they greatly add to the town’s historical significance. Some of the earliest buildings were erected anywhere from the late 1800s to the early 1900s and although they have changed, many significantly throughout the years, they retain much of their exterior historic integrity and architecturally significant details. The town has experienced a decent share of growth and change as many of the original businesses are long gone and the buildings within the historic downtown commercial zone have been flipped in several attempts to stir about new business opportunities.
There is an active and vocal historic board that ensures any project located downtown, within the historic district or considered historic in any matter, follow strict guidelines and request special permission before changes or alterations can occur. This has been the case in the past to an extent, as most of the historic buildings within the downtown commercial core have all been altered or radically changed on their interiors. Before historic guidelines were into effect, most of the local building owners freely manipulated the interiors of their historic structures without much thought or consideration. Although most of these buildings have been ‘rehabilitated,’ they were not rehabilitated with the idea that the interiors should retain some form of their originality. For example, the interiors of the former Mount Dora Bank & Trust building, which was the first bank in town, was completed transformed to fit a local realtor’s office space. The exterior was slightly altered, but retains much of its original character; unfortunately, this cannot be said for the interior space.
The positive aspect of this occurrence is that the exteriors have been carefully conserved and they are regularly maintained. Therefore, to the average visitor Mount Dora keeps its appearance as a historically, quaint, New England modeled town as the building exteriors retain much of their unique character and charm (Fig. 5, 6). If you consider that the building exteriors have stood the test of time, for the most past, while businesses have come and gone and they have only slightly changed, then it is fair to say that rehabilitation has greatly impacted the area. While several buildings are being utilized, there are many vacancies in town due to overpriced rental rates and therefore a lack of motivation to realize new and different business opportunities. I believe rental rates need to be reconsidered to allow for more potential opportunities to take place and businesses need to be given more thought. Even though the median age is 48, there is a slow growing trend that younger families, originally from the area, are coming back to Mount Dora to raise their new families. As this shift becomes more noticeable, the community’s necessities will inevitably change to meet the demands of newer and younger residents and the downtown area will again face further transitions to stay relevant; hopefully this will happen with careful attention to retain the existing historic charm of the town.
Many of the incentives in Mount Dora, for the rehabilitation efforts, were to maintain a functioning downtown that would be attractive to tourists and remain memorable, adding significantly to the stimulation of the local economy. This economic stimulation has only increased as Mount Dora has set itself on the map for being an arts and crafts community, hosting various art, craft and antique shows and events. These efforts have surely had a positive impact on the local community as many of the buildings downtown have been transformed into restaurants or small retail shops, adding to the commerciality of the town. Through it all, the town retains its charm and likeability, almost in a Mayberry-esque manner.
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What Makes the Ramsey-Donnelly Building Worth Saving?
The Ramsey-Donnelly Building was an early addition to the downtown commercial district of Mount Dora and has played an important role in town as it has been host to many of the area’s integral businesses. The building’s position on the corner of the main thoroughfares through town, both Fifth Avenue and Donnelly Street, has highlighted the building throughout the years and has made it an inviting building that successfully creates a dialogue between the building and the town.
The size of the building makes it one of the larger buildings in town and puts it in the position of having to pull its own weight, in a sense, as the town is comparatively small. The building’s connection with the commercial downtown is aided greatly by the glass façade on Donnelly Street and the wrap-around cast-iron balcony; it successfully opens up the building fabric and detracts from the scale of the building. As well, having multiple spaces with openings and entrances alongside Donnelly Street maintains the ‘main street’ appeal and charm of downtown.
The Ramsey-Donnelly Building fits in well with the surrounding built environment, despite its size, as it is a two-story structure and the buildings in the area range anywhere from one-, two- to three-story structures. The cast-iron balcony that covers the adjacent sidewalk ties in perfectly with many of the covered sidewalks in town that further promote the appeal, character and walkability of the town.
The original building’s landscape was not tied directly to the building, but rather to the city, as they incorporated the older trees within designated green areas between the sidewalks and the streets. Most of those trees were removed and brick planters were added alongside the building and the street on the sidewalk surrounding the building. The planters now hold small plants, shrubs and young trees. The Donnelly Park directly across the street remains intact, for the most part, with regard to the original landscape and trees, which gives an idea of what the past historic landscape might have resembled.