HomeMy Public PortalAbout4. Chapters 7 8 & 9 - Results Data Gaps & ChallengesArchiSearch Historic Pr eservation Consultan ts Plai nfiel d’s Histor ic Urbaniz ed Core: An Intensi ve-Level Survey 59 7. TABULATIO N OF RESULTS The survey of the historic urbanize d core included approximately 499 acr es or 21,733,1 53 square f eet.The survey resulted in 722 survey forms. This represented 197 forms more than the initial project estimate. Most of the properties included at least one outbuildi ng in addi tion to a primary building,thus the estimated total number of historic res ources docu mented as a result of the surve y was approxi mately 1,450.Please refer to the Recommendations section for additional results for e ach recommended historic district.8. DATA GAPS The chief data gap in this survey projec t was the need to contact local history experts. Because of the scope and timing of the project , the emp hasis be came the field work on 720 properties, which left little time to consult local exper ts to the extent t hat would h ave been ideal. “Available Materials”listed in the Request for Proposals for this project include “Plainfie ld Historical Society and Museum”and “Local Volunteers (when possib le),” but this did not mater ialize . “This Ol d Building ,” a form developed as part of this project, in an attempt t o solicit property owner k nowledge of local buildings ,was an unsuccessful attempt to sol icit owner information on buildings. None of the f orm s was returned comple ted.In addition to the e xtr aord inary volunteers and historians at the Plainfield Historical So ciety and Museum, other people throughout the community are knowledgeable of various as p ect s of the community ’s history. When pro perty owner contact was made, this has bee n noted on the survey form, for future use by the Historic Prese rvation Com mis sion. On e signi ficant e xample is Art Countryman on the southwest corner of Center Street at Amboy. He provided useful inf ormation on buildings on Eva ns Stree t being mo ved by h is grandf ather. Mr. Count ryman die d in June 2006.His death is a reminder that we are losing a generation that has a direct con nection with the early history of Plai nfield . The vil lage an d the His torical Societ y may wish to consider conducting oral histories from some of these knowledgeable residents , to build a lasting legacy of their expertise and remembrances.The survey which res ulted is more arc hitectura l in ana lysis and eli gibility assess ments. Additional historic r esearc h may res ult in be tter unde rstanding of the depth of signifi cance f or some of the properties in the vill age.
ArchiSearch Historic Pr eservation Consultan ts Plai nfiel d’s Histor ic Urbaniz ed Core: An Intensi ve-Level Survey 60 9. CHALLENGES The scope and schedule of this survey projec t was trem endous f rom the s tart. Und erstanda bly, the Historic Preserv ation Co mmission sought to have the completed survey f orms at the onset of the ne w construction calend ar. In add ition to the large scope of the project and the leve l of detail desired on the individ ual forms , the unde restimati on of th e numb er of proper ties to be surve yed, with 200 additiona l properties, ha d a tremendo us impact on t he project as well.Perhaps the most surprising difficulty was photography. Commonly, survey photography is affected by seasonal changes, le aves dropping from trees to clear building vie ws, then the popular display of holiday decorations to be immortalized in s urvey photography. Digital camer as are affected b y cold weather, so batterie s require more fre quent rec harging an d cameras occasi onally “freez e.” However the chief photogr aphy pro blem in t his case was not the weath er, but rather the peo ple. Th e prope rty owner and occupant responses were ex treme, be coming do wnright me an at time s. Impor tant to note is that the highly negative resp onses had nothing to do with historic preservation or this survey project specifically. People were si mply an gry that their buildings were being photographed. Owner resp onse had b een quit e mi nimal during the “clipboard phase” of the projec t, when the architectural descriptions were being developed. Conversely, more su rvey handout s were distri buted on one sin gle day of photography than in all other field days total. It was clearly the camera issue. One resident yelled from her car, “Do y ou have PERMISSION to do tha t?!” Keep in mind, that the surveyor remained on the p ublic rig ht-of-wa y at all times. N o permission is needed. An other property owner ac tual ly follo wed the p hotograp her for n early a block, f iring of f a line of ques tions abo ut how the photogra phs would be used an d who would see them. It was quite cle ar that property owners and occupan ts saw the photograph as a infringement on their privac y, perha ps havi ng to do with prop erty taxes. Initially, none of the angry resp ondents even knew what the project was. They were simply responding to a woman with a camera, photographing their house .Traffic was also an issue with regard to photography. Gene rally, buildings photograph better from across the stre et, so as a better an gle on the mass ing and ro of line of the building may be ac hieved.Howeve r, traffic on Division in part icular, and Joliet Road on occ asion, proved t o be so severe, at all times an d days, th at photo graphy f rom acros s the st reet was just not possib le. Because of the huge difference in scope between the urban and rural projects , the contact between the two survey contractors was minimal. Co ntact was limited to discussion of architectural styles and vernacular building type de velop ment, and general report f orm. Nevert heless , contac t was made and an attemp t to coo rdinate wa s achie ved.Lastly, villa ge staff changes in the middle of the field work fo r this project had some impact as w ell.The villa ge was s udde nly in a pos ition of being short staffed and the routine of monthly reporting between the cons ultant an d Histori c Preser vation Commissi on liai son was interrupt ed.