Masonry Magazine March 2006 Page. 28
REDEVELOPMENT
On the National Register of Historic Districts, Fells Point includes many houses and commercial buildings that date from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The oldest house in the present-day Baltimore area has stood since 1765 and is now a museum. Most houses in the neighborhood are brick row-houses, featuring Federal and Georgian architectural styles.
One noteworthy building in the district is the Long House. Robert Long built his home in Fells Point around 1765, in an architectural style better known to the eastern Pennsylvania/Delaware region, than to Maryland. Like so many urban houses of note, the structure fell into disrepair over many generations. Slated for demolition in 1969, the original members of the Preservation Society fought the city and federal government to keep the building standing. The Preservation Society acquired the property in 1975, and painstakingly researched the interior design and architectural elements. Even after a devastating fire in 1999, the Robert Long House was once again restored to colonial splendor.
One way Maryland is helping save its historic areas is through a tax credit. The Heritage Preservation Tax Credit Program, administered by the Maryland Historical Trust, provides Maryland residents and companies income tax credits equal to 20 percent of the qualified capital costs expended in the rehabilitation of a "certified heritage structure."
Many other states are offering similar programs to encourage the preservation, renovation and redevelopment of areas that have fallen into poor conditions and to open new areas for harmonious development near the preservation sites.
Not every renovation area is a historical district, nor does every building bring big sale prices when the work is done. In Brooklyn, N.Y., the Red Hook Housing Project was developed in the early 20th century as low-income housing and is currently being renovated. The 100 buildings in the project are approximately 65 feet high, and the work includes façade repairs and new brickwork and parapet walls. The New York City Housing Authority decided that work like this could be most economically done with the use of mast climbers instead of pipe scaffolding. The contractors doing the renovation are, therefore, using 20 Dunlop mast climbers, allowing quick set up and movement, speeding up the overall redevelopment of the area.
Smyrna, Georgia
FURTHER SOUTH, the city of Smyrna in suburban Atlanta saw that a strong action was needed to save it. The city established a vision, purchased 28 acres of occupied land, and leveraged the development of a library and community center into a town center with private housing, retail
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