Uncovering Your Hidden Gems Photo Contest Winners

At PHW’s Annual Meeting yesterday, we finalized and announced the winners for the 2012 Uncovering Your Hidden Gems Photo Contest. At the end of the contest, we had almost 80 photos submitted. The PHW judging panel narrowed this to six top winners.

Sharing third place honors:
Michael Foreman, Hollingsworth Cemetery
William Henkel, Shutter Locks at 316 W. Boscawen St.
Karen Oleksa, Time and Place in Winchester, Old Court House Civil War Museum
Christy Oseth with two photos, Abrams Delight and First Presbyterian Church

In second place:
Jenny Brockwell with two photos, the dome of Handley Library and the spiral staircase descent at Handley Library

The top honors for PHW’s choice for an outstanding photo is:
Bill Jarvis, Tying History Together Through Architecture, a view of Christ Episcopal Church through the stained glass window at Parish Hall.

Judging was very difficult based on the quality and variety of entries we received, and to that end, the Old Town Development Board and PHW have pooled resources to provide honorable mention prizes for the other contestants. If you entered a photo, you can expect a small gift to arrive shortly.

Thank you again to all the entrants for sharing your vision of Winchester, and to our prize donors EBS Gallery, One Upon a Find, Total Image and Workingman’s Store, and Winchester Parking Authority for helping us reward the contestants. This was truly a special contest!

See the album of top entries on Picasa.

Construction of the Winchester Towers

A series of photographs were tucked in a long-forgotten album at the PHW office. When closely examined, they yielded a surprising discovery — a sequential look at the demolition of the Greek Revival style house and new construction at 200 North Cameron Street for the Darlington Motor Inn, better known today as the Winchester Towers.

Cameron, or Market, Street was once a mixed residential and commercial area and once sported homes and many classic commercial Italianate buildings in the locations where we now see parking lots and Modern construction. These images highlight the changes in Winchester that fostered the formation of PHW and our ongoing efforts to educate the public on the value in these older buildings on the streetscape. Can you imagine this home being replaced with the Winchester Towers today?


View the Album on Picassa.

Images from the British Embassy and Lafayette Square Tour, 1979

These images of a 1979 bus tour to Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., including the Decatur House were discovered on some long-neglected slides at the PHW office. While a guest list from this trip is in existence, we need your help pairing up faces to names. Take a look at let us know if you can identify some of the members!

View the album on Picasa.

PHW’s 48th Annual Meeting on June 10

It is almost time to close our fiscal year at PHW, and the Annual Meeting is our chance to reflect on the past year and look forward to the next with the membership. This year’s Annual Meeting will be held in the Old Post Office at 40 West Piccadilly Street, now the home of New Lifestyles and the Coffee Cellar. The business portion of the meeting begins at 2 p.m. and covers the state of PHW, election of officers and board members, presentation of the 2012 PHW preservation awards, and the announcement of winners from the “Uncovering Your Hidden Gems” architectural photo contest.

Following the meeting, Dr. Kenneth L. Cuave of New Lifestyles will open this impressive building to PHW members for a tour from the basement to the attic, revealing the structure’s changing uses as a post office, a stock-brokerage, a restaurant, a bank, an art gallery, a bridal shop, and the offices of New Lifestyles and the Coffee Cellar. As an alternative to the tour, a light reception will also be held in the Coffee Cellar following the meeting.

Are you a PHW member? If not, you can join today and make the Old Post Office the first of many PHW events you attend! More information on membership to PHW is available at www.phwi.org/join.php.


Membership




150th Anniversary of Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign Events

A number of events commemorating the 150th Anniversary of Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign will be taking place in our area from May 24 to June 9. Here’s a rundown of the events:

  • May 24, 2012: “150 Years Ago…On This Day” Tour – The Running Fight on the Valley Pike (Middletown) – Presented by Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
  • May 25, 2012: “150 Years Ago…On This Day” Tour – The First Battle of Winchester (Winchester)
  • May 25, 2012: “History at Sunset” – The First Battle of Winchester (Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester) – Presented by the MSV and Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
  • May 27, 2012: Clarke County Memorial Day Service (Berryville)
  • June 9-10, 2012: Reenactment of Cross Key and Port Republic (Cedar Creek Battlefield, Middletown) – Presented by the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation.

In addition, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation’s major regional event, “If This Valley is Lost”: Preserving the Legacy of Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign, will be held in Cross Keys on June 9.

Visit Shenandoah at War for the full list of events related to Jackson’s Valley Campaign.

Commercial Winchester, 1974

While going through our old educational materials at the office, we came across a collection of commercial building photographs dated January 1974. Take a look to see some stores that are now long gone, buildings and streetscapes that have been altered almost past recognition, and even spot some stores that are still in business at the same location! (Keep a sharp eye out for the Taylor Hotel, hiding under the McCrory’s facade treatment.)


Visit the album on Picasa.

Images from Helping Homeowners

Work is progressing at our first facade improvement project house, 134 E. Leicester St. PHW started our association with the homeowner several years ago for Day of Caring. We are thrilled that our successful fundraisers this spring enabled us to give back a bit more to this deserving project. Images of the project can be seen at our Facebook page.

PHW is still accepting donations and volunteers for the program. Donations can be made at the PHW website via PayPal or via mail to PHW at 530 Amherst St. Winchester, VA 22601. Persons interested in volunteering, please contact Nancy Murphy at nvmurphy556@gmail.com.

Apple Blossom Reminder

As usual, the PHW office will be closed on Friday for Apple Blossom. While you are out and about enjoying the Bloom in Winchester, remember to bring your cameras and look for some interesting architectural details to submit to our Uncovering Your Hidden Gems photo contest. The Old Town Midway and the parade routes pass through our historic district, so you’re sure to see something neat for the contest this weekend!

This vintage postcard, along with several other Apple Blossom-themed cards from the Shenandoah Valley and beyond, is for sale at CardCow.com.

Uncovering Your Hidden Gems

PHW Announces a Photo Contest to Celebrate National Preservation Month

Last year for National Preservation Month, Preservation of Historic Winchester (PHW) and the Old Town Development Board (OTDB) sponsored an architectural treasure hunt challenging you to find interesting architectural features in our historic district. This year, it’s your turn to wow us with your architectural finds and maybe win a little something, too!

Below are the core rules:

How to Play
1. Take a picture of an interesting architectural detail in your home or visible from a public right of way in Winchester or Frederick County. Anything is fair game — a mantel, staircase, lock set, a window, trim, or something else.
2. Give your photo a brief caption to describe what you found and where it is. No technical terminology required!
3. Fill out the contact information (name, address, telephone number, and optionally e-mail) and include it with your entry.
4. Send your complete entry (photo, caption, and contact information) to PHW at phwi@verizon.net or 530 Amherst St. Winchester, VA 22601.
5. The contest runs from May 1 to June 1, 2012.

How to Win
1. Every person who submits a photo with complete information will be entered into a random drawing for a chance at one of four prize bags from downtown Winchester businesses. (More prizes may be available.)
2. A panel of PHW judges will also pick a “PHW’s Choice” winner for an outstanding and eye-catching submission.
3. You may submit an unlimited number of entries, but your name will be entered just once for the random drawing.
4. Winners will be announced at the PHW Annual Meeting on June 10, 2012.

Legal information
1. This contest is open to the general public and all age categories. Minors, please have an adult help you with your submission!
2. PHW and OTDB employees, board members, and their immediate families are excluded from the prize drawings.
3. By submitting a complete entry to the contest, you consent to the use of your name and/or photograph in any educational materials, merchandise or publicity carried out or produced by PHW or OTDB without further notice or compensation. In turn, you still retain the rights to use and publish your photograph.

For any questions, please contact us at PHW, (540) 667-3577 or phwi@verizon.net. And remember: have fun!

Maintenance at the Hexagon House

Be careful if you plan to visit the PHW office in the next few days. We are having some maintenance work done to our rear porch, which is our main entrance to the building. We’re down to the joists and a piece of plywood right now!