World Monuments Watch
http://wmf.org/html/programs/usanor.html
United States of America
North Family Shaker Site
Once the spiritual and physical center of Shaker society, the village of Mount Lebanon, New York, at its height in 1860, covered some 6,000 acres and had more than 100 buildings. A Christian sect, the Shakers believed in celibate, yet communal, living, eschewing marriage and the traditional family structure. Their communities were self-sufficient and developed new approaches to the design and manufacture of goods based on function, simplicity, and beauty—aesthetics that survive to this day. They were given the moniker "Shaker" after the distinctive ecstatic dances they appear to perform while in prayer.
With the relocation of the last Shakers in 1947, the Mount Lebanon village dwindled to 72 acres and less than 40 structures.
Today, ten buildings comprising the North Family Site are among the few surviving remains of the once vital village, yet they are all in a state of advanced decay. The Great Stone Barn, the largest of its kind in the U.S., fell victim to fire in 1972. Save America’s Treasures recently funded a feasibility study to determine if the site could be preserved and reused as a new home for the Shaker Museum and Library, whose preeminent collection is currently housed on a non-Shaker site nearby. While the redevelopment of the North Family Site has been well conceived, its most pressing need is funding to carry out immediate stabilization of the remaining buildings and to develop a long-term preservation program. These vestigial remains of the Mount Lebanon Shaker community have been on the National Park Service’s List of Endangered Sites since 1993.
For more on the site: www.shakermuseumandlibrary.org/mtleb/mtlebproj.htm or on-line spherical photographs: www.wmf.org/html/programs/NFbarnoutmovie.html
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http://wmf.org/html/programs/usanor.html
United States of America
North Family Shaker Site
Once the spiritual and physical center of Shaker society, the village of Mount Lebanon, New York, at its height in 1860, covered some 6,000 acres and had more than 100 buildings. A Christian sect, the Shakers believed in celibate, yet communal, living, eschewing marriage and the traditional family structure. Their communities were self-sufficient and developed new approaches to the design and manufacture of goods based on function, simplicity, and beauty—aesthetics that survive to this day. They were given the moniker "Shaker" after the distinctive ecstatic dances they appear to perform while in prayer.
With the relocation of the last Shakers in 1947, the Mount Lebanon village dwindled to 72 acres and less than 40 structures.
Today, ten buildings comprising the North Family Site are among the few surviving remains of the once vital village, yet they are all in a state of advanced decay. The Great Stone Barn, the largest of its kind in the U.S., fell victim to fire in 1972. Save America’s Treasures recently funded a feasibility study to determine if the site could be preserved and reused as a new home for the Shaker Museum and Library, whose preeminent collection is currently housed on a non-Shaker site nearby. While the redevelopment of the North Family Site has been well conceived, its most pressing need is funding to carry out immediate stabilization of the remaining buildings and to develop a long-term preservation program. These vestigial remains of the Mount Lebanon Shaker community have been on the National Park Service’s List of Endangered Sites since 1993.
For more on the site: www.shakermuseumandlibrary.org/mtleb/mtlebproj.htm or on-line spherical photographs: www.wmf.org/html/programs/NFbarnoutmovie.html
--
The Design-L list for art and architecture, since 1992...
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To signoff, send mailto:design-l-unsubscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Visit archives: http://lists.psu.edu/archives/design-l.html
