Saving One Bay Street
Saving One Bay Street
Special | 28m 16sVideo has Closed Captions
SAVING ONE BAY STREET chronicles the rescue and restoration of an endangered building.
SAVING ONE BAY STREET chronicles the remarkable rescue and restoration of an endangered building of historical and local significance in the seaside resort village of Watch Hill in Westerly, Rhode Island. The preservation effort of the circa 1887 Lanphear Livery spanned five years and cost some $6 million.
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Saving One Bay Street is a local public television program presented by Rhode Island PBS
Saving One Bay Street
Saving One Bay Street
Special | 28m 16sVideo has Closed Captions
SAVING ONE BAY STREET chronicles the remarkable rescue and restoration of an endangered building of historical and local significance in the seaside resort village of Watch Hill in Westerly, Rhode Island. The preservation effort of the circa 1887 Lanphear Livery spanned five years and cost some $6 million.
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How to Watch Saving One Bay Street
Saving One Bay Street is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
>>> SUPPORT FOR THIS PROGRAM PROVIDED BY: >>> IT IS JANUARY 2013.
THE DUNES AT THE POINT ARE COVERED WITH SNOW AND THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE WATCH IN THEIR SUMMER HOME ARE MOSTLY GONE.
THE COLD WINTER WINDS ARE BLOWING IN FROM BLOCK ISLAND SOUND.
BUT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ICY HARBOR THE SERENITY OF WINTER IS BEING INTERRUPTED BY THE SOUNDS OF CONSTRUCTION.
THIS SMALL TEAM OF CONTRACTORS AND TRADESMEN ARE WORKING TOGETHER WITH A COMMON MISSION, TO SAVE ONE OF THE VILLAGES INDIVIDUALAL LANDMARK BUILDINGS.
--OF THE VILLAGES ORIGINAL LANDMARK BUILDINGS.
>> WE ARE TAKING A BUILDING THAT SERVED A PURPOSE IN THE COMMUNITY AND GIVING IT NEW PURPOSE AND NEW LIFE THAT WILL BE SUSTAINABLE.
>> THIS BUILDING WAS SET ON PRETTY MUCH A STONE FOUNDATION, WHICH WAS JUST RUBBLE.
SOMEBODY TOOK FIELD STONES AND JUST PUT THEM DOWN AND PUT TIMBERS ON TOP OF IT AND IT WAS HELD TOGETHER AND AT ONE TIME, IT WAS TRUE.
BUT AS TIME WENT ON AND WATER CAME IN AND RESEEDED, IT MOVED DRAMATICALLY AND A LOT OF THE MATERIAL AND THE WOOD BROKE DOWN THROUGH THAT.
>>> THIS STREET IS LITERALLY COMING APART AT THE SEAMS.
STAY HAVE STRIPPED OFF THE SIDING AND EXPOSED ALL OF THE BONES.
>> YOU HAVE TO LIFT IT SO YOU CAN DO THE WORK NECESSARY TO PROVIDE THE STRUCTURAL BASE THAT WE NEED TO BRING THAT BUILDING BACK DOWN ONTO.
>>> STEEL BECAMES ARE TEMPORARILY SUPPORTING--BEAMS ARE TEMPORARILY SUPPORTING THE STRUCTURE AND IT O2 LIFTED INTO THE AIR.
CHAINS AND PULL I WILLS APPLY TENSION TO THE OLD--PULLS APPLY TENSION TO THE OLD WOOD.
>> THEY LIFT THE BUILDING ABOUT EIGHT FEET OFF OF THE GROUND AND THEY STABILIZE THE BUILDING AND THEY REMOVED THE FOUNDATION THAT WAS HERE AND THEY PLACED IN A NEW FOUNDATION OF SHOOTING FOR THE BUILD--OF FOOTING FOR THE BUILDING, WHICH ARE DRIVEN INTO THE GROUND BY CORKSCREWS AND THEY ARE CONCRETE PIECES AND SLABS WITH RE-ENFORCEMENT.
>>> WHEN COMPLETE, THE BUILDING WILL SIT ALMOST TWO FEET HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS ELEVATION.
>> THAT STRUCTURE, I THINK IS CRITICAL TO DOWNTOWN AND TO WATCH HILL.
IT HAS BEEN OUT OF USE FOR A LONG TIME.
BUT, IN THE OLD DAYS IT SERVED MULTIPLE PRACTICAL FUNCTIONS AND I THINK IT CAN AGAIN.
IT IS AN IMPORTANT GATEWAY SIGNATURE BUILDING THAT NEEDS RESTORED AND THAT IS WHAT WE ARE DOING.
BUT I ALSO THINK IT CAN RETURN TO HAVE A TRUE COMMUNITY PRACTICAL FUNCTION FOR OPEN SPACE, I CAN VISUALIZE A THEATER, JUST A SORT OF MULTIPURPOSE FUNCTION TO BENEFIT EVERYONE.
>>> WATCH HILL IS LOCATED IN THE SOUTHWESTERN CORNER OF RHODE ISLAND IN THE COUNTY OF WESTERLY.
IT IS NEW ENGLAND SEASIDE VILLAGE THAT HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME.
IT IS A PLACE THAT IS PROUD OF THE RICH HISTORY AND WHERE MEMORIES WASH OVER US ALL LIKE THE WAVES OF THE SAND ON NAPA TREE POINT.
IN THE DECADES FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR, WATCH HILL WAS EVOLVING, HOTELS AND COTTAGES WERE ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE AND WITH THEM CAME A FLURRY OF BUSINESSES TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY.
IN 1887 A FORMER, HENRY CLINTON WAS WATCHING THE AREA TRANSITION FROM FARMING TO A SUMMER COLONY.
HE SAW AN OPPORTUNITY AND OPENED A LIVERY STABLE ON BAY STREET.
>> AT THAT TIME THERE WERE ALL OF THE HOTELS THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, THRIVING AND THERE WAS A NEED FOR TRANSPORTATION FOR THESE PEOPLE WHO CAME BY STEAMER OR TRAIN.
SO I THINK THAT IS WHERE HE PATROL SAW THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE IT AS A BUSINESS.
>>> HORSES WERE KEPT IN THE LIVERY ALONG WITH CARJACKS WHO WERE USED BY MANY AGAINSTS WHO STAYED IN THE LOW TOLL--MANY GUESTS WHO STAYED IN THE LOCAL HOTELS.
IT OPENED IN JUNE OF 1887.
AS THE SUMMER POPULATION CONTINUED TO GROW SO, DID THE BUSINESS.
THE SECOND BUILDING WAS MOVED TO THE PROPERTY AND THEN CONNECTED TO THE ORIGINAL STABLES TO ENLARGE THE FACILITY.
>> YOU COULD RENT A BUGGY, YOU COULD RENT HORSES, AND A WAGON, OR YOU CAN RENT, YOU KNOW, A CARRIAGE OF SOME SORT TO GO AND TRAVEL AROUND THIS AREA IF YOU CAME HERE TO STAY IN THE HOTEL.
>>> IN 1904, CLINTON'S SON FREDERICK TOOK THE REINS AND RAN THE LIVERY STABLE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GEORGE.
BY THIS TIME, THE BUILDING WAS NOT ONLY USED TO HOUSE HORSES AND CARRIAGES, BUT ALSO THE GROOMSMEN WHO CARED FOR THEM.
CHARLES, WHOSE FAMILY WOULD LATER OWN THE PROPERTY, DISKIES PIECES OF THE--DESCRIBES PIECES OF THE ERA THAT REMAINS TODAY.
>> THE HORSES WERE ON THE FIRST FLOOR, YOU CAN SEE THE STALLS.
AND THEN THE CARRIAGES WERE ON THE ELEVATOR AND YOU PULLED IT UP BY HAND TO THE SECOND FLOOR.
>> WHEN MY UNCLES AND MY DAD WERE THERE, IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE AGE OF HORSE AND BUGGIES, THEY WERE BEING PHASED OUT AND EVERYTHING WAS AUTOMOBILES.
>>> AS YOU LOOK AHEAD AND SEE THE HARBOR, THAT IS THE BEGINNING OF THE VILLAGE.
AND THAT IS WHERE, WHEN YOU ARE IN FRONT OF THE GARAGE, YOU ARE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE VILLAGE.
>>> ROOMS WERE OPENED ON THE UPPER LEVEL FOR CHAUFFEURS AND THEIR FAMILIES TO STAY AT THE GARAGE, JUST LIKE THEIR CARS DID.
>> IT WAS A PLACE FOR THE CHAUFFEURS TO HANG OUT AND SPEND THE DAY PLAYING CARDS, WAITING FOR THAT CALL TO GO PICK SOMEBODY UP.
IT WAS PROBABLY THERE, YOU KNOW, THEIR LITTLE BIT OF A PLACE WHEN THEY WERE NOT WORKING DOWN THERE.
>> Reporter: IN LATER YEARS, THE ROOMS WERE USED FOR STAFF HOUSING FOR THE LOCAL HOTELS AND COTTAGES.
AS WORLD WAR I I ROLLED IN, A BAN ON PLEASURE DRIVING WAS IMPOSED TO CONSERVE GASOLINE AND RUBBER.
WATCH HILL WAS NO EXCEPTION AND A YOUNG MAN, WILLIAM, BROUGHT HORSES BACK TO THE AREA.
>> WE USED TO PLAY AROUND UP AT MR. CLARKS FARM ON THE SHORE ROAD AND I HAD WAGON WHEELS TAKE FOR AN OLD SHED--TAKEN FROM AN OLD SHED.
AND THERE WAS A BUGGY AND WE GOT THREE HORSES AND I WOULD TAKE PEOPLE AROUND THE VILLAGE FOR $.75.
IF THEY WANTED AND HOUR RIDE, I COULD GO OUT PLACES IN AND HOUR.
AND THAT WAS THE MAIN PART OF THE BUSINESS.
>>> IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING THE WAR A NEW GENERATION WAS COMING TO WATCH HILL.
IN THE LATE 1950s, THE HOLDER FAMILY, WHO OWNED AN A SERVICE STATION JUST DOWN THE ROAD, PURCHASED THE GARAGE.
>> IT WAS A PIECE OF PROPERTY IN THE BACK WHERE THERE ARE HALLS AND PEOPLE THAT OWN IT TOLD ME A LITTLE STORY ABOUT, WHEN IT WAS A GARAGE, THERE WAS ANOTHER SERVICE FACILITY DOWN THE STREET.
AND SOME PEOPLE WOULD COME HERE AND YOU KNOW HOW EVERYBODY IS, OH, I AM NOT SATISFIED AT THIS BUSINESS AND WHAT THEY DID, I AM GOING TO YOUR COMPETITOR DOWN THE STRE.
WELL, THE SAME FAMILY OWNED BOTH BUSINESSES SO IT WAS UNIQUE.
>> UNDER THE NEW OWNERSHIP, THE GARAGE CONTINUED TO BE A HUB OF ACTIVITY IN THE VILLAGE, AND A GATHERING PLACE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
>> FOR SOME REASON, THE CHAUFFEURS IN THOSE DAYS, WHICH THERE ARE NONE ANYMORE, THERE WERE 200 CHAUFFEURS THERE.
AND THEY USED TO HANG AROUND THE GARAGE, THE CHAUFFEURS.
AND THEY WOULD GET A CALL AT BOTH GARAGES AND THEY WOULD CALL AND SAY A CHAUFFEUR IS COMING DOWN TO PICK UP THE CAR AND MAYBE DUST IT OFF IF IT HAD BEEN SITTING THERE FOR A WEEK OR SO AND THEY DIDN'T USE IT.
>> THEY WERE A MEETING PLACE.
THEY WERE A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WOULD CHECK IN.
THEY KNEW EVERYBODY.
I THINK YOU PICKED UP YOUR PAPERS FROM THEM.
I THINK YOU PICKED UP YOUR GAS FROM THEM AND YOU ALSO PICKED UP YOUR NEWS FROM THEM.
THEY HAD A SERIES OF ROCKING CHAIRS AND SOME OF THEM WERE FULL OF CHARACTERS.
THEY WOULD COME IN, HAVE A LITTLE COFFEE, SIT IN THE ROCKING CHAIRS AND THEY WOULD JUST CHAT WITH JESSE AND THEY KNEW THEY HAD A PLACE TO GO.
>> THE POLICE STOPPED THERE AND HAD COFFEE AND MADE THEIR CALLS.
THERE WAS NO RADIOS IN THE POLICE CARS IN THE EARLY DAYS DOWN THERE.
THEY WOULD CALL FROM THE GARAGE, THEY HAD TO CALL IN EVERY SO OFTEN.
SO WE HAD A LOT OF ACTION GOING ON DOWN THERE.
AND IT ALL RESOLVED AROUND CARS, OF COURSE.
>>> UPSTAIRS ROOMS CONTINUED TO BE AVAILABLE FOR A NEW GROUP OF SUMMER RESIDENCE.
>> WHEN I FIRST CAME TO WATCH HILL, THEY USED TO RENT ROOMS.
AND I REMEMBER RENTING A ROOM.
THEY WERE NOT VERY SHADY.
>> MY MOTHER WAS CALLED ONE SUMMER AND SHE WAS LOOKING FOR A PLACE WHERE THEY COULD STAY TOGETHER.
SHE CALLED MY MOTHER UP AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR MADE AND SHE PAID THAT FLAT FEE FOR THE SUMMER AND ALL VALET AND MEN AND WOMEN COULD STAY THERE.
>> THERE WERE MANY CHANGES OVER THE YEAR AND WEATHERED MANY STORMS.
>> HURRICANE OF '38, THE MOST DRAMATIC FORM WIPED OUT THE POINT, WHICH WAS VERY CLOSE BY, TOTALLY WIPED IT CLEAN OF ALL OF THE SUMMER COTTAGES THAT WERE THERE.
AND FLOODED THE HARBOR, FLOODED WHERE WE ARE NOW.
AND THE BUILDINGS WITHSTOOD ALL OF THAT.
>> IN OCTOBER OF 2012 SUPER STORM SANDY CAME IN AND DAMAGED SEVERAL HISTORIC PROPERTIES ALONG THE COAST.
AS A RESULT, THE RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL COMMISSION AWARDED FEDERAL GRANTS TO REHAB PROTECTED PROPERTIES.
125 YEARS OF STANDING UP TO MOTHER NATURE HAD TAKEN ITS TOLE AND THE OLD GARAGE WAS IN DANGER OF FALLING VICTIM TO DEMOLITION.
>> I THINK THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO NOT LOSE SIGHT OF WHERE WE HAD COME FROM.
>> THE BUILDING WAS SORT OF AT THE END OF ITS LIFE.
AND SO THERE WAS A REAL DESIRE, A REAL NEED THAT PEOPLE EXPRESSED TO SAY THAT TO DO SOMETHING, TO INTERVENE BEFORE IT FELL DOWN.
>> IT WAS AT A POINT TO WHERE IT NEEDS A LOT OF REPAIR.
BUT IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT IS NOT ALIVE.
>> IT IS HISTORIC PRESERVATION BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO SAFE THE HISTORY, BUT WE ARE NOT RESTORING THE BUILDING IN A TECHNICAL WAY.
WE ARE TRYING TO KEEP THE CHARACTER AND THE DEFINING FEATURES H IS BEST--FEATURES, WHICH IS BEST PRACTICE, BUT IT IS REALLY A REHAB, TOO, OF THE SPACE.
WE ARE NOT REALLY USING IT AS A LIVERY STABLE NOW.
IT IS BEING USED AS COMMERCIAL SPACE ON THIS LEVEL AND A PUBLIC SPACE IN THE MIDDLE.
THERE WILL BE RESIDENTIAL SPACES ON THE UPPER FLOORS.
>> THE BUILDING HAD SOME OF THIS USE IN THE PAST.
BUT SOME OF THE USE IS NEW TO THE BUILDING AS WELL.
AND CERTAINLY, NEW TO ITS ORIGINAL DESIGN.
SO IN OUR GROUP, GOING IN THAT DIRECTION IS TO REHAB THE BUILDING FOR NEW USE.
SOME PEOPLE CALL THIS ADAPTIVE USE.
>> I FELT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT WE DO WHATEVER WE COULD TO PRESERVE IT.
>> THIS IS PART OF WHO WE ARE, HOW WE GOT HERE.
SO, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO SAVE ALL OF THAT.
>> DEMOLITION OF AREAS IMPACTED BY THE STORM SURGE INCLUDED SOME INTERIOR WALLS AND AN INTERIOR STAIRCASE.
THAT MADE WAY FOR A PORTION OF THE NEW FOUNDATION TO SHORE UP THE HISTORIC STRUCTURE.
THE PROCESS OF SAVING THE OLD STABLE AND GARAGE HAS BEEN FULL OF SURPRISES AND CHALLENGES, DISCOVERIES, AND DELAYS.
AT EVERY STEP, WORKERS CAREFULLY CATALOGED AND SAVED PIECES OF THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE, EVERY DOOR, EVERY BRICK WAS CAREFULLY PRESERVED AND SET ASIDE IN ORDER THAT IT MIGHT FIND ITS WAY BACK INTO THE STRUCTURE.
THE GOAL IS TO RESTORE THE BUILDING TO ITS ORIGINAL APPEARANCE AND SAVE THE CHARACTER.
>> IT DOES NOT MEAN FREEZING IN TIME.
IT MEANS ALLOWING FOR ADAPTATION AND EVOLUTION AND TO DO THAT IN A GUIDED WAY, IN A MANAGED WAY.
BECAUSE IT IS THE CHARACTER THAT IS NOT DESTROYED.
>> WELL, IT IS A LOT OF FAMILY HISTORY DOWN THERE, YOU KNOW, JUST WHEN YOU THINK BACK, FOUR GENERATIONS OF MY FAMILY ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, WORKED THERE, LIVED THERE.
I WOULD HATE TO SEE IT GET LEVELED AND SOMETHING ELSE GO IN.
>> THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT YOU SEE WHEN YOU COME DOWN BAY STREET AND INTO THIS WATCH HILL AREA.
WHAT BETTER RECEPTION COULD YOU HAVE THAN TO SO COME TO A D,- HAVE THAN TO COME TO A BUILDING WITH SO CH HISTORY IN THIS AREA?
WHY LOSE THAT?
>>> WATCH HILL HAS ALWAYS BEEN WELCOMING TO PEOPLE.
AND I THINK THAT THAT NEEDS TO CONTINUE HERE.
WE TRY TO REACH OUT TO EVERYBODY WHO COMES INTO THIS COMMUNITY AND MAKE THEM FEEL A PART OF A TRADITION WHICH STAY MAY NOT HAVE HAD THEMSELVES, BUT THEY HAVE BASICALLY WALKED INTO.
AND I THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO WORK TOGETHER, OBVIOUSLY THE PROTECTION OF HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
>> I THINK WE SHOULD KEEP THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING.
WHERE DID WE COME FROM?
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING.
I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT.
>> AND I THINK IT IS A GIFT TO JUST THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO BE ABLE TO SEE IT.
>> THE PROCESS OF RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION OFTEN YIELDS HISTORICAL SURPRISES.
>> THERE WAS A BOARD WITH A LIST OF NAMES AND WE DID RECAPTURE THAT AND SAVE IT AND GIVE IT TO THE PROPER PEOPLE TO UTILIZE IT AND TRY TO GAIT WHO THE PEOPLE WERE--TRY TO INVESTIGATE WHO THE PEOPLE WERE.
>> EARLY ON, AN OLD WAGON WAS DISCOVERED HIGH UP IN THE RAFTERS: AND INSIDE A NEAR BY WALL, AN ELEVATOR.
>> IT WAS AMAZING THAT YOU, FIRST OF ALL, WOULD SEE SOMETHING THAT WAS THAT OLD AND WAS USED AT THE TIME FOR WHAT IT WAS USED FOR.
BUT WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE, AND WITH A FINGER, PUT IT ON THE LARGEST GEAR AND ROTATE IT AND IT WOULD ROTATE AS EASILY AS THE DAY IT WAS INSTALLED.
>> WHEN WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE BUILDING, WE ARE BEING STOLED STORIES OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE BUILDING.
YOU KNOW, NOT EVERY TRADES PERSON, OR CRAFTERSMEN BUILDS THE SAME WAY.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO TRACK WHO WAS DOING WHAT AND WHAT THEY WERE DOING AND SIMILARLY, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO DO THE SAME THING IN THE FUTURE.
>> WE SEE ALL OF THE DIFFERENT TIMBERS THROUGH THE BUILDING.
AND I WOULD SAY THEY ARE MORE EXPOSED NOW THAN THEY WERE BEFORE.
>> I AM STANDING RIGHT IN THE OLD STABLE AREA AND THIS POST HERE THAT I AM STANDING NEXT TO IS REALLY THE SIDE OF THE ORIGINAL BARN AND YOU CAN SEE HOW WEATHERED AND WORN THIS SUPPORTING PIECE IS.
WE THINK THAT THIS HAS SUFFERED, OH, HORSES RUBBING AGAINST IT FROM VEHICLES--IT, FROM VEHICLES BEING RUBBED AGAINST IT, AND WE WANTED TO SAVE THAT PATINA, THAT HISTORICAL CHARACTER THAT IS HERE.
WE HAD TO SLICE IN A PIECE TO SUPPORT IT, THE BOTTOM OF IT HAD ROTTED OUT, SO IT NEEDED TO A WHOLE NEW SECTION AT THE BOTTOM TO SUPPORT IT.
>> AND IT IS ALSO ANCHORED WITH THE BRACKETS TO THE CONCRETE FLOOR THAT WE POURED.
THIS IS A WHOLE NEW FLOOR UNDERNEATH HERE THAT IS SUPPORTING THE BUILDING.
>> I HAVE THE RAFTERS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING.
THE WHITE RAFTERS, WHICH ARE HERE, THEY ARE THE ONES THAT WERE ORIGINALLY WERE THE BUILDING.
THOSE ARE THE HISTORIC RAFTERS.
THE RAFTERS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT NEXT TO THEM ARE LUMBER ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE.
SO EACH ONE OF THE RAFTER Z HAD TO BE SISTERED WITH A NEW- -RAFTERS HAD TO BE SISTERED WITH A NEW PIECE OF MATERIAL TO BE UP TO CODE.
YOU WILL SEE A FIELD OF WHITE RAFTERS IF YOU ARE LOOKING DOWN IN THIS DIRECTION.
WELL, THEY TOOK GREAT CARE TO BE SURE THAT THEY PUT ALL OF THE LUMBER ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE SO YOU WILL SEE THAT ROUGH LUMBER.
THAT GOES BACK TO SAVING THE BUILDING AND ALSO TELLING A STORY.
LATER ON, WHEN THIGH GO TO OPEN UP THE CEILING AND THEY SEE WHAT IS GOING ON, THEY WILL IMMEDIATELY ABLE TO SEE, OH, YOU HAVE GOT RAFTERS HERE THAT WERE HISTORIC ON THIS SIDE, AND THEY SISTERED ALL OF THE ONES ON THIS SIDE IN ORDER TO FORTIFY IT.
AND ALSO, THE FASTENERS WERE ALL DONALD TRUMP FROM THIS SIDE OF THE--WERE ALL DRIVEN FROM THIS SIDE OF THE MATERIAL SO YOU ARE SEEING THEM HERE SO YOU KNOW IT WAS PART OF THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING.
>> IN MATERIAL HAS BEEN HERE FOR OVER 100 YEARS AND IT IS STILL VIABLE MATERIAL, IT IS ACTUALLY MORE DENSE THAN THE MATERIAL THAT WE GET NOW A DAYS.
>> WE HAVE GOT GREAT EXAMPLES OF OLD GROWTH WOOD AND NEW WOOD.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT THE NEW WOOD, LOOK AT THE RINGS, THEY ARE SO FAR APART COMPARED WITH THE OLD WOOD.
RIGHT HERE, YOU CAN SEE THE RINGS ARE SO TIGHT.
OF COURSE, THIS IS MORE GROWTH PERIOD, RIGHT?
YOU CAN SAY THAT THIS PIECE OF WOOD IS MUCH NEWER, I MEAN IT IS SORT OF GROWING FAST AND THIS PROBABLY GREW MUCH SLOWER AND THE RINGS ARE VERY TIGHT TOGETHER.
>> SO, WHAT WE ARE SEEING HERE IS INCREDIBLE STRENGTH IN THIS WOOD.
IT IS SO DENSE.
>> THE WOOD IN HERE IS JUST GREAT.
THE WOODS THAT ARE ALL HERE ARE LEFT IN TACT.
THE CRAFTSMAN THAT HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN WORKING ON THE BILLING HAVE BEEN TAKING GREAT CARE NOT TO DISTURB THE MATERIAL THAT IS HERE AND HISTORIC INDITER CUTTING THE OTHERS AROUND TO STABILIZE- -HISTORIC.
AND THEY ARE ACTUALLY CUTTING AROUND THE OTHERS TO STABILIZE.
>> ALL OF THE WINDOWS IN THE STABLE THAT ARE BEHIND ME ARE HISTORIC WINDOWS THAT ARE QUITE OLD.
AND THEN THE WINDOWS ON THE THIRD FLOOR, THEY WERE HERE, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN RE-PLEASE PLACED.
>> --REPLACED.
>> TODAY YOU DO NOT GET A CHANCE TO DO A LOT OF THIS WORK AND IT IS EXCITING.
IT IS CHALLENGING.
AND IT IS PROBABLY SECOND TO NONE.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO BUILD SOMETHING NEW AND SAY THAT WE ARE MOVING ON.
AND THAT IS GREAT.
BUT YOU HAVE TO TAKE A HISTORY ANDA LOT OF THE UNKNOWNS OF OUR HISTORY AND YOU HAVE TO SAVE IT AND BRING IT ALONG.
AN EVERYBODY WHO TALKS ABOUT EVOLUTION OF MANKIND AND WHATNOT, AND IF WE DON'T BRING THIS WITH US, I FEEL THAT THEY ARE FALLING SHORT OF A TRUE EVOLUTION.
>> AFTER THREE YEARS OF PLANNING AND DESIGN, PERMITS, AND DELAYS, AND CONSTRUCTION, THIS IS ONCE AGAIN OPEN TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS.
>> RIGHT NOW WE HAVE STABILIZED THE BUILDING SO THAT IT IS NOT GOING TO DECAY.
IF IT IS MAINTAINED FOR ANOTHER 100 YEARS, THERE WILL NOT BE A PROBLEM.
>> THIS IMPORTANT PIECE OF THE WATCH HILL DISTRICT IS LISTED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC PLACES.
>> IT IS AN OR NOT GATEWAY, SIGNATURE BUILDING THAT NEEDS TO BE RESTORED AND THAT IS WHAT WE ARE DOING.
BUT I ALSO THINK IT CAN RETURN TO HAVE A TRUE COMMUNITY PRACTICAL FUNCTION.
>> ANY TIME 245 SOMEONE CAN DO SOMETHING OF MEANING TO AN OLD STRUCTURE AND BRING IT BACK AND MAKE IT PART OF THE COMMUNITY, THAT, I THINK, IS VERY MEANINGFUL AND PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE JOY AND HAPPINESS OF DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
>> HISTORIC PRESERVATION IS A WAY OF REMINDING US WHERE WE HAVE BEEN AND WITHOUT KNOWING THAT, IT IS DIFFICULT TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING.
EVERY CITY, EVERY TOWN HAS ITS OWN ONE BAY STREET A PLACE THAT IS FULL OF MEMORIES AND STORIES, A PLACE THAT HAS HELPED TO SHAPE AND DEFINE THE COMMUNITY IT IS A PART OF.
AND A PLACE THAT IS A DIRECT LINK TO OUR PAST.
EVERY DAY BUILDERS AN ARCHITECTS FIND THEMSELVES AT A CROSS ROADS, FACED WITH A DECISION TO TEAR DOWN AND START FRESH, OR PRESERVE WHAT IS ALREADY IN PLACE.
>> IT IS ALMOST AN INTANGIBLE KIND OF FEELING THAT WE ALL HAVE ABOUT OLD PLACES THAT WE MAY COME TO ENJOY IN OUR LIVES, IT IS A PART OF OUR LIVES FROM BEGINNING, OR MAYBE SOMETHING NEW IN YOUR LIFE.
BUT WE ARE DRAWN TO THESE PLACES BECAUSE THEY REPRESENT HUMAN CULTURE AND OUR PRESENCE HERE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
>> THE OLD LIVERY STABLE IS ONCE AGAIN STANDING STRONG.
THE ONLY HORSES IN TOWN TODAY ARE THOSE ON THE MARY GO ROUND AT THE OTHER END OF BAY STREET.
NEW RESTORED BUILDING IS ALIFE, WELCOMING VISITORS AND POISED- -IS ALIVE WELCOMING VISITORS AND POISED TO SERVE PEOPLE HERE.
THE PATH TO THIS PLACE IS USUALLY MORE EXPENSIVE BUT THE REWARDS CAN BE MANY FOR THE NEW USERS AND PRICELESS TO THE COMMUNITY.
>> I THINK BUILDINGS ARE THE KIND OF BACKBONE OF ANY COMMUNITY.
AND BUILDINGS SHOULD BE ATTRACTIVE AND THEY SHOULD SERVE A PURPOSE.
>>> SUPPORT FOR THIS P
Saving One Bay Street is a local public television program presented by Rhode Island PBS