Preservation Tech Notes: Restoring Vine Coverage to Historic Buildings
Day KE. 1991. Preservation Tech Notes: Restoring Vine Coverage to Historic Buildings. Cultural Landscape Guidance Documents. ISSN: 0741-9023. National Park Service, Preservation Assistance Division. Washington, D.C.
This Preservation Tech Note provides an example of how the integrity of a historic property can be preserved by restoring vine coverage to historic buildings in a manner that maintains the historic vegetation while also protecting historic buildings. This describes a project at Fairsted, the estate of renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in Brookline, Massachusetts. When Olmsted established his home on the property in 1883, he incorporated elements of picturesque and pastoral styles, such as an abundance of vegetation climbing up stone walls, trees, and buildings. Twining vines helped unify the architecture and landscape, blending the natural and built elements of the landscape. The vines are an important visual and historic feature that reflect Olmsted's design principles. However, they also contributed to the deterioration of the house. This guide describes the potential damage vines can cause. In the example from Fairsted, the National Park Service removed the vines and developed a trellis system based on materials, techniques, and hardware used in New England between 1880 and 1930. The aim was to create new trellis system that: provided the appropriate historic appearance, suited the vine growth characteristics, minimized impacts of the support structures to the historic building facade, and provided access to the building for continued maintenance and preservation. The Tech Note also provides specific project information.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Day, Karen
- Date of Issue
- 1991-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Preservation Assistance Division
- Units
- FRLA
- Keywords
- climbing vegetation, deterioration, Experimental Design, Fairsted, Frederick Law Olmsted, historic construction methods, Historic Vegetation, horticulture, rot, Trellis, vine support, Wisteria