PRESENTER
Katie Totman, Historic Preservation Officer
SUBJECT:
Case HST25-393: Discuss and Consider a Certificate of Alteration to restore the ghost sign on the front of the Henne Hardware building at 246 West San Antonio Street
HISTORIC DISTRICT/LANDMARK NAME: Downtown/Henne Hardware Building
APPLICABLE CITATIONS:
Sec. 66-57. Alteration certificates for alteration or new construction affecting landmarks or historic districts.
No person shall carry out any exterior alteration, restoration, reconstruction, new construction, removal or relocation of any city designated historic landmark or on any property within a city designated historic district which may affect the appearance and cohesiveness of any historic landmark or any property within a historic district without first obtaining an alteration certification authorizing the change.
Sec. 66-58. Criteria for approval of an alteration certificate.
In considering an application for an alteration certificate, the commission shall be guided by any adopted design guidelines, and where applicable, the following from the secretary of the interior's standards for the rehabilitation of historic buildings. Any adopted design guidelines and secretary of the interior's standards shall be made available to the property owners of historic landmarks or within historic districts.
(1) Every reasonable effort shall be made to adapt the property in a manner which requires minimal alteration of the building, structure, object, or site and its environment.
(2) The distinguishing original qualities or character of a building, structure, object, or site and its environment shall not be destroyed when possible. The removal or alteration of any historic material or distinctive architectural features should be avoided when possible.
(3) All buildings, structures, objects, and sites shall be recognized as products of their own time. Alterations that have no historical basis and which seek to create an earlier appearance shall be discouraged.
(4) Changes which may have taken place in the course of time are evidence of the history and development of a building, structure, object, or site and its environment. These changes may have acquired significance in their own right, and this significance shall be recognized and respected.
(5) Distinctive stylistic features or examples of skilled craftsmanship which characterize a building, structure, object, or site shall be kept where possible.
(6) Deteriorated architectural features shall be repaired rather than replaced, wherever possible. In the event replacement is necessary, the new material shall reflect the material being replaced in composition, design, color, texture, and other visual qualities. Repair or replacement of missing architectural features should be based on accurate duplications of features, substantiated by historical, physical, or pictorial evidence rather than on conjectural designs or the availability of different architectural elements from other buildings or structures.
(7) The surface cleaning of structures shall be undertaken with the gentlest means possible. Sandblasting and other cleaning methods that will damage the historic building materials shall not be undertaken.
(8) Every reasonable effort shall be made to protect and preserve archeological resources affected by, or adjacent to, any project.
(9) Contemporary design for alterations and additions to existing properties shall not be discouraged when such alterations and additions do not destroy significant historical, architectural, or cultural material, and such design is compatible with the size, scale, color, material, and character of the property, neighborhood, or environment.
(10) Wherever possible, new additions or alterations to buildings, structures, objects, or sites shall be done in such a manner that if such additions or alterations were to be removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the building, structure, object, or site would be unimpaired.
FINDINGS:
a. The building located at 246 W San Antonio is known locally as the Henne Hardware building. It was built ca. 1893 by local contractor Christian Herry for Louis Henne. The property is both locally and state designated and contributes to the pending Central Downtown National Register of Historic Places district.
b. SIGN RESTORATION: The applicant is requesting to restore the ghost sign above the second story windows that reads “Louis Henne Co Hardware”. The applicant has provided documentation that indicate three separate signs occupied that space at different times throughout the history of the building. “Louis Henne Co Hardware” is the second sign that was painted in that location and is the oldest sign that the applicant has evidence of that is also concurrent with the era of storefront configuration that currently exists. A third sign was painted over it later that read “Henne Hardware and Electric”, likely ca. 1980s or ‘90s based on photographs of the building.
Criteria for Evaluation
(1) Every reasonable effort shall be made to adapt the property in a manner which requires minimal alteration of the building, structure, object, or site and its environment. N/A
(2) The distinguishing original qualities or character of a building, structure, object, or site and its environment shall not be destroyed when possible. The removal or alteration of any historic material or distinctive architectural features should be avoided when possible. N/A
(3) All buildings, structures, objects, and sites shall be recognized as products of their own time. Alterations that have no historical basis and which seek to create an earlier appearance shall be discouraged. The restoration of the ghost sign has historic documentation as evidenced not only by what is currently on the building but also found in historic photographs.
(4) Changes which may have taken place in the course of time are evidence of the history and development of a building, structure, object, or site and its environment. These changes may have acquired significance in their own right, and this significance shall be recognized and respected. The layered ghost signs may have acquired significance over time as they could be considered part of the building’s evolution and history.
(5) Distinctive stylistic features or examples of skilled craftsmanship which characterize a building, structure, object, or site shall be kept where possible. N/A
(6) Deteriorated architectural features shall be repaired rather than replaced, wherever possible. In the event replacement is necessary, the new material shall reflect the material being replaced in composition, design, color, texture, and other visual qualities. Repair or replacement of missing architectural features should be based on accurate duplications of features, substantiated by historical, physical, or pictorial evidence rather than on conjectural designs or the availability of different architectural elements from other buildings or structures. N/A
(7) The surface cleaning of structures shall be undertaken with the gentlest means possible. Sandblasting and other cleaning methods that will damage the historic building materials shall not be undertaken. N/A
(8) Every reasonable effort shall be made to protect and preserve archeological resources affected by, or adjacent to, any project. N/A
(9) Contemporary design for alterations and additions to existing properties shall not be discouraged when such alterations and additions do not destroy significant historical, architectural, or cultural material, and such design is compatible with the size, scale, color, material, and character of the property, neighborhood, or environment. N/A
(10) Wherever possible, new additions or alterations to buildings, structures, objects, or sites shall be done in such a manner that if such additions or alterations were to be removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the building, structure, object, or site would be unimpaired. N/A
STAFF ANALYSIS:
The visible ghost signs collectively may be considered as a distinctive historic feature and evidence of the building’s evolution. Generally, it may be more consistent with the criteria for approval to retain and preserve the ghost signs in their current condition. However, restoration to the “Louis Henne Co Hardware” may be appropriate as it coincides with the restoration of the building to align with that same time period.