The landscape architect

I’d like to thank my brother, Robert Anderson, landscape architect, for:

1. pointing me to the Jefferson County Assessor’s web site,
2. the (hopefully) tireless Q&A sessions about all manner of things relating to site development, and
3. his demonstration of support for this project.

He does this while busy as a consultant and starting his own practice. I am undoubtedly leaving much out here, but that is only because he sometimes takes my calls during my odd little free moments during the day or when some off-topic thought* strikes me.

Notes:

*E.g. pre-fabricated sidewalks…

Theme change

I had not realized until just yesterday that the links to categories and tags on a WordPress.com site link to all WordPress.com blogs using those same tags. That made the tags pretty useless. So I dug about a bit and found a theme which does not include those tag links. I’m not completely happy with the current theme but it does have some other advantages over the previous theme. I’ll stick with it for now.

Clearing out some drafts

I have been looking hard at other issues well beyond Princess Street. Much of this has to do with the timing: the presentation of the annexation proposal at a special meeting of the town council and the schedule involving the new library site, a nearby, but not abutting parcel. Still, I find if I don’t clear out some early drafts, they will never see the light of day. As such, I might be jumping around a bit.

The librarian

I’d like to thank Hali Taylor, Librarian, for spending time with me at the start of this project to collect the few volumes available on the local history of Shepherdstown. I know of Hali’s work as a photographer, her generosity as a host and her strong commitment to Shepherdstown. I suspect before I am done writing all my thoughts here that she will once again have something valuable to add.

The zoning officer

I wrote this as a draft some days ago but I would finally like to, herein, thank Harvey Heyser, Zoning Officer for the Corporation of Shepherdstown, for spending time with me to discuss the maps and issues surrounding planning within the Corporation limits and its edges. I worked with Harvey in Hagerstown in the early 90′s and know him as a thoughtful, long-time resident of the community.

Who am I…

…to say all this? Good question. I am a licensed architect. I hold a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in architecture from Yale University. I am underemployed as an architect (by my own choice, not external forces). My last year of full time work ended in 1998 when I moved to Paris, France.

I am a woodworker. I studied woodworking full time, for 12 weeks at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. And while I have a fully equipped shop, little of my own work comes out of it at this time.

I am a property owner in Shepherdstown — more accurately, I married into it. I’ve been familiar with Shepherdstown since I moved to Hagerstown, MD in 1990. I’ve lived in Shepherdstown more or less full time since 2001, the notable exception being The Time of the Newborn Boy in 2005. He’s been living here since 2006.

While my education at Cincinnati was very important in shaping my views as an architect, my studies of architecture at Yale enabled a finer focus as I worked toward my thesis project, a Ballpark for Des Moines, Iowa.

In both the School of Architecture and Yale College, I focused my studies on maps, the history of baseball, american culture, history and urbanism. My urban analysis/design for Des Moines, Iowa was included in an exhibit of student work at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC and Madrid, Spain. I was awarded the Christopher Tunnard Memorial Prize for recognition of outstanding academic performance in the fields of urban planning and development. In my first year of the two year program, I was nominated for the Feldman Prize For Design Excellence.

I taught full time for one year in an accredited program for architecture at Hampton University, in Hampton, VA.

I’ve traveled extensively in the United States and europe. The thing about architecture and urbanism is it’s hard to not study it empirically. It seems it is in my DNA. Having an uncanny memory for maps certainly helps.

Observed

I should note, before going much further, that much of what I write here rises from the empirical thoughts and observations from living in, being familiar with and walking the streets of Shepherdstown for some number of years.

I’m also a big fan of maps (typically Google Maps in this case) and have done research projects in the past where maps are my primary source material. If I happen to have time to do additional research into other sources I will try to make note of it.