[Vision2020] Moscow's gathering place becoming grander

[Moscow Cares]

Courtesy of today's (October 25, 2014) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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Moscow's gathering place becoming grander
1912 Center preparing to ramp up visibility by starting work on Third Street exterior next spring
The final major outdoor rehabilitation work on the 1912 Center in Moscow is being planned for next year.
Work was just completed on the east side of the center's exterior, with nearly two dozen windows replaced and balustrade repaired, among other improvements. Balustrade facing south along East Third Street is expected to be repaired beginning in April.
Once the exterior work is complete, attention will be on the interior upper floors of the former Moscow High School building. These upper floors are still unusable and in need of plumbing, heating and cooling, as well as interior construction.
Cost for the next wave of interior work is an estimated $2 million, according to Jenny Kostroff, executive director of Heart of the Arts, Inc., which manages the building. Kostroff provided city councilors with a progress report about plans and renovations this past week.
"We're breaking the project into baby steps," she said.
The center's board is looking at how to best configure the upper floors. Such planning has taken place before, but reconsidering what would best fit current community needs would be prudent now that a starting point for interior work is within sight, Kostroff said.
Today, the three-story, 30,000-square-foot building is used for a variety of community functions. It's where the Senior Center hosts activities and senior meals Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the city's winter markets start there Nov. 8. Its plaza is also the site of outdoor concerts, and it hosts art exhibits year-round.
Using private funds, Moscow purchased the building, constructed in 1912, from the Moscow School District in 1997.
The Great Room, kitchen and plaza opened for use in October 2001, and the Senior Center and Friendship Hall were ready for use in June 2002.
Heart of the Arts took over management of the building in 2007 and its contract with the city was renewed in 2011.
City Councilor Wayne Krauss, a Moscow native, was a student there during elementary school and high school. Among his council duties is acting as the liaison between elected officials and the city's Historic Preservation Commission.
He said he was initially opposed to the city buying the old campus, but he has been pleased with the results since Heart of the Arts Inc. assumed management.
Upstairs, where the next wave of indoor improvements is slated to occur, Krauss attended fifth and sixth grades, and he played basketball in the gym that is now the center's Great Room.
Kostroff said starting with the improving the back of the building and waiting until now to focus efforts on the front was smart because it allowed residents to see how the work was progressing and it provided an incentive for donations.
"It's an asset for the residents," he said. "It gets used so much."
Nels Reese, who serves on the city's planning and zoning and historic preservation committees, spent years helping save the building.
"You'd be surprised how many people thought the building should be torn down," Reese said. "It's shocking now that many people didn't see the benefit of saving our old building."
Even though there were ardent supporters who wanted the old high school to serve a new purpose, there would be no 1912 Center without the late Janet LeCompte. She anonymously provided $2 million for its renovation back in 1998, Krauss and Reese noted.
Former City Councilor Linda Pall was also instrumental in ensuring the building was repurposed.
Reese is among the volunteers putting together a list of Idaho's most important buildings, and, of course, it will include the 1912 Center and Moscow City Hall, he stressed.
In September, Moscow will host next year's Idaho Heritage Conference at the center in an event that could bring 200 participants to town. The conference was first held in 2013 in Boise and included a book fair and workshops over three days.
Much of the daytime activity during Moscow's convention will be on the University of Idaho campus. Large, historic structures, such as the 1912 Center, will be venues for nighttime events.
Conference-goers most likely will also view architecture in the Fort Russell and Downtown Historic Districts.
Work continues on expansion of the Fort Russell Historic District that would result in adding adjacent properties and substantially increasing its size. The proposal includes increasing the number of historic structures within Fort Russell to 161. It contains 116 historic structures today.
Fort Russell was first added to the National List of Historic Places in 1980.
The Moscow Downtown Historic District includes 60 buildings originally constructed for commercial or financial purposes. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 2005.
State officials who focus on historic structures have nothing but praise for the progress made so far on the 1912 Center.
Katherine Kirk, executive director of the Idaho Heritage Trust, described the work as "gorgeous."
Such building reuse can be found throughout Idaho - especially in less populous communities - on smaller and less grand scales, she said.
Reese is among those who would be delighted to see some of the space on the upper floors returned to use by the high school, specifically for art classes.
"It would be sweet-ironic," Reese said.
Kostroff emphasized people can help advance work at the center by donating money. Another million-dollar donor isn't likely, but small amounts from many can ensure the work on the center is completed, she added.
For details, visit www.1912center.org/.
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Heart of the Arts Executive Director Jenny Kostroff stands in front of the 1912 Center on Wednesday in Moscow. The windows, cornice and balustrade on the east end of the 1912 Center (right) were restored as part of a project completed Oct. 3. Heart of the Arts is now raising money to help pay for work on the south side of the building.


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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares"
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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