Hasta La Ideas

If you’re not in or around Chicago at the moment, you’ve likely heard about the mayoral election happening here later this month. It’s the first time in decades that Richard M. Daley hasn’t been a shoe-in (simply because he’s decided not to run this year) and it’s clearly the second or third most exciting to happen in Chicago politics in recent days (Obama ranks up top, with this and the ousting of Governor Blagojevich rankling for second place). And while Rahm Emanuel looks to be the shoe-in successor, the race isn’t over until it’s over. Surveys and interviews filled out by the candidates have been printed or posted for months, covering everything from crime to education. However, the one we were unaware that we’d be most looking forward to has been released: the Landmark Illinois‘ Historic Preservation Survey (pdf). Questions range from “What is your favorite modern building in Chicago?” (Carol Moseley Braun scores points for answer Rafael Vinoly‘s Booth School of Business building, William Walls loses them for his pick of the hard-to-love McCormick Place) to the more specific/political, “Do you support the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF), in existing TIF districts, to assist with the rehabilitation of historic buildings?” It’s an interesting peek into the not-often voice opinions of the candidates (except for Gery Chico, who didn’t answer), and makes it difficult to pick a favorite based solely on the answers to this one survey.

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Roughly two and a half years after a flood ravaged the area, the University of Iowa is still finding itself fighting an uphill battle in trying to restore its UI Museum of Art. The building it had been housed in was damaged by the swelling Iowa River during a disastrous flood in the summer of 2008. After the water level had returned to normal and damages were assessed, the Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed to help finance the repair and restoration of the building. This would have been ideal were it not for the insurance issues that arose post-flood. Insurer of the museum’s collection, Lloyd’s of London, told the museum that given the chance of another flood, they would not take the risk of offering insurance again in the museum’s current location. When the University approached FEMA last year with a request to not simply repair the building, but to move to a new, less water-adjacent area, they were denied the funds. Six months later, the University’s appeal of that decision has also been rejected, with FEMA still arguing, despite receiving information about the insurance issue, that “the UIMA suffered less than 50 percent damage and that it could be restored to use as a museum.” Still putting up a fight, the university is now planning on taking the case to both the state-level Homeland Security office as well as FEMA’s headquarters in Washington.

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The tech start-up Broadcastr, which just recently unveiled themselves as a company back in mid-December, has announced a big partnership with the September 11th Memorial and Museum to help offer up and share location-based audio recordings surrounding the events of nearly ten years ago. The memorial and museum group had already been recording stories from first responders, rescue workers, volunteers and residents from the area, and they will be used within an iPhone/Android app the start-up will be launching in early February. The app’s service itself requests that people also use it to record their own thoughts and memories about specific places, and in addition to listening to the previously captured pieces, will encourage users to record theirs, which will then be included in the accessible repository of stories. It’s an interesting, positive story and idea, made all the more hopefully given the memorial and museum project’s major hurdles since nearly the day the area began rebuilding, and what 60 Minutes last year called “a national disgrace.” Now that we’ve reached 2011, with all those promises long-since made that a good portion of the work would be completed for the anniversary in September, here’s to hoping more positive stories are to come. Here’s a bit from the partnership announcement:

“At the heart of the 9/11 Memorial is a commitment to honor the victims of the September 11 attacks and educate future generations about these events that forever changed our world. By sharing our collection of stories, we are supporting our educational mission, shaping history through memory,” 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels said. “Our partnership with Broadcastr allows people around the world to connect to a place that will continue to inspire thousands of stories of hope and compassion.”

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A follow-up to this summer’s most heart-warming story, when the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas Austin received $30,000 in donations to preserve costumes worn in the classic film Gone with the Wind. The Center has just posted a lengthy report on their blog, explaining that the very, very careful work on the five dresses they have in their possession has finally begun. Thus far in the long process (they aren’t set to be displayed until 2014, the 75th anniversary of the film’s release), they’re to the investigative portion, figuring out how exactly it was constructed and where damage can be corrected on a microscopic level. Here’s to hoping they continue to post such lengthy, interesting discussions about the process (so long as it doesn’t slow down the actual, well, real conservation work). Here’s a bit:

“It seems like there have been various repairs made to the curtain dress at different times,” says Jill Morena, collection assistant for costumes and personal effects at the Ransom Center. “Before conservators can proceed confidently, they need to know what was original stitching and what might have been done later.”

Morena emphasizes that the conservation project is not a restoration project meant to restore the dresses to their original, pristine condition.

“Complete restoration would effectively erase the historical context of the creation and use of the costume. There’s an inevitable decay with any textile-based item, but you try and slow down that decay as much as you can with conservation and preservation work.”

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If you thought it all ended with cupcakes replacing hot dogs and vendors being shoved away from the Met, know that the three-way battle between New York City, food vendors and museums still rages on. This time, in a surprising turn, it was a museum losing the struggle, with the news that the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission denied the Guggenheim‘s request (PDF) to build “a free standing kiosk” in front of their building, one that was to serve food to visitors and passersby, but perhaps more specifically, to drive away the vendors who camp out there, and make a few bucks for themselves in the process. The Commission turned down the Guggenheim’s request at a public hearing, saying that hoisting up a new structure in front of their Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building would damage the view of the iconic museum. As reported by WNYC, those who came out to protest the museum’s proposal also wanted to add, essentially, “Get over yourselves.”

Nadezhda Williams, director of preservation and research for the Historic Districts Council, spoke at the hearing against the application. “There’s already a restaurant and a cafe in the museum, and as has been pointed out, food carts are no stranger to the stretch of museum mile,” Williams said. “This isn’t going to change the situation of the sidewalk. It will just add more clutter, but in a very permanent way.”

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