The Young Preservationist Association (YPA) released its annual list of the Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh area. Inspired by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list, YPA created their Pittsburgh list to put a positive spin on preservation, highlighting historic buildings, main streets, and districts that have the potential to become unique destinations in the region. The scoring committee evaluates nominated sites by five criteria: a 50-year Threshold, Historic and Architectural Significance, Threats to the Site, Community Input, and Feasibility of the Solution.

While there is no monetary award for making the top of the list, the real prize is the publicity. Many property owners have used the list to attract attention to their sites and secure funding. Since YPA began compiling the annual list eight years ago, several buildings have become restoration success stories and several others have been stabilized for future reuse.

May was National Preservation Month, and while GLUE's transition to its new site has us a little late to the party, we're now taking the preservation inspiration to explore particular initiatives in our region. This year’s theme, “Celebrating America’s Treasures,” encouraged us to consider the places that have helped define the American experience. Although the "Rust Belt" is a badge our region has worn with some reluctance, no one can deny that it has shaped an essential facet of our identity. Our cities have been marked by the rise and fall of industry; still, they stand as a testament to the tenacity of the American spirit.

From the American Institute of Architects, a lovely reflection on the ways in which Michigan was the epicenter of many of the experiences and values that drove capital-M Modernism and its architecture.

Missouri's historic tax credit, so instrumental to revitalization efforts in St. Louis is up for review, and under scrutiny (for why this tax credit is so important, and unusual, see GLUE's 2009 interview with Preservation Research Office Director Michael Allen). Visit the Preservation Research Office site for up-to-date info on public meetings where you can weigh in to help protect St. Louis's historic architecture, and to maintain an essential tool for redevelopment!

It seems like almost every GLUEster has at least a passing interest in architecture and historic preservation. Illustrious St. Louis GLUEsters Jeff and Randy Vines were the first to articulate to me, very succinctly, "It's one things our cities have that Sun Belt cities can't compete with." Our historic architecture, our urban fabric, is something that a shiny new city can only dream about. It's one of the things Rust Belt enthusiasts talk about when we talk about why we live here, and why we think other people might want to live here if they really knew about it: our authenticity, our sense that our cities came from somewhere...

Detroit has its share of historic architecture--and more than its share of vacancy and blight. Consequently, the debates over historic preservation efforts in Detroit's recent history have been contentious, to say the least. And the stories about preservation here often say less about the value of a particular piece of architecture than they do about the transparency with which our city government makes decisions, the urgency of the other challenges facing the city, the possibility of re-imagining our physical landscape, and the passion of Detroit's advocates. Today I'm sharing an interview with Francis Grunow...

On a recent trip to St. Louis, my tour guides included Michael Allen, the detective, advocate, and blogger behind Ecology of Absence, a board member of Preservation Action, and the Director of the newly-formed Preservation Research Office. Michael's knowledge of the built environment of St. Louis is nothing less of encyclopedic--though unlike an encyclopedia, he takes immense and obvious pleasure in the small and large human dramas whose histories are told in buildings...

Rehab is bringing some corners of our cities back into prosperity. And I don't mean the Amy Winehouse version--I'm talking about the rehabilitation of the building stock that we invested in 60, 80, or 100 years ago. Oftentimes historic renovations seem to be the result of a nebulous culture of rehabbing. But cities and states can tactically choose to embrace historic preservation as a strategy for revitalizing downtowns...

Just keeping tabs on the occasional instance where people outside the GL region say nice things about us!

There's this Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel piece on what Milwaukee can learn from Pittsburgh (which I am counting because it was written outside of Pittsburgh)--

and this download of a Preservation article on Detroit, entitled "Block by Block."

Finally, while this isn't technically a n

The mayor of Detroit