historic preservation stories with Rae & Andi
Most mail is spam, or maybe bills. But postcards! Getting a postcard is a joyful little moment, and then you can keep it on your fridge, or your mantel, or a shoebox, and then every time you look at it you get another little burst of joy. So this month, Rae and Andi talk about postcards and share postcards and generally appreciate all things postcard. Hope we can encourage you to send some to your loved ones! 📫
Celebrate America’s pastime with Rae & Andi, with special cameos from our baseball-obsessed partners. Do you like baseball? Or maybe just ballpark snacks? Either way, let’s while away the summer heat together. ⚾️🍿🌭
To celebrate Pride Month 2025, Rae and Andi chat with Free Harris about gay men in preservation, gayborhoods, and gaytrification (that last portmanteau is bleh, but the places we discuss aren’t). Happy Pride, everyone! 🌈
LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History – Chapter 13 by Free Harris
Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander Gay-Bohemian Index
Grant House, Logan Circle, Washington DC
Anna Julia Cooper House, LeDroit Park, Washington DC
Mary McCloud Bethune House, Logan Circle, Washington DC
May is preservation month! To celebrate, Rae and Andi talk about their own path to preservation, and share some favorite preservation-related songs. You have three playlists to choose from below: Rae’s, Andi’s, and Andi’s teen daughter’s. Do you prefer the middle age jams or the teen bops? Do you have songs of your own to share? Let us know!
Rae, Andi, and special guest Colin enjoyed a night at the movies in RVA. We went to the historic, beautiful Byrd Theatre to see a French movie from the 1960s you’ve likely never heard of. But it’s really good, we promise! We hope you’ll sit back, grab some popcorn, and listen to our thoughts on Playtime and the joys of making fun of modernism. 🍿📽️
This month, we are talking all about Ducks. Duck ducks, sheep ducks, basket ducks, hot dog ducks, dino ducks… If these sound like a contradiction in terms, please listen as Rae & Andi wax poetic about the wonderful quirky world of architectural ducks. 🦆
In this episode, we talk a great deal about Learning from Las Vegas by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown & Steven Izenour. You can learn more about the book here and you can purchase it here.
BONUS! Once you listen to the episode, check out Rae’s grandpa with his record-setting catch as displayed at the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. It’s here (and EPIC!)
‘Tis the season for gift giving. 🎁 Rae and Andi are sharing some favorite historic sites from across the country. Tune in for some fun places to visit and you’ll get bonus knowledge about the National Register of Historic Places. Happy holidays, y’all! ☃️
For the spookiest month of the year, we discuss cemeteries, specifically White Bronze markers. Do you, like us, love taking walks among the crunchy leaves? Do you love nerding out about cemeteries? If so, come take a metaphorical walk among the gravestones with us.
Special thanks to Cartland Berge for being the voice of White Bronze! 🪦👻🍁🎃
There are lots of great books about cemeteries. Here are a few you may want to check out.
Cemeteries by Keith Eggener
Silent City on a Hill by Blanche Linden-Ward
Cemeteries & Gravemarkers edited by Richard Meyer
The Last Great Necessity by David Charles Sloane
For preservation efforts, please remember to use the methods recommended by the NPS, and be sure to get permission before doing any work in a cemetery! Sources to begin the process can be found at this NPS website and by reaching out to your State (or Tribal) Historic Preservation Office.
Do you love road trips? We do. And Rae in particular has deep affection for roadside attractions. One of her favorites is the Blue Hole. Learn about this kitchy site and others like it in this episode. Though honestly there may not be anything else *exactly* like the Blue Hole. What are some of your favorite roadside attractions? Let us know!
Article on the Blue Hole for the Society of Commercial Archeology by our very own Rae!
C-SPAN lecture on Roadside Attractions by our very own Rae!
Some background on the Old Man of the Mountain.
The VMFA exhibit about Natural Bridge.
People who have gone over the Niagara Falls (please DO NOT follow suit.)
Some photos of South of the Border (3 stars on trip advisor.)
This month, we celebrate the 2024 summer Olympics by discussing… the Olympics (duh). We are joined by Ilana Bleich, Olympics superfan, to discuss the Games’ impact on the built environment. Enjoy! 🏅
An evaluation of the sustainability of the Olympic Games
An article (in French) assessing promises made about Olympic projects and their status in April 2024 is HERE. Even if you don’t read any French, the photos are informative.
An article about French reactions to the Olympics (in English) can be found HERE. (tl;dr:💩)
A photo of the Atlanta olympic cauldron is HERE. Does it look like a McDonald’s French fry container? You decide! (Andi’s vote: yes. Rae’s vote: also yes.)