Creative industries in Washtenaw County add hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy. In the weeks and months to come, host Deb Polich, the President and CEO of Creative Washtenaw, explores the myriad of contributors that make up the creative sector in Washtenaw County.
ABOUT ILENE TYLER:
"I strive to make the world a better place by advocating for the built environment."
"My expertise in historic preservation typically resulted in these end products:"
- Condition assessments of historic resources – large or small, building elements or entire campuses. Examples include historic windows, roofing, masonry, monuments and memorials, structures, and landscapes.
- Narrative approach to treatment to guide project planning.
- Peer review of documents produced by others in order to ensure compliance with Rehabilitation Standards.
- Documentation of historic resources threatened with demolition.
RESOURCES:
Michigan Historic Preservation Network
Ann Arbor Old Fourth Ward Historic Neighborhood Association
Judge Robert R. Wilson Historic House
TRANSCRIPTION:
Deb Polich: Welcome to 89 one WEMU's creative:impact. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. It is a pleasure to have you here to join me as we meet the artists and creative who choose to live in our community. Ilene Tyler is by profession and architect, now retired, specializing in historic preservation. Her imprint is on impressive buildings, like the Michigan State Capitol, the Wayne County Courthouse, Nashville's Parthenon, the Cranbrook Institute, and then, closer to home, Burton Tower, the Detroit Observatory and, of course, I must note a Michigan Theater. Ilene also applies her talents to her home and her neighborhood, along with her husband Norm, who was on faculty here at Eastern and served as its director of Urban and Regional Planning program until 2017. Ilene, it's lovely to have you on the show.
Ilene Tyler: Thank you for inviting me, and the timing is just perfect! I'm delighted to talk about all of these things that you mentioned in the introduction. And I'm very proud of that and proud to know you and your husband, Russ.
Deb Polich: Aw, thanks.
Ilene Tyler: As part members of the Ann Arbor community in the WEMU and EMU community. I taught there as well.
Deb Polich: Oh, I didn't know that.
Ilene Tyler: Yes. For about 15 years in a course in historic preservation, documenting the methods of documenting historic structures. It was as an adjunct, but the convenience of having a full-time professor there made it just seamless. And we even collaborated on a few courses, teaching about urban issues and the role of historic preservation.
Deb Polich: So, let's talk about historic preservation. You know, what is it really? And why is it a value to our communities and our inner cities?
Ilene Tyler: Well, it is evolving. It is something that has been around for centuries, essentially. But just people have been talking about preserving the things that are decaying in their community. It goes back to...what's the saying, the pillars of architecture and all these methods of documenting. But they have changed. So, Norm and I also wrote a book that was used as the introductory text and still is used at EMU for historic preservation as an introduction to its history, principles and practice. And we love the fact that the book is still being very heavily used all across the country.
Deb Polich: We benefit from historic structures--I mentioned Nashville's Parthenon, but the real one, which is 2000-plus years old, and so many other structures around the world. But, you know, Ann Arbor and other locations in this region are marking their bicentennial. So, it makes me wonder when the need to protect the built environment begins. And also, after some time, buildings can look just old and tired. And then, real estate values or modern construction might look bright and shiny in comparison. What is that tension? And where's the balance between "tear down and rebuild" and "restoration, renovation and adaptive reuse?" There's a question.
Ilene Tyler: Wow. Yeah. But I am so pleased that you use the phrase "built environment." Because, to me, that is the magic of being able to explain the value of preserving built environment and without putting it on a pedestal and triggering reaction against historic preservation per se. Preservation is not something that needs to be set on a pedestal. And then, it's sacrosanct, like, forever. The built environment has a wider agenda with sustainability, climate change and all of the issues of affordability, inclusivity--that is a bridge. That term helps us explain to people that tearing down places, it's not just the buildings and the the iconic things, the preserving, the places that help people's story, allow people to tell their own story and be heard is embodied in the term "built environment." And that is a sustainable approach to preservation. You have to balance what you would lose with what you recognize is of value and not get hung up on calling it "historic preservation," even though, by default, that is the word in place. That's the title of our book.
Deb Polich: Right. Not always an easy calculation. 89 one WEMU's creative:impact continues with historic preservation architect and advocate Ilene Tyler. So, your home, which is an beautiful historic home known as the Judge Robert R. Wilson Historic House, is located in what is also known as the Old Fourth Ward. What is the Old Fourth Ward? And is that a designated historic district?
Ilene Tyler: Yes. The Old Fourth Ward Historic District encompasses a large section of the First Ward. Politically, it's Ann Arbor. It is the area largely north of Huron, west of the University, east of Kerrytown, all the way to the river. And it also has two smaller historic districts that predated the Old Fourth Ward when they were just beginning to establish the districts. And so, it recognizes the state enabling legislation that monitors and helps people and guides people through the process of protecting and preserving the neighborhood--not just individual buildings, but the neighborhood. And so, it is somewhat separated from other pressures of development in the city because the state enabling legislation requires opposition or questioning to go directly to the state. Those projects are not reviewed at City Hall. So, that's an issue.
Deb Polich: And the Old Fourth Ward Association just received some exciting news?
Ilene Tyler: Yes! We did, because we were encouraged, I have to say, to submit for a preservation community award that the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, which is a statewide organization and advocacy group, awards almost every year to community groups that--I'm going to quote this from their web page--"presented to a community, meaning a neighborhood association, business preservation group, historical society, etc. that is engaged in a comprehensive plan for historic preservation-related projects."
Deb Polich: Wow, that's a mouthful!
Ilene Tyler: It is. And it's trying to be very broad. Last year, they gave it to a volunteer cemetery preservation group in Brighton. Totally worthy. So, it varies who gets it, but it's meant to be a community effort, not an individual building or an individual person.
Deb Polich: And community efforts are so special because it takes the people that live here and to make things happen. So, congratulations!
Ilene Tyler: Thank you. Thank you. We're still on cloud nine with the announcement, and we're thrilled to be honored in this way. And we hope there's enough momentum that keep people interested in wanting to live here, to visit, and to enjoy. Like with the SmartTours we have, I think three of the the 15 tours feature buildings in our neighborhood and not counting the African American tours as well.
Deb Polich: And these SmartTours, for our listeners, are associated with the 200th anniversary of Ann Arbor and are available on the websites that are associated with it. And you mentioned attracting people to live in your communities. I think this might be our last question, but are younger residents and community members interested in historic preservation today?
Ilene Tyler: In a different way, yes, they are. There're always people enrolling in the programs to become informed and carry that message forward. I think they're looking at it as a much broader base than, as I mentioned earlier, the iconic buildings, which they don't necessarily feel connected to, or it's a place. It's those places that draw you and that represent your culture and identifying potential losses and rallying to save it. And in the name of sustainability, often, feeling like, "Why are you tearing this down just to put up some exclusive high-rise? Why are you not recognizing the inherent value or sustainable value of the historic buildings?" And I think, oftentimes, young people will come at these stories from a very different angle, but also do carry that message of preservation--preserving place.
Deb Polich: As we've said, it's always a balance.
Ilene Tyler: Yeah.
Deb Polich: I want to congratulate you and your colleagues on your Michigan Historic Preservation Association award. We look forward to seeing pictures from the event. And thank you for doing this work in our community.
Ilene Tyler: You're welcome. I'm very pleased to be interviewed. Thank you.
Deb Polich: That's Ilene Tyler, historic preservation architect and advocate, who, along with her Old Fourth Ward colleagues, is being honored by Michigan's Historic Preservation Association. Find out more at WEMU.org. You've been listening to creative:impact. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. And we thank Mat Hopson for being our producer. Please join us every Tuesday to meet the people who make Washtenaw creative. This is 89 one WEMU Ypsilanti. Public radio from Eastern Michigan University.
If you'd like to a guest on creative:impact, email Deb Polich at deb.polich@creativewashtenaw.org.
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