Author Archives: Michele Marcotte

Come help us with neighborhood projects!

Photo by Henrietta Wildsmith

Looking to get involved in neighborhood projects?

Join us on Saturday, Feb. 23, for a fun work day to paint the Highland Arch and install historic district signs across the neighborhood.

The city recently painted new bike lanes along Marshall Street south of downtown that lead into Highland, and we want to ensure our neighborhood gateway looks its best.

 

We’ll be spending the morning of Saturday, Feb. 23 painting the Highland Arch at Marshall and Gilbert Streets and installing historic district signs. We welcome your help.

 

We’ll meet at 10 a.m. at the Highland Arch and divide into groups to tackle sign installation and arch painting. We’ll bring the tools, ladders and supplies. We just need you 😊  

 

The day is a great way to also meet our board of directors and find out what else is planned for this year.

 

Questions? Email us at [email protected]

Share your Highland knowledge with us

Calling all Highland history buffs!

Highland Restoration Association needs your help.  One of our projects in 2019 is to design and construct mile markers along the walking path at Highland Park. These won’t just be any mile markers! Each will showcase fun facts about our historic neighborhood.

SPAR (Shreveport Public Assembly & Recreation) will install the markers this spring alongside a host of other park improvements, including new playground equipment, benches and updated signage at the Olive Street entrance.

Got ideas for factoids?

Email them to [email protected]

Highland Park to get a new look in 2019

Highland Park is getting a makeover in 2019.

ReForm Shreveport, City of Shreveport, SWEPCO and Highland Restoration Association each have planned renovation projects within the neighborhood park this year. Each project has a different timeline but all improvements should be completed by this spring. 

Here is an overview of what you can expect this year:

  • Updated playground equipment as well as the rubber mulch surface material.  
  • Removing the current structure at the Olive Street park entrance and replacing it with a new entry way.  
  • The pavilion will be painted and picnic tables will be replaced once pavilion painting is complete.  
  • Installation of a bike repair station.
  • Installation of path distance markers provided by Highland Restoration Association
  • Updated signage
  • SWEPCO is replacing the existing nine street lights within the park with 15 flood lights. “It’s really going to light up the park,” said Keith MacFarland, principal customer service account representative at SWEPCO. The updated lighting is expected to be completed in January, he said.

 

Discover the interesting history behind the Preston House

John S. Preston Residence, Jordan Street, W.B. Wiener Arch., 1936.

Designed in 1934 by noted architect William Wiener Sr., the John S. Preston Residence is the first house Wiener designed in the modern idiom after his 1927 tour of Europe to study the progressive work of Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier.

Located in Highland, the aesthetic of the house is radically different from traditional houses in the area. Despite its appearance, it was built using the accepted wood-framing methods of the period.

The unadorned white cubic form, asymmetrical facade, flat roof and expressive corner windows are modernist elements that strongly identify the building’s European heritage. However, the floor plan of the one-bedroom house was a conventional collection of rooms and did not reflect the primary tenet of modernism, the Free Plan, thereby creating a disconnect between facade and plan.

Due to neglect, the house was acquired by architect Christopher Coe in an advanced stage of deterioration.  In 2018, he moved the home from Jordan Street to College Street and began renovations.

The project’s two major goals are a faithful restoration of the facades to their original appearance and the respectful addition of new program components to enhance the house’s livability and ensure its longevity.

Coe will discuss the restoration process at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17 at the HRA Winter General Membership meeting at Noel United Methodist Church, 520 Herndon St.

The talk is open to the public.