Old House Society

The Old House Society (OHS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods more than fifty years old.

Activities of the Old House Society:

demonstration workshops, classes, and informal discussions to get answers to your old house questions
run the OHS salvage warehouse, which is an essential resource to the community as it stocks the older, rarer materials that are very difficult to locate and get a hold of yet are also necessary for old house restoration and maintenance
salvages parts from historic buildings that are scheduled to be demolished

Fall Internship 2004:

Issue: While historic preservation is practiced in parts of the Bloomington-Normal community, information is not always easy to find. In addtion to that, it is unclear what the benefits of a historic district are to the public.

Goals:

Write a public service announcement and submit to the Pantagraph and WGLT
Attend Mandel-Cohn House Moving
Interview community stakeholders and discuss the importance of historic preservation and districts
Research the effects of historic zoning on property values

Results: Interns started communication surrounding the Old House Society, promoting the Mandel-Cohn house move, conducting phone interviews, and setting up an internship program. Interns were unable to answer the question of what effects historic zoning has on property values, however they did find valuable information about how to go about finding the answer, coming into contact with many helpful, knowledgeable people.