2008 Napa Conference Program

Study Tours

• A Great Vintage – The Buildings of Hamden McIntyre
• Future Landmarks of the Napa Valley
• Green & Green: Sustainable Agriculture and Architecture
• Preserving the Historic Resorts of the Napa Valley
• Mare Island

MOBILE WORKSHOPS:

• Napa County Heritage Tourism: Past, Present & Future
• The Donnell Garden
• In the Field with the Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program
• Two Feet Under: Conservation of Marble Grave Markers
• Vintage Napa: Luther Turton’s Legacy

Study Tours

A Great Vintage – The Buildings of Hamden McIntyre WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Gravity-flow is a historic winemaking process whereby a horse-drawn winch brought grapes to the third floor of the three-story structure for crushing; gravity carried the juice to the second floor for fermenting; and, eventually, the wine descended to the first floor for aging. Several gravity-flow wineries were designed by Hamden McIntyre in the late 1870s and 1880s. These wineries include Eschol (now Trefethen); Greystone (now the Culinary Institute of America); Far Niente; and Inglenook (now The Rubicon Estate Winery, formerly Niebaum-Coppola Winery). This Tour will visit a selection of these wonderfully preserved structures.
(Note: The Future Landmarks Tour described below will visit Quintessa, a contemporary gravity-flow winery.)

Tour Leaders: Marvin Collins, Photographer and contributor to Wine & Spirits Magazine; and Naomi Miroglio, Principal, Architectural Resources Group.

Cost: $65

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Future Landmarks of the Napa Valley -
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

There are buildings of quality constructed in every generation, but it often takes two or more generations to determine which ones have lasting merit. The focus of this Tour is to look at a selection of wineries in the Napa Valley that have been constructed since the rebirth of winemaking in the 1960s and have garnered architectural acclaim. This Tour will tie to the educational / panel discussion on Napa Valley architecture “Blending a Sense of Place: The Spectrum of Winery Architecture in Napa County.” Wineries to be visited include Quintessa (2004), designed by Walker Warner Architects of San Francisco; and Quixote (1998), designed by Viennese artist, architect, philosopher and environmentalist Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000). Other wineries to be visited may include Clos Pegase (1987), designed by Michael Graves; Dominus (1998) designed by Herzog and de Meuron; Robert Mondavi Winery (1966), designed by Cliff May; and the construction site of the new Hall Winery, designed by Frank Gehry Associates.

Tour Leaders: Alice Carey, Principal, Carey & Co., Inc.; and JC Miller, ASLA, Principal, Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey.

Cost: $65

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Green & Green: Sustainable Agriculture and Architecture -
Saturday, APRIL 26, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

This Tour highlights a different spin on “green and green” - sustainable agriculture, viticulture and green building. Green buildings include reuse of historic buildings and caves, and construction of more naturally integrative new buildings and caves. This Tour will visit four different wineries that show the history of caves, the evolution of sustainability and the development of alternative yet successful agricultural crops.

The first caves for winemaking were constructed in the 1880s and they continue to be included in many new winery designs. They are sustainable because with a consistently stable and ideal environment, energy costs are significantly less. Also, less valuable agricultural land is taken for construction of traditional buildings. We will visit Chateau Boswell, a great example of a sustainable and organic winery.

The second portion of the tour will cover emerging crops: olive oil, meats, vegetables, cheese and more. We will stop at Long Meadow Ranch, a winery that has gone far beyond viticulture into innovatively sustainable production of food crops.  Beringer and Nickel and Nickel will be visited during the Tour as well.

Tour Leaders: Carol Poole, AICP, Planning Director, City of St. Helena; and Wendy Ward, Farmer, Commissioner, City of Napa Cultural Heritage Commission.

Cost: $65

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Preserving the Historic Resorts of the Napa Valley -
Saturday, APRIL 26, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

The Napa Valley was a visitor destination long before it became renowned for wine. Samuel Brannan founded Calistoga in 1859 and established the first resort to bring visitors to the hot springs that are located there. Many other resorts were established throughout the Napa Valley during the later half of the 19th century when wealthy San Franciscans made them their summer home. This Tour will visit Aetna Springs, located in Pope Valley. The Tour will focus on the historic golf course (the oldest continuously used course in California) and on the current development proposal to restore the remaining historic structures (some attributed to Bernard Maybeck) to resort use. The Tour will be led by Steve Farneth, FAIA, the lead architect on the restoration project. A second resort will be visited as time permits and other local historians will join the tour to provide background and history.

Tour Leader: Steve Farneth, FAIA, Principal, Architectural Resources Group.

Cost: $65

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Mare Island - Saturday, APRIL 26, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

As one of the nation’s oldest decommissioned shipyard & naval bases Mare Island has a rich history and a kaleidoscope of planning challenges based on 150 years of geographically constrained growth. This Study Tour seeks to explore the complex factors and issues involved in striking a balance in Mare Island’s reuse and some of the tools for managing its change. Beginning with Mare Island’s historic districts and Historic Core area, the Tour focuses on existing and planned reuse projects as we visit several National Historic Landmark buildings including a 19th century industrial brick warehouse, the Coal Shed Studios, Officers Mansions, Saint Peters Chapel, and designated historic landscapes Alden Park and Chapel Park.

Tour Leaders: Elizabeth Pidgeon, AIA and Michelle Hightower, City of Vallejo Planner.

Speakers:

• Gil Hollingsworth, Mare Island Conversion Program Manager;
• Robbyn Jackson, Chief of Cultural Resources & Museum Management - San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park;
• Chris Naughton, Vallejo Architectural Heritage & Landmarks Commission Chair;
• Wanda Chiak, Lennar Mare Island; James Kern, Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum Director.

Cost: $65

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MOBILE WORKSHOPS:

• Napa County Heritage Tourism: Past, Present & Future
• The Donnell Garden
• In the Field with the Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program
• Two Feet Under: Conservation of Marble Grave Markers
• Vintage Napa: Luther Turton’s Legacy

Napa County Heritage Tourism: Past, Present and Future Thursday, APRIL 24, 2:00 - 5:15 PM

The natural environment, the wine industry, and the wealth of historic buildings provide a strong base for tourism in Napa County. What is the balance between the economic and cultural benefits of tourism versus the inconvenience to the local residents? The discussion will present a historical overview of tourism in the Napa Valley and will contrast the efforts of the City of Napa to promote tourism with the City of St. Helena’s resistance to tourism. This Workshop will be extended into a walking tour of the City of Napa’s downtown, and the Napa River Flood Control Project.

Moderator: Juliana Inman, AIA, President, Napa County Landmarks & Councilmember, City of Napa.

Speakers: Carol Poole, AICP, Planning Director, City of St. Helena; and Cassandra Walker, Executive Director, City of Napa Redevelopment Agency.

Cost: $25

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The Donnell Garden

Thursday, APRIL 24, 2:00 - 5:15 PM

Participants will be given the rare and exciting opportunity to visit the privately-owned Donnell house and garden (Thomas Church, Lawrence Halprin - landscape architects). Of this garden, Marc Treib in his book “The Donnell and Eckbo Gardens: Modern Californian Masterworks” (2005)writes that “The Donnell garden is without question the prime moment and monument in modern landscape architecture at mid-twentieth century, and perhaps the entire century. In its spatial idea, its vocabulary of shapes and forms, its enfolding of inside and outside—as well as art, architecture, and landscape—it remains unsurpassed. And in its expression of the living patterns and tastes of the Donnells in particular—parents, children, and now grandchildren—and of Californian outdoor living more generally, the garden is an eloquent ranconteur."   The garden has become an icon of the modernism expressed in the Bay Area coastal oak setting with its commanding view across the North Bay and Napa estuary.  What is also significant about the site is the Donnell family’s continued stewardship of the site and their willingness to share its importance with the broader preservation community. This mobile workshop builds from the earlier CPF conference session on modern landscapes “North of the Bridge.”

Moderator: J.C. Miller, ASLA, Principal, Royston Hanamoto Alley and Abey

Speaker: Betsy Flack, The Garden Conservancy.

Cost: $40

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In the Field with the Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program Friday, APRIL 25, 9:00 AM - 12:15 PM

This Workshop examines two 20% Rehabilitation Tax Credit projects: Crane Ramos Sherry House and Charles Krug Winery, both in St. Helena. Site visit issues include the review of buildings and their settings for purposes of the tax credits, periods of significance, adaptive reuse, ADA compliance, and application of the State Historic Building Code. The Ramos Sherry House (1880, 1885, and 1899) is a small but complex commercial property that involves a number of rehabilitation and accessibility issues. The Charles Krug Winery (1874 and 1881) project involves an agricultural property with an extended period of significance, the evolution of a building over time, and two significant wine-making valley families. Speakers include a preservation consultant and CA SHPO tax reviewer.

Moderator: Timothy Brandt, AIA, Senior Restoration Architect, California Office of Historic Preservation.

Speakers: Paul W. Kelley, AIA, Principal Architect, Lail Design Group; Mark Huck, AIA, Senior Restoration Architect, California Office of Historic Preservation; Naomi Miroglio, Principal, Architectural Resources Group.

Cost: $40

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Two Feet Under: Conservation of Marble Grave Markers at Pioneer Cemetery, Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

Friday, APRIL 25, 9:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Marble grave markers in this 19th Century cemetery were conserved by the speaker and her crew for California State Parks in 2006. This workshop will be a candid discussion of the work that was done, how decisions were made, the range of treatment possibilities, and some successes and pitfalls of the project. Although focusing on the interventions performed on these stones and their setting, the overall themes concerning approach, manageability and technology are fairly universal to all in-situ conservation work. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions about this or other conservation projects they’ve encountered (within reason). This workshop will be useful to those site managers, curators, architects, engineers and other preservation professionals who want to increase their comfort level in planning, designing and managing an on-site treatment project.

Moderator: Una Gilmartin, Senior Associate, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.

Speaker: Molly Lambert, Principal, Architectural Conservation, Inc.

Cost: $40 Conference Attendees/
$50 Non-Attendees, transportation included.

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Vintage Napa: Luther Turton’s Legacy

Friday, APRIL 25, 2:00 PM - 5:15 PM

Luther Turton was a prolific architect whose practice spanned the decades from 1880 – 1920.  Turton influenced Napa by bringing the architectural styles that were being developed elsewhere into the rural small town. His residential and commercial buildings encompass everything from the turreted Queen Anne style to the low slung Prairie style.  David Weinstein, author of the book “Signature Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area” will lead this session which includes a walking tour of Turton buildings on First Street in the City of Napa.  Displays of Turton’s drawings and access to the interior of buildings will be incorporated into the workshop.

Moderator: Juliana Inman, AIA, President, Napa County Landmarks & Councilmember, City of Napa. 

Speaker: David Weinstein, author of “Signature Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area”.

Cost: $25

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