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Thursday, August 20, 2020

One by one, Victorian cottages receive makeovers, stripping the gingerbread, voiding historical criteria of Institute

The Silver Lake Institute advertises and showcases the quaint qualities of Victorian architecture which was prevalent throughout most of its history. Not so much lately. Most of the architecture is not covered in the sales papers or agreements when a property purchase is worked through. The priorities seem to be just grabbing ahold of what is available and remodeling to whatever extent the new owners prefer in modern architecture. Some would ask, why would people who are attracted to the Institute be so willing to be part of drastically changing it?

The answer lies more in the fact that they aren't necessarily attracted to the Institute per se, but are seeking available lots and cottages which are not always available, so they simply are jumping at the chance to get property near a lake. It is also less of a conscious effort to change our architecture as it is an absence of knowledge about it. Neither the realtor nor the buyer has anything in writing about our architecture when they first investigate a purchase here because we have no official architectural standards. We don't specifically ask potential buyers if they are willing to keep the outer architecture in the Victorian style. 

Twenty, Fifty, or Seventy years from now, how many of our cottages will still be recognizable as having the Victorian style? Will the new generations even be aware of the history of it and our having received the national and state historical designations of being an historical district. It is not so much making new residents agree to keep the style as it is simply making them aware of the uniqueness of our historical community by asking the question. As with other areas of interest, we continue to ask the question, "what makes the Institute unique these days?" and how best can we promote it? Doing nothing will eventually turn us into any other small community near a lake.

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