Construction Technology

Presidio Training Project 2001-2003

College of the Redwoods created and delivered a custom Preservation Compliance and Sensitivity training series through an interagency agreement with the Presidio Trust of San Francisco. The customized, ten-session Historic Preservation Field Techniques and Historic Building Analysis courses were developed to train Trust and National Park Service craft-tradespeople current technologies and techniques for maintaining and rehabilitation historic buildings they work on every day.

Approximately 165 Trust and NPS employees, project managers, and work leaders enrolled in course training between 2001 and 2003. Students met in historic buildings on the Presidio and received hands-on instruction on how to maintain and restore their own structures. Topics included: building analysis, “Standards” training, preservation theory and identification of historic components, terminology, interior and exterior wood conservation, wood window repairs, roof and gutter repair, foundation and seismic upgrades, and historic research techniques.  All training was in context to sustainable materials and methods consistent with the secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines Rehabilitating Historic Buildings.

Course completion included 3-units of college credit for enrollment in CR courses (the first college credits for many of the completers). Instructors commuted 270 miles to San Francisco to deliver the courses, as they were hands-on by nature and HPRT was the only training program west of the Mississippi.

Cherilyn Widell, Presidio Trust Federal Preservation Compliance Officer and past California State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) summarized the program training: “The courses, which Trust staff helped design comply with standards set by the Secretary of the Interior for rehabilitation, restoration and preservation of historic properties. The curriculum is part of the College of the Redwoods’ Historic Preservation and Restoration Technology certificate program. The Trust has always been committed to enhancing the skills and technological knowledge of its staff. Now that this program is available, we will be able to train many more of our craftspeople in the most current historic preservation construction methods.”

CR received the state “Governor’s Historic Preservation Award”, the California Preservation Foundations “President’s Award”, and the Eureka Heritage Society Annual Award in 2001 for their role in establishing the program, and for ongoing working advancing technology to improve historic preservation in California.