In each Transitions section of Preservation magazine, we highlight places of local and national importance that have recently been restored, are currently threatened, have been saved from demolition or neglect, or have been lost. Here are five from Winter 2019.

Threatened: Abrams House

A rare Postmodern-style house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designed by Robert Venturi, may be demolished this year. Built in 1982, the Abrams House sits in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, which also includes significant works of architecture designed by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. The current owners (who also own a house next door) wish to demolish the house. However, groups such as Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) believe that the Abrams House is too architecturally significant to warrant demolition; it was designed for the surrounding landscape and cannot be replicated. In November of 2018 the city’s historic review commission and planning commission both recommended the house for local historic designation, which jump-started a period of public comment and deliberation by the city council. It is expected to be several months or more before the outcome is determined.

Restored: Crossan’s M & A Market

In 1903, Crossan’s M & A Market opened in Yampa, Colorado. The simple frame commercial building carried dry goods and produce for the town of about 460. But after the Crossan family sold the building to a competitor in 1964, it was used for storage and fell into disrepair. Wood rot affected the rudimentary timber foundation, and marmots were living inside and underneath the structure. Additionally, the deteriorated internal wood framing needed support. In 2006, Yampa’s town board purchased the market and began repairs. With the help of preservation partners Historic Routt County and Friends of Crossan’s M & A Market, Yampa raised $1.2 million for the three-phase project. Beginning in the winter of 2013, crews lifted the building while a new foundation was added. The second floor was strengthened with steel beams sistered to existing floor joists, and many of the original supporting trusses were reinforced with steel. Crossan’s M & A Market opened in September of 2018 and is now home to town hall, a visitor center, and a community space.

Lost: Tama Building

On August 4 in Burlington, Iowa, a fire destroyed much of the historic Tama Building, which was set to open as a mixed-use project two weeks later. The fire’s cause is still unknown. The five-story, brick-and-cast-iron structure was built in 1896 in what is now Burlington’s Downtown Commercial Historic District. Businesses such as a dry goods store, a pharmacy, and a jewelry store operated from the ground floor, and the upper floors housed offices. The Tama Building eventually became vacant, and in 2015, developer Doug Wells purchased it with the goal of redeveloping it and bringing economic revitalization to downtown Burlington. As of press time, though, it appeared that the damage caused by the fire would be prohibitively expensive to repair. “I believe [a historic consultant] and then the State Historic Preservation Office will determine what [historical] components may be mitigated if the owner builds a new building in the current’s place,” explains Eric Tysland, director of Burlington’s community development and parks departments. The remains of the building may come down sometime early in 2019.