Transcription
6 Weekly Messenger Feb. 15, 1989
Dumfries architectural review group has 'vision'
By Barbara Dubuc
A mental "vision" of what a
revitalized, tourist-wooing Town
of Dumfries could be may become
an artistic reality, if an innovative
idea submitted by members of the
recently constituted Architectural
Review Board is approved.
(Citizens are urged to attend an
important ARB Feb. 21 meeting at
7 p.m. at Town Hall to discuss obtaining
certified local government
status for the town, thus paving the
way for federal historical grant
money.)
Pete Costello, "who has been
renovating Old Stage Coach Inn
(William's Ordinary of colonial
days) for more than a decade, is
ARB chairman. At the Feb. 7 town
council meeting, Costello outlined
the board's goals, among which is
to commission an oil painting of
Main Street from the car wash to
the traffic light, to be hung in
Town Hall.
"The painting would be what we
would like to see the town become,
and we would hope to raise public
consciousness to the historic value
of the town and to instill pride."
Costello said, "It would show
brick sidewalks, gas lights, vacant
lots developed more in the town's
historic interest. We would get
with home owners and see what
they would like for their homes to
look like."
Costello reminded the councilors
that 14 million tourists
visited Prince William County last
year, of which 3,000 came to the
Weems Botts Museum compared
to 800,000 in Occoquan.
"Tourists would bring revenue
to this town," Costello said. "The
Town of Dumfries has a past
history to offer. We need to do
some digging to see what we can
come up with."
Certified local government
status would open the door to
federal grant money for historical
preservation, Costello says. The
Feb. 21 ARB meeting is called for
the purpose of exploring
methodology to achieve this
status.
Among ARB's other announced
goals is to try to get U.S. 1 northbound
opened to two-way traffic
from Roy Rogers to Possum Point
Road, which "would quiet down
the (main) street and let us develop
it the way we would like;" to persuade
local businesses to use
"historic" type signs; to include
Dumfries on a historic tour extending
from Ferry Farm to Mount
Vernon; to open "William's Ordinary"
to the public, and to present
architectural design circa
1749-1785 in 1989.
Weems Botts Museum curator
Ann Hoagland has been appointed
advisor to the ARB and the board
now has a certificate of appropriateness
stamp for use in approving
requested changes in old-
town Dumfries.
Costello said that he would like
to see Prince William County purchase
his historic home so that it
could be open to the public.
WELT MEETING FEB.27
Representatives from U.S. Navy
Housing will discuss the housing
development proposed to be
located at Mary's Way - near Our
Lady of Angels Church - Woodbridge,
at the Feb. 27 meeting of the
the Woodbridge Environment,
Land Use and Transportation
Committee. The meeting begins at
7:30 p.m. at Rippon Middle School.
OLD TOWN DUMFRIES
The topic of an informative talk
on Thursday at the Dumfries
Town Hall at 8 p.m. will be "Was
There Always Business at the
Town Center? Sponsored by the
Historical Research Team, an
arm of the Dumfries Architectural
Review Board, this session
will be led by Dee Ann
Evans, historian from Fairfax
County and author of the historical
picture book of Prince William
County.
Dumfries Business
History Presented
"Was There Always Business at the
Dumfries Town Center?"
The provocative answer will be provided
by historian Dee Ann Evans at the Dumfries
Town Hall at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 25.
The event is sponsored by the Historic
Research Team, an arm of the Dumfries
Architectural Review Board. The public -
- especially Dumfries business people -
is encouraged to attend to learn more about
the town's business past. Light refreshments
will be served.Transcriber
Adam KitchenLanguage
English
