How to Date and Appreciate Mid-Century Buildings

Wade Broadhead is a Planner in Pueblo, CO. Previously he served as the Planning Director of Florence, CO. Wade spearheaded the Pueblo Modern Project, a citywide inclusive historic context which also focused on the Chicano civil right movement and all aspect of mid century development. Pueblo Modern was part of a city wide historic context project that won the Colorado Governor’s award in 2013 and sparked creative celebrations in the local arts community. Wade speaks about Mid Century engagement through the NAPC and recently gave a local Ted talk on Mid Century Pueblo In and Out with a colleague. Wade also designs and plays historic board games, and has published one to date, Forged in Steel. He has a passion for making older cities more liveable with preservation in all aspects of city planning from historic districts to variances.

Abigail Christman is a Senior City Planner in Landmark Preservation at the City and County of Denver. Abigail has a varied background having previously worked for consulting firms, Colorado Preservation, Inc., and the University of Colorado Denver. Her experience includes Section 106n consultation, reconnaissance and intensive-level surveys, National Register nominations, HABS/HAER/HALS documentation, neighborhood pattern books, preservation tax credit certification, interpretation, public outreach, and serving on the Denver Landmark Commission.
Abigail also teaches a graduate course for CU Denver titled Historic Buildings in Context. Abigail holds a B.A. in History from the University of South, a M.A. in Public History/Historic Preservation from Middle Tennessee State University, and a M.A. in Histories and Theories of Architecture from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, England.

As the Architectural Historian for the State of Washington for 20 years, Michael Houser has a long record of helping owners understand the architecture and history of their buildings. Houser has a common sense, down-to-earth approach about historic preservation issues and prides himself on simplifying the often complex issues of preserving historic resources. Currently he manages the State and National Register programs for Washington State; as well as Washington’s unique Heritage Barn Program.

Houser helped bring post WWII resources into the states focus by establishing the “Nifty-from-the-Last 50 Initiative” in 2003 which initially documented over 300 mid-century modern buildings across the state. As the state’s go-to expert, he has reviewed numerous post WWII resources as part of the Section 106 process, from small ranch houses to cold war military facilities. His current pet project includes creating biographies of architects and designers who practiced Washington state, and he has recently developed a study of Seattle area Parade of Homes.

Houser holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho and a Master of Science Degree in Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan University. A native of Vancouver, Washington, Michael returned to Washington state via Bend, OR where he served as the Historic Preservation Planner for six years managing the CLG programs for the County and three incorporated cities. His previous work experience includes time at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI; survey work for the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana; and historic home inspections and architectural work for Thomas Hickey Architects in Chicago.

Evan Schueckler is currently an Associate City Planner with Denver Community Planning and Development, Landmark Preservation, where he primarily conducts design review for the city’s locally designated properties. Prior to moving to Denver in the summer of 2019, Evan worked as a designer for a small architecture firm in Trenton, NJ that specializes in working on Historic Properties. Evan’s projects included condition assessments, custom historic roof replacements, masonry restoration, and adaptive reuse. Evan has a deep interest in architectural history, particularly with the changes in construction and design that followed the industrial revolution. Within the world of preservation, Evan is interested in how negative heritage is preserved and interpreted, and in understanding the role that preservation can play in solving contemporary problems such as climate change and inequality. Originally from a small town in Vermont, Evan holds a B.A. in the History of Art and Architecture from Harvard University and a M.S. in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania.

Kathleen Corbett, principal and owner of Corbett AHS, Inc., has worked as a professional architectural historian since 2004. She holds a Ph.D. in architecture from the University of California at Berkeley, and in 2016 she formed Corbett AHS, Inc., a small architectural history services firm that specializes in the documentation of architecture and cultural landscapes of the American West and Southwest. Dr. Corbett has served on Denver’s Landmark Preservation Commission and the Colorado Historic Preservation Review Board.