Project Ideas

Historic District Commission

By displaying examples of our own local preservation efforts, we can all take pride in our community and its vibrant history. You too can share the results of your hard work and investment in Pontiac's revitilization and historic preservation.

Lighting

When adding lighting to your home, consider including fixtures that are in keeping with the historic nature of when your home was built.
Below are some examples of exterior and interior lighting. Click on any image to enlarge.
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Doors are often the first impression someone gets of your home. The doors in your historic home should be handled with care in order to preserve their beauty. Take a look at these door (click to enlarge) to see how they add to the appeal of their homes.

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You Can Be Comfortable in Your Historic Home

insulationSince original wood windows are integral to a historic home, it benefits the owner to look at other viable options. Most heat loss is due to the fact that your historic home lacks insulation. You are literally living in a hollow box.

The Seminole Hills home pictured here has original windows with custom wooden storm windows. The blown-in insulation made a major improvement in ending drafts and major heat loss. The monthly bill for this February 2008 was one hundred and twenty dollars as compared to two hundred and fifty in February 2007 (110 CCF versus 245 CCF). The residents keep the temperature at a steady 68 degrees and find it comfortable in the winter months.

insulationInsulating this entire home cost the homeowner three thousand dollars, and the results were significant as compared to the cost of new windows, especially wooden windows as required by the historic guidelines, and that can only be replaced by permission and judgment of the PHDC.

Contact the PHDC for more information.

The Pontiac Historic District Commission is grateful for the work of Mr. Larry Keehn and his volunteers in the upkeep of Oak Hill Cemetary. Click on any image to see the work they are doing, and work that needs to be done. If you would like to volunteer to help Mr. Keehn, please call him at (248) 681-0484.

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A Seminole Hills homeowner needed a new garage and decided to rebuild the structure by recycling a wooden building and finishing it to match the look of his four square home (notice that the brackets he added match those on the house).

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Watch the evolution of a Franklin Boulevard Historic District Home. Three pictures taken over 15 years show how this home has been restored.

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