Studio Spotlight: Historic Preservation

Color photograph shows Julia Manglitz and Steve Nowak presenting information in front of historic stone portion of Grover Barn, a documented site on the Underground Railroad. Students are listening to presenters.

Joel Grover began building a limestone barn outside of Lawrence, Kansas Territory in 1858. One year later, the barn became a station on the Underground Railroad providing shelter and provisions for Black freedom seekers and the Abolitionists who assisted them, including John Brown.

One of the best-preserved buildings (and one of few still standing) in the network of Underground Railroad stations in Kansas, the Grover Barn is an example of how governments, practitioners, and citizens can mobilize to preserve historic structures and in turn the human stories that imbue the materials, forms, and places with significance.

In April of 2022, Julia Manglitz (Associate Principal, Historic Preservation at TreanorHL) and Steve Nowak (Executive Director, Watkins Museum of History) led a site visit at the Grover Barn for Amy Van de Riet’s ARCH 649 Historic Preservation Technology class, one of four courses leading to Arc/D’s Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation. This graduate certificate provides the professional knowledge and skills needed to find innovative solutions to preserve historic buildings and townscapes.

The certificate is also open to American Studies, Anthropology, Art History, Geography, Museum Studies, World Regional Study Programs, Urban Planning, and the Global Awareness Certificate Program students at the University of Kansas. The certificate is available as well for outside professionals seeking Continuing Professional Education (CPE) opportunities.

Learn more about the certificate: Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation

Learn more about the Grover Barn:Guardians of the Grover Barn