Today we’d like to introduce you to Ginger Weatherford.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ginger. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My love affair with architecture started when I was about 10 years old. My mama and I would drive around San Diego looking at houses and going into as many open houses as possible. Our record was 44 open houses in one day! I really owe my love of architecture to my mama. She loved looking at house plan books and rearranging the walls to create a better flow. While I gravitated towards fine art in junior high and high school, studying architecture in college was a given. Every career aptitude test in school gave me the result of the architect.
Prior to college, I had the opportunity to spend the summer at the NewSchool of Architecture getting a taste for my future in their exploratory program. Every day was a new challenge and I loved it! At San Diego State University, the closest major to one day becoming an architect was Environmental Design, in the Art Department. Two and a half years into the major the university canceled my program as the California university system was going through a major budget crisis. Art programs were seen as nonessential.
At this point, I knew I wanted to be a preservation architect. Not knowing what to do next, my father, the engineer, gave me some useful advice for a stable income. Major in something like business information systems and do historic preservation as a hobby. I didn’t like this option but not being savvy in getting student loans or financial aid to go away to architecture school I didn’t have much choice since my parents told me they would only continue paying for college if I stayed in San Diego. So I completed my degree in business information systems and made it my goal to get a job in the West Coast mecca for Victorian Architecture, San Francisco.
Recruited out of college to an international information systems consulting firm in the San Francisco Bay Area, step one of my plan was complete. Living in San Francisco in the mid-1990s meant jobs in the computer programming industry centered around Y2K and the fear that all hell would break loose come January 1, 2000. Working 10 to 20 hour days programming and testing updates for bank software left no time for historic preservation as a hobby and I was in the center of it all. Living in an Edwardian apartment building in Dolores Heights and then in a Victorian house converted to three apartments in Potrero Hill.
I made the decision to start prerequisites for getting into grad school for historic preservation. Taking architecture history classes ignited my desire to change my career to preservation even further. After working as a web designer and quality assurance engineer for Silicon Graphics for a year I moved back to San Diego with the goal of saving up money for grad school while still working in the Internet industry. In San Diego, I worked as a web designer and quality assurance engineer for MP3.com then taking a job as an administrative assistant for one of San Diego’s oldest architecture firms to get a sense of what it would be like to work in the architecture industry.
With my application to Tulane University’s School of Architecture approved, I moved to New Orleans to earn a master of preservation studies. I chose New Orleans, instead of Chicago or Savannah, since my family is from the Cajun part of Louisiana. Tulane’s preservation program was an intense two semesters and a summer program but I still managed to get a taste of some of the best food in the area. Through the preservation program, I was lucky enough to travel to Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Ohio and Cuba.
My preservation practicum was working in Deer Lodge, Montana, at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, doing hands-on preservation with the other summer maintenance crew members. I got to experience preservation up close by reroofing seven buildings, repointing foundation, restoring the porch of the Victorian house, replicating gates and making tongue and groove flooring. Once my degree was complete I was ready to be an architectural historian. My first job was performing a large architectural building survey in Galveston, Texas. Combining my love of preservation and photography I braved the Texas heat and humidity and photographed and documented over 3500 buildings.
After 10 years of working for environmental consulting firms, archaeology firms and the City of San Diego’s Historic Resources Department I decided to venture out on my own as an independent architectural historian. My first few clients were research reports for demolition or remodeling permits. This felt wrong as a preservationist. I was supposed to be helping people save their houses not allowing them to tear them down. I had to justify taking those clients as needed to pay the bills and made it clear I was just doing the research and writing the reports, not trying to sway the decision makers one way or the other.
My first designation client was in Coronado for Baby Del. This grand Victorian made history in the 1980s when it was moved from Sherman Heights to Coronado by barge and cranes. Four years of trying to get enough clients to survive I was recruited by another preservation consultant, Urbana Preservation & Planning. This was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make but having the security of a steady paycheck has made all the difference in my quality of life. I maintain my independent consulting practice, for my current clients, and any future clients in the event of a lull in projects with Urbana.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been anything but a smooth road. On the last night in Havana, Cuba I became severely ill, Not being allowed to go to the hospital in Havana, I had to return to New Orleans, to the university medical clinic with the doctors and staff telling me I should have gone to the doctor in Cuba to treat possible parasites. After going to many different doctors in several states and none of them being able to solve the mystery of my illness even after telling them I was severely ill in Cuba and I think it’s parasites, I resolved to live with being constantly ill. This hindered my ability to maintain a regular working life.
Several jobs and years later I went to a naturopathic doctor who specializes in hormones to treat my thyroid condition. He was also very puzzled as to why I wasn’t getting better with the treatments he was giving me. He suggested I take a test to see which bacteria was in my system and which bacteria I needed to have in my system. This test revealed three different types of parasites. The treatments to kill the parasites were strong but effective. I was finally rid of those parasites and I could lead a normal life. But wait, normality was not in the cards for me yet.
Apparently, the parasites were keeping a propensity for vertigo at bay. A few months after being parasite free I was struck with a vestibular condition making it extremely difficult to function on a day to day basis let alone work a regular 8 hour day. Luckily my parents were able to take care of me by allowing me to live in their guest house while I recovered. A year of physical therapy to retrain my vestibular system to get used to the fact that I was constantly dizzy and another two years of maintaining the exercises, having some relapses along the way, I was able to work a somewhat normal schedule to complete historical research reports for my clients.
Most clients were very kind and understanding about my medical condition knowing their reports would be completed but taking longer than other consultants.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Ginger Weatherford | Historic Preservation Consulting story. Tell us more about the business.
I help homeowners apply for historic designation and building permits for properties over 45 years old by preparing a Historical Resource Research Report or Determination of Historic Significance. One of the things I love most about my business is using my photography skills to document the property. The first thing I do is meet with the homeowner to discuss the process and possibility of historic designation.
During this initial meeting, I take photographs of each elevation, including details. Then in-depth research consists of finding all owners and occupants of the property from the built-date until the present; researching each owner and occupant to determine their level of significance in local, state or national history; locating a Notice of Completion to confirm builder and/or architect; looking for historical photographs; reviewing Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, the Residential Building Record and building permits to confirm original footprint of the property and any alterations.
If the builder or architect is known, a detailed biography is composed along with research about other properties designed by the same builder or architect. After all of the components of the report are compiled, a Department of Parks and Recreation form is completed specifying a detailed building description, significance statement and analysis of each criteria (Criterion A. Special Elements, Criterion B. Significant Person or Event, Criterion C. Architecture, Criterion D. Notable Work of an Established Master, Criterion E. Determined Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical Resources, Criterion F. Contributing Resource to a Historic District).
In addition to researching and writing reports, I also specialize in visual effects assessments for telecommunications projects. I make sure that every aspect of the project is handled by me so the clients do not have to worry about any of the details. I get the reports written, printed and delivered to the appropriate city along with any fees.
When additional report copies are requested I submit the report to the printer to get a bulk pricing discount, pick up the reports and deliver them to the historical resources department. Once a hearing is set, I represent the client on the day of the hearing to make a presentation and answer any questions. I let the client know as soon as the board makes a decision.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck hasn’t always been on my side but I have been lucky enough to have a supportive family and group of friends for love and encouragement. When I got sick and wasn’t able to work, my parents fixed up my granny’s converted garage apartment and allowed me to live there while going to physical therapy to recover and start my preservation consulting business once I was ready. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to afford to start this business if it weren’t for my parents. They encouraged and enabled me to give my business a chance.
Four years of hard work and not enough money to pay my bills, my family supported me financially and emotionally. While attending my first Historical Resources Board hearing in 11 years, to represent a client whose property was up for designation, I met another preservation consultant who invited me to coffee to discuss what types of projects I wanted to work on. She asked me to work for her part-time for two months until I was finished with my client projects and then convert to full-time.
Working for Urbana Preservation & Planning has allowed me to alleviate the stress of not having enough money to survive. I still operate my preservation business, but on a very limited basis. I am very lucky to have my friend Tricia help me with client projects by writing architectural descriptions, significance statements and criteria analysis for the Department of Parks and Recreation forms.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 619.548.8311
- Email: ginger@gingerweatherford.com
Image Credit:
Ginger Weatherford, Jake Sexton
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