Many of the naysayers doubted what I wrote in my first post, Amp Redux v. 3.0, so I’ll break it down for you. Here is the opening paragraph in bold and italics below as I attempted to explain my experience in construction management and working on a National Historic Landmark property that directly related to the Amp debate.
“First by way of introduction I am a 4th Generation Chautauquan and I have been responsible for over $100 Million in Commercial Construction Projects. Among those was over a year spent working on a National Historic Landmark Building that qualified for National Historic Tax Credits and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places…So that being said, in my humble opinion I find myself at least somewhat qualified to toss my four cents worth in on this. Not the usual two cents, but four, as I have a lot to share with you.”
After all the uproar about my using a pen name I posted in my original About George page quoting something my Chautauqua Grandma used to say – “everything will come out in the wash”. So as promised, today is laundry day.
The Albion 5 – 7 South Terrace
In 1922 my great grandfather Oscar Anderson assumed the lease with Chautauqua Institution on the Albion (after more than a decade of summers visiting), a 28 room boarding house at 5 – 7 South Terrace.
Albion Ad in 1893 Chautauqua Assembly Herald
My grandfather George (no coincidence) grew up spending summers there. He died when my Mom was a teen so I never knew him. Some of you may remember George’s sister, my Aunt Gladys Tichbourne, and her daughter, my Cousin Joanne Tichbourne, who ran the Albion until it was sold in the late 1990’s. They also owned and operated the little clothing store named California Accessories on Roberts where the EMT office is located just North of the Amp. As a kid I always wondered why the store was called California Accessories when my aunt and cousin spent their off seasons in Florida.
The Terrace House – 9 South Terrace
My grandfather worked on the grounds crew and met my oft quoted (by George Seaver) Chautauqua Grandmother while she was working as a waitress at the North Shore Inn. After their second summer together they got married, and before the summer of 1945 began, bought the four story apartment building next to the Albion at 9 South Terrace. At the time it was called the Terrace House. My mother and I grew up spending summers there as Grandma rented the top three floors and we lived on the first floor. I have often said that Grandma was the Innkeeper, Mom the chamber maid, and I was very fortunate to spend every summer in Chautauqua.
The Pennsylvanian – Pittsburgh, PA
I started my Amp Redux v. 3.0 post comparing the Amp debate to the very contentious public fight by preservationists and the press to save New York City’s Penn Station in the early 1960’s. As I posted I began a 25 year career in commercial real estate brokerage and development spending 1 ½ years working in a National Historic Landmark Building. Serendipitously this Historic Landmark was originally Pittsburgh’s Penn Station. Designed by famed architect Daniel Burnham and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it opened in 1903 as a train station that served as the local headquarters for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and an 11 story hotel and was a classic example of turn of the century beaux arts architecture. This limestone and terra cotta building had an incredibly ornate rotunda at the entrance, a 3 story high atrium in the concourse, granite floors, a half an acre of skylights, and incredible architectural detail in the ceilings.
The Pennsylvanian Concourse
I loved walking through there every day on the way to my office (behind the clock above the entrance). It had fallen into disrepair and was vacant for years before my client purchased it. Now named The Pennsylvanian, it was lovingly restored and re-purposed into 242 luxury apartments, and 40,000 square feet of office and retail space, while now serving as Pittsburgh’s Amtrak Station. We consulted the Secretary’s Standards in almost every construction meeting we had as every build out within the buildings original shell had to strictly adhere to the Secretary of the Interiors Standards as the developer was taking the 20% Federal and State Historic Tax Credits, and traded on the Historic Landmark status in all their marketing efforts during the lease up period.
The Pennsylvanian Rotunda
Chautauqua & Summer Jobs
I have no doubt that Chautauqua has been the single most determining and influential factor in my life. Not the program, not the Amp, but the true heart of Chautauqua, the people. Spending over 50 summers (and parts thereof) in Chautauqua has exposed me to some of the greatest people I have ever known. Where else can you have lifetime friends who continue to come back year after year. Some of those friends are the children of my mother’s friends and many choose this week to return to Chautauqua for the 4th of July, as it is, as they say, a very American Institution.
From Left to Right: Kristen King, Wally Burroughs, John Ellsworth, Nancy Nixon, Tadd Newell, Bill King, Ben Trammell (elbow) KC Fulmer (flag), Chris Reid, & Dale Ramsey on Windsurfer.
Obligatory Photo Credit: Sandy Lebron Editors Note: This pic was taken from my boat by Sandy. I was swimming to the other boat as fast as I could. Knowing it would be a classic shot, before I jumped in the water, I asked Sandy to wait till I got there to take the picture. Unfortunately for me she didn’t. Sandy came very close to swimming home!
Daily Boy/Cub Sports Reporter
I always considered myself to have been very fortunate with all the different and interesting jobs I had over the course of the school years spending summers in Chautauqua.
My first Chautauqua job was as a Daily Boy the summers I turned 14 and 15. Back then we delivered the Daily’s at 7:00 in the morning and then had to report back to the Daily office at just before 9:00 to start selling in the Plaza till 12:00. Unlike today we also sold Daily’s in and around the Amp from 7:00 pm till the start of the evening program. From a very early age I have been a avid sports fan. Back in those days the Daily covered: Babe Ruth and Little League Baseball, the Softball League, Golf, Tennis, the Yacht Club Races, and even Bridge at the Sports Club. Clint Wilder was the sports editor and a couple weeks into the season asked me to cover and report on some of the Babe Ruth games. I was fired up about that to say the least and dove in to my new journalistic duties with a passion. Each morning I took great pride in delivering and selling papers that had one of my articles in it. Back then the sports page was two pages from the back page, and many Chautauquans opened their morning Daily to that page first.
1979 Main Gate Crew From L. to R. Ann Francis, Jeff Holroyd, Bob Dimicco, Nora Rice
During my college years I worked at the Main Gate for three summers in a row. During the 79’ season I was the head cashier. For the summer of 80’, then Chautauqua President Dr. Hesse started an internship program and as the only intern with Main Gate experience I was promoted by Kevin Byrne to Assistant Manager. When the Manager quit two weeks into the season I received a battle field promotion to Manager with a decent pay raise and way too many additional hours for a college student also concerned with racing C Scows, playing softball and baseball, and spending as much time as possible on the lake.
1982 Boys & Girls Club Staff and All Star Cast
Me 5th Row Far Left with the SAE Sweatshirt
SAC Boys Counselor – This was one of my favorite summer jobs. Lynn Slonaker was the Girls Counselor and we had a great group of kids that summer (you know who you are). Mel Llewellan who was in his last summer as Director of Club gave us quite a bit of leeway in away from Club activities. That summer we went to Midway by boats, and we took many of the groupers parasailing. We (SAC Boys & Girls) also spent quite a bit of time just hanging out. Usually in the old grandstand. For some reason capture the flag just wasn’t appealing to that Group of 14 & 15 year old kids. Imagine That!
The Old Grandstands on Fire – 26 Years ago today (7/5/1991)!
Summer weekends always consisted of Chautauqua Yacht Club C Scow races and a little softball back in the day, and plenty of Amp time.
Me and my three kids on the right; Sara, Tom, & Katie along with Paige Miller on the Front Porch of the Chautauqua Boys Club.
Drift of the Day 