To bring back to an original condition, as in restore a building.
Perhaps this is not quite clear enough for some, so a brief foray into the art world might prove elucidating. "Restoration" as it refers to art: actions taken to examine, preserve, and restore to their original condition objects of historic and artistic merit. From the moment an art object is completed by the artist, it undergoes physical and chemical changes, such as the drying of oil paints, perhaps accompanied by color alteration, and the changes in dimension of materials containing moisture. The principal causes of unwanted change are too much or too little humidity, light, heat and cold, polluted atmosphere, biological infestations, neglect, contact with contaminating objects, and inherent incompatibility of materials."
Of course, with a building, such as the Carolina Theatre, a great deal more can go wrong than simply that mentioned above. Entire sections of it can and have been demolished! But the important point here is that to restore means to put back to the original condition. The restorer's goal is to preserve the work, prolong its life, and restore it to its creator's intent. Keep this in mind when you think and talk about "restoration."
To restore to an earlier condition, as by repairing or remodeling. When restoration of the original is not possible, such as is the case with the lobby of the Carolina, renovation is called for. To renovate means "to make new" and that's what has to be done when there is nothing left to restore.
To build again. Rebuilding has no connotation of restoration or renovation.
To restore to good condition, especially by repairing, renovating, or rebuilding.
To use again with a different intent or from a different perspective. The phrase "adaptive reuse" has become the bane of the preservationist. Proponents of adaptive reuse point out that it's better to use the old train station as a homeless shelter or the old department store as a museum than to tear it down, but how many cycles of adaptive reuse can a property sustain before the cultural and historical value is removed entirely?
The tentative beginning of restoration is 2001. This, of course, depends on when we receive sufficient funding to carry the project though to completion. The estimated completion date is sometime in 2005.
For information about the efforts towards restoration, call John Apple: (704) 567-1066.
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