Pergola Progress: Preparing the Historic Pathway
Visitors to Körner’s Folly will notice a visible change in the landscape surrounding the historic pergola: the concrete walkway that once extended from the historic privy past the pergola has now been removed.
Preservationist and contractor Dan Ledbetter recently completed the demolition and removal of approximately 70 feet of concrete walkway. The concrete was carefully broken into smaller sections by hand, removed from the property, and delivered to a nearby recycling center. The newly exposed pathway was then raked and prepared for the installation of slate stepping stones.
The latest photographs show the cleared route extending through the pergola toward the historic privy. Removing the concrete has made the physical relationship among these features of Jule Körner’s landscape more visible while preparing the site for a pathway that is better integrated with the project’s preservation plan.
This work represents an important transition between investigation and restoration. Project leader David Gall is developing specifications for the slate stepping stones within the approved plan, and Dan will begin staging materials for the next phase. Temporary supports remain in place around the pergola while preparations continue for repairs to the historic structure itself.
As with the stabilization work already performed, the pathway is being approached incrementally. Each step, including removing later materials, recycling debris, preparing the ground, selecting appropriate replacement materials, and coordinating the pathway with the pergola’s structural needs, contributes to the long-term care of the site.
Preservation progress is sometimes most visible in what has been carefully removed. The open path seen today is not the finished result, but the evidence that the site has been cleared, studied, and prepared for the next layer of work.
We are grateful to Dan, David, and the entire project team for the care they continue to bring to this distinctive part of the Körner’s Folly landscape. We are also deeply grateful to every campaign supporter who leapt into action and made this urgent preservation work possible.
We look forward to sharing the installation of the slate pathway and the beginning of structural repairs as the project moves forward!