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Kapp named historic preservationist Paul Kapp has been on the job as the University's historic building preservationist for a little more than a week now, but his love for old buildings started as a boy. At Carolina, he said, his job will be to preserve "the truly historic buildings of the campus and to maintain and enhance the historic character and context of the University." "Preservation is a management of place," he said, "and I think that's what I hope to bring to the table." Kapp's love for old buildings was inspired by the town where he grew up -- Galax, Va. -- filled as it was with specimens of grand old houses dating back to the early 19th century. While Kapp was away at Cornell University studying architecture, that love was cemented into a career when his parents bought a courthouse in Grayson County, Va., that they plan to turn into their home. The 5,000-square-foot brick building featured chestnut beams and pine floors and 10 mantle fireplaces but had no plumbing or electricity and was abandoned as a courthouse way back in 1850, when the county was split apart, Kapp said. Through the centuries, the building had seen a number of different incarnations, from a tavern to a hotel to an apartment building. Before his parents bought it, its final use had been as a hay barn. During summer break, Kapp joined his parents in dismantling various parts of the building so they could be preserved. As it turned out, Kapp spent much of his time on the windows. The sashes and glass were gone, but the sills and headers and beams were all there, bound together not by nails or screws but mortises and tenons. The frames themselves were held into the brick walls with dowels carved from tree branches. The experience gave him such an appreciation for old buildings that there was no turning back , he said. "After that summer, there was the realization that this was exactly what I wanted to do," Kapp said. After that, as far as he was concerned, the thought of designing modern or contemporary buildings was out. After he graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture from Cornell, he continued on at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to complete his master's in architecture specializing in historic preservation. Afterward, he returned to Galax to establish a private practice in historic preservation. Kapp ran a successful practice for more than a decade, but when he saw the position for a historic preservationist advertised for Carolina, something compelled him to respond. "I enjoyed private practice, but I guess the challenge of this job was just incredibly enticing," Kapp said. "There are monumental buildings here of great national significance and the opportunity to be a part of their restoration is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Asked if he had been to the campus before he interviewed here, Kapp said, "Oh yes, many times" and for no other reason than to admire the campus. "The historic campus of the University of North Carolina is famous," Kapp said. "It ranks right up there with the University of Virginia and Harvard and Princeton and Cornell. It's significant in the way it was planned and the way it was laid out." Kapp said he felt honored that he will be in a position to help preserve the special qualities for which the campus is known. Another quality that stands out here is the intimate way the town and University evolved together. "What is special here is the way the University embraces the town and the town embraces it," Kapp said. "I've been to a lot of campuses through my practice, and this one stands out." University Gazette
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