I debuted this blog five years ago today!
In the past five years, this blog and its 87 posts have been viewed 40,998 times, though about 175 of those hits were me accidentally. This is up from 2,490 hits after the first year, 6,409 after the second, 15,542 after the third, and 28,204 times at the four-year mark.
The most popular post this past year again was Cocoon House with 1,847 hits, bringing its all-time total to 4,672–the most for one of my entries by about 3,000 views. (Who knew a weird looking guest house would be so popular throughout the world?) Of the posts written in the past year, the top three most popular were:
The last one was written by a friend of mine, and I hope for more guest posts in the future. I think my best entry of the year was on Derby Lane, the oldest greyhound racing track in the world. In addition to that post, I also presented on Derby Lane at the Society for Commercial Archeology Conference last month in St. Petersburg.
Gator Preservationist is no longer only accessible through Word Press. Last October, I signed a contract with Google to share much of the blog’s content on their Field Trip app.
Meanwhile, the Gator Preservationist Facebook page, where I post my photos of old structures as well as links to preservation-related articles, is up to 188 likes, not including myself. Last year it had 98. This year I have posted photos from my travels in New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, and throughout Florida. I also still write for Curbed’s Past Lives series, which features unique multifamily rehabilitation projects. And I’m still working as an architectural historian at a cultural resources management company in Florida.
And, in personal news, I am happy to announce that my wife and I got married in September.
Until next year, thanks for reading.
Gator Preservationist 