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December 2017 Preservation News & Events
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Heritage Ohio is Recipient of NTHP Award
Join us in congratulating Heritage Ohio as the 2017 John H. Chafee Trustees Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Policy! The award was given at the National Trust Conference for Historic Preservation in Chicago in mid-November. Heritage Ohio was commended for its strong national leadership in historic preservation in its sustained and expert advocacy.
The National Trust honored Heritage Ohio in part for their feverish efforts on the federal Historic Tax Credit campaign, where Heritage Ohio organized a petition signed by 4,743 people to convey the importance of historic tax credits to Senator Rob Portman. Heritage Ohio also mobilized a state-wide campaign to secure 12 out of 16 Ohio Congressmen as co-sponsors of the Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act. The National Trust recognized Heritage Ohio for its expanded federal advocacy efforts to address the deferred maintenance needs of historic structures in national parks and commended the leadership for their work with the Ohio Main Street program, one of the most effective Main Street programs in the country. A big THANK YOU goes out to Joyce Barrett, executive director, and the rest of the staff of Heritage Ohio for all you do.
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Cleveland Heights Heritage Home Program Homeowner Wins Preservation Award
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Photo courtesy of Jamain Owens
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This years' winner of the Cleveland Heights Historic Preservation Award for Rehabilitation of a Mid-Century Home was Jamain Owens, one of our very own Heritage Home Program homeowners! Jamain's award was the result of a hard journey we know all too well.
Located adjacent to the Forest Hills Historic District, the property was saved from the wrecking ball by Jamain Owens who purchased the structure from the Cuyahoga County Landbank. After going through tax foreclosure, the property sat vacant for five years as it slipped into a deteriorated state. Equipped with a vision for its future, Jamain Owens worked with the Landbank to purchase the property at a low-cost and obtained a loan from the Cleveland Restoration Society's Heritage Home Program to support the project. Jamain planned and implemented an extensive interior rehabilitation and exterior restoration transforming this once dilapidated property into a focal point of the neighborhood.
An extensive interior rehabilitation included new HVAC, plumbing, electrical, hardwood floor repair and refinishing, and renovations to the bathrooms and kitchen. What makes this a stand-out project was not only Jamain's initiative in maintaining an intact streetscape by personally investing in this property to prevent its demolition (Jamain lives in the neighborhood himself), but also his critical attention to detail of the home's historic building fabric. Following the Forest Hills Homeowner Association's strict material regulations, Jamain stood by roofers at they completed extensive roof repairs to the multi-colored original slate roof. He selected expert masons to rebuild the stone wall leading up to the property's front door. He used a critical eye to purchase quality interior doors and windows that match and/or compliment the original. He was also able to salvage wood from the once-finished basement to rebuild part of a rear sunroom. Jamain's tireless efforts to rehabilitate the property deserve much recognition and we commend him for his award from the Cleveland Heights Historic Landmark Commission.
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African-American Cultural Heritage Action Fund
The National Trust for Historic Preservation and its partners recently introduced the African-American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to elevate the remarkable stories in our midst that evoke centuries of African-American activism and achievement, and to tell our nation's full history. Indeed, the stories and places of African-American culture and heritage have always existed, but too often have not been fully acknowledged for the integral role they play in the fabric of American society. The National Trust is committed to crafting a narrative that expands our view of history and, ultimately, begins to reconstruct our national identity, while inspiring a new generation of activists to advocate for our diverse historic places.
Our work in Ward 1 on the Lee-Harvard neighborhood was our own initiative to highlight African-American history and culture in Cleveland and illuminate a story that has not been told or understood to give a voice to those who have been marginalized.
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Oberlin Joins Heritage Home Program
The Heritage Home Program(SM) welcomes the City of Oberlin as a
partner community! Owners of homes fifty years old or older can take advantage of low interest loans from Northwest Bank, our banking partner in Lorain County. Loans can be used for home rehab, maintenance, and restoration projects, and come with HHP escrow services. Free technical assistance is also available to Oberlin residents from our knowledgeable staff.
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CRS Annual Fund and Private Open House
Now is the perfect time to donate to our winter annual fund! Some of our personal highlights of the year include:
- Awarded 13 projects that demonstrated excellence in historic preservation at our annual Celebration of Preservation
- Replaced a sewer line to the Sarah Benedict House to stop flooding of our basement
- Heard Dr. Laurie Rush at our Community Luncheon speak on the protection of cultural heritage in war zones
- Partnered with the Cleveland Museum of Art to present "Monuments Men: the Cleveland Connection"
CRS Members are invited to join us at a Private Open House on December 10, from 2-4 p.m., at 2834 Courtland Blvd, Shaker Heights. We worked to save this property from 2014-2016 and are excited to share the results of the project with you. If you are not a current CRS member, there is an option to renew or join as a member in the registration for the open house.
Thank you for all your support, none of this would be possible without each one of you.
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Celebration of Preservation Call for Entries
Help us celebrate this past year's amazing preservation projects by nominating a project to receive recognition at the 2018 Celebration of Preservation. The Cleveland Restoration Society and AIA Cleveland's annual preservation awards program recognizes individuals and organizations whose contributions demonstrate excellence and outstanding commitment to historic preservation. Nominations are due Friday, February 16th, 2018 by 5:00 p.m. Awards will be determined by a jury of architects, contractors, and others involved in historic preservation and announced during the Celebration of Preservation in May 2018. Look to our website next week for guidelines on project submissions.
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How Much is Your Local Target Worth
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Image courtesy of Jake Krohn
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How much is a Target or a Walmart really worth to your community? When Strong Towns member Jake Krohn heard that his local Target in Fergus Falls, Minnesota was planning to leave town in a few months, he decided to find the answer to this question.
While many of his neighbors and local media were wringing their hands about what a loss this departure would be for Fergus Falls, Jake dug into the tax data behind the Target and presented his findings on his blog.
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Public Spaces, Social Movements: How Planning and Design Can Shape Public Discourse
There is a clear resurgence of social movements happening throughout New York City and other major metropolitan areas in the United States. This renewed focus on the public realm calls into question how planners and designers can respond and engage with issues related to the civic commons.
The New York chapters of the American Planning Association (APA), American Institute of Architects (AIA), and American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) hosted a one-day conference in September to examine this timely subject, explore contemporary issues associated with the civic commons, and discuss ideas for the future of spaces for public discourse. The conference included viewpoints and information from political change organizations and city management, spatial studies and a moderated town hall.
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Building with Biophilia: An Interview with Nikos Salingaros
Prof. Salingaros, you've written extensively on the importance of taking human biology into account when designing human habitations. It seems reasonable enough: human buildings for human beings. When laid low following a recent dinner in a modernist, cube-style home, I was, for example, tempted to wonder whether my discomfort was as much architectural as oenological. True, the night had seen plenty of libations, so perhaps it's not the best illustration of the phenomenon; but more generally, do you think that buildings can really make us sick?
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Calendar
Now - December 31
Exhibit: "Endangered Antiquities"
Main Library, Special Collections John G. White Corridor, 3rd Floor
325 Superior Ave., Cleveland
Cleveland Public Library
December 10
Private Open House
2834 Courtland Blvd., Shaker Heights
2:00-4:00 p.m., FREE, CRS Members Only, RSVP
Cleveland Restoration Society
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Save the Date
January 20
Introduction to Oral History Interviews: Mini-Workshop
Oberlin Public Library
65 South Main St., Oberlin
Oberlin Heritage Center
March 1
Contractor Open House
Sarah Benedict House
3751 Prospect Ave., Cleveland
3:00-6:00 p.m., Limited to Contractors and Tradesmen, RSVP Charles Crouch
Heritage Home Program
March 8
2018 Community Luncheon
Westin Downtown, Cleveland
11:00-1:30 p.m.
Cleveland Restoration Society
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