Have You Reserved Your Seat for the Celebration of Preservation?   

Wednesday, May 16 will be here soon! Join us at the 2012 Celebration of Preservation. This year the event will be held at the newly renovated (and 2012 award winning) Allen Theatre! Reservations can be made online.  If you have been thinking about advertising in our event program, you are running out of time! Ads are due by Friday, May 4. Contact us for details. Photo by Kevin G. Reeves.

This May "Discover America's  

Hidden Gems"

Preservation Month 2012 is here and this year the theme is "Discover America's Hidden Gems." Since 2005 the Cleveland Restoration Society and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have celebrated May as National Preservation Month, encouraging communities large and small to celebrate their rich, diverse heritage and draw more people into the growing preservation movement. What are you doing to celebrate preservation month?  There are plenty of opportunities around Northeast Ohio in the next few weeks - many are listed in our events calendar! Are you celebrating Preservation Month? Share your plans on CRS's Facebook page now!  

Councilman Conwell

Heritage Program Now Available in

Councilman Westbrook

Cleveland Wards 9, 16 and 17!

CRS welcomes Ward 9, supported by Councilman Kevin Conwell, Ward 16 supported by Councilman Jay Westbrook and Ward 17, supported by Councilwoman Dona Brady to the Heritage Home Program(SM). Owners of homes more than fifty years old in these wards are eligible for free assistance from CRS's technical staff, and may be qualified for a home rehabilitation loan at a 1.4%

Councilwoman Brady

rate! Email CRS at 

 hhp@heritagehomeprogram.org or call 216-426-3116 to learn more.

Heritage Home Program(SM) Announces 2% Fixed Interest Rate!

CRS is pleased to announce that on April 9 program partners KeyBank and Cuyahoga County approved lowering the interested rate on new Heritage Home loans to 2% from 3.5%! "Cuyahoga County is a great place to live because our communities offer many different kinds of homes. We know that owning a home is a major investment, and keeping up a home takes both time and money," said Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald. "Cuyahoga County is proud to offer this Heritage Home Loan Program for owners of homes more than 50 years old in participating communities. KeyBank and the Cleveland Restoration Society (CRS) are valuable partners with a history of serving Cuyahoga County's housing needs. CRS's highly qualified staff can help homeowners choose the work to be done, and hire qualified contractors, to preserve the historic character of their homes, keep them in good repair, and improve them to serve today's needs."  

In addition, now all houses in our partner communities built in 1962 or earlier and houses with vinyl or aluminum siding may be eligible for the Program. Loan administration fees have also been reduced. The Heritage Home Program(SM) is currently available in Cleveland Heights, East Cleveland, Lakewood, Lyndhurst, Shaker Heights, Akron, Canton, Green, and participating wards of Cleveland. We are always working to bring the program to new communities!  To learn more about the program email the staff at hhp@heritagehomeprogram.org or call 216-426-3116. 

Abandoned Buildings Documented 

Photographer Matthew Christopher has been documenting old, abandoned, and endangered buildings for the past eight years on his website, Abandoned America, in an effort to create a living memory of places that might not survive otherwise. But he doesn't take only conventional photos. Christopher also creates stunning 360-degree panoramas, effectively placing the viewer inside the buildings themselves. Two Cleveland abandoned sites are included on Christopher's website.

Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Update

The Ohio Department of Development is reviewing 27 applications for sixty historic buildings in Round 8 of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program. Together, the applications are requesting a total of $48.4 million in tax credits and constitute planned investments of more than $300 million in the state. Applications came from 12 Ohio communities, including five communities new to the program. A total of $29.6 million in tax credit allocation is currently available for Round 8 applicants. The Ohio Department of Development, in cooperation with the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, will complete application review by June 15, 2012. Approved applications will be announced no later than June 30, 2012.

Former Ohio Savings Bank in Larchmere Neighborhood has New Owner

Horizon Health Services purchased the Ohio Savings Bank, 2618 North Moreland Blvd., this past March. This is exciting news for the neighborhood. The building sat vacant on the corner of Larchmere and North Moreland Blvd., the gateway to Shaker Square and Larchmere Business District, for more than one year after former owner, New York Community Bank, closed the branch without notice. Local organizations, including Organize! Ohio, Neighborhood Progress Inc., and the Cleveland Restoration Society, joined area residents and businesses to question NYCB's actions. Their efforts resulted in NYCB funding a majority of the cost to complete a market feasibility study of Larchmere Boulevard, which is in progress and directed by Robert A. "Roby" Simons, urban planning professor at Cleveland State University. You can read more about the community-based revitalization efforts here.

New Recommendations to the National Register of Historic Places

Members of the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board have voted to recommend nominations for seven properties in Ohio be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places for her consideration. The nominations include one resource in Northeast Ohio: Adams Bag Company Paper Mill and Sack Factory Historic District, 218 Cleveland St, Chagrin Falls. For details of all the nominations, click here. Photo courtesy Chagrin Falls Historical Society. 

Lorain County History Center  

to Open

The Lorain County Historical Society will hold the dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the Lorain County History Center at 284 Washington Avenue in Elyria on Friday, May 11, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. The historical society's mission is to serve all persons and organizations interested in Lorain County's past, present and future by collecting, preserving, interpreting and presenting the history of Lorain County. The Lorain County History Center is located in the Italianate style Starr House, and it will greatly enhance the society's ability to accomplish this mission and to provide learning opportunities for Lorain County citizens. The Lorain County History Center will join The Hickories Museum, an 1895 mansion combining Richardsonian Romanesque and Shingle-style architecture, as properties of the Lorain County Historical Society.

Lakewood Historical Society's  

3rd Annual Scavenger Hunt

The Lakewood Historical Society is celebrating Lakewood's architectural treasures and Preservation Month with its 3rd annual Scavenger Hunt. Find the 20 architectural treasures in this free scavenger hunt and win great prizes from Lakewood businesses. The hunt starts May 12 and ends May 22. Visit www.lakewoodhistory.org to download the entry form on May 12. Answers will be posted on the website on May 23. Entries with all correct answers will be entered into a drawing to be held at a free program titled "Historically Significant?" on May 30, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Lakewood Public Library Auditorium, 15425 Detroit Avenue (winners need not be present at drawing). Photo by Rhonda Loje.

Open House Event Offered in  

Downtown Vermilion

On Thursday, May 17, Main Street Vermilion's Economic Revitalization Committee, the City of Vermilion, and the North Coast Builders' Association are holding the third annual Vermilion Open, which will showcase eighteen properties available for development in the historic downtown. An open house of the properties will be held from 2:00 - 4:00 followed by a reception at the Vermilion Boat Club. From 6:30 until dusk the town will hold its usual "Third Thursday" event, with musicians, food, and other entertainment. Start your tour at the Main Street Vermilion office, 685 Main Street. A brochure will be provided that will include pictures and addresses of renovated buildings and those in the process of being renovated, as well as of buildings and vacant land that are available for development. A bus will also be available for those preferring not to walk or in case of inclement weather. A map will be provided for those who prefer a self-guided tour. Contact Main Street Vermilion for more information.

Take a Hike Tours in Cleveland Begin May 22

Enjoy a free guided walking tour of Downtown Cleveland during this year's Take a Hike season! Presented by Dollar Bank, this Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation program offers four tours every week from May 22 through September 16 of the Historic Warehouse District, Gateway District, PlayhouseSquare and Canal Basin Park in the Flats. Featuring actors and actresses portraying important Clevelanders from the past, these tours are entertaining, educational and, don't forget, free! Take a Hike receives public support with local taxes from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, to preserve and enrich our region's artistic and cultural heritage. Visit www.clevelandgatewaydistrict.com or call 216-771-1994 for details.

Oberlin Heritage Center Offers History Walks This Summer

The Oberlin Heritage Center will offer a series of guided history walks on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. from June through September. Each is led by a trained docent who shares stories of those who lived, worked and went to school in Oberlin in days gone by. Walks offered are the Soldiers and Civilians History Walk in June; the Freedom's Friends History Walk in July and August; and the Radicals and Reformers History Walk in September. Tickets must be purchased in advance through the Heritage Center's website or at the Monroe House's Museum Store. The fee is $6 per adult. History walks are free to OHC members and any college student, although reservations still must be made in advance. As always, guided history walks and tours are free for children under 18 years, and are most likely to be enjoyed by children 9 years of age and up. Each walk is approximately 60-75 minutes. History walks also are available to groups of ten or more at other times by appointment.

Rent the Sarah Benedict House  

for Your Event 

Are you looking for a unique venue for your next special event or business meeting?  Consider the historic Sarah Benedict House, located in the heart of the MidTown neighborhood at 3751 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland.  Built in 1883, the house is fully restored and rehabilitated and offers four accessible rooms on its first floor, two restrooms, a catering kitchen, and a beautiful garden. There is ample, free parking. Contact Felicia Hall for more information.       

Office Space Available in MidTown

The historic Sarah Benedict House has a suite available for rent. Share the third floor with prestigious Cleveland nonprofits looking for a roommate. The house is well-located in an established neighborhood with easy access to highways and downtown and ample, free parking. In addition to the fully improved office space, there are meeting rooms on the first floor of the house available for use for free. The garden, open seasonally, can also be reserved for events, and is a wonderful spot for a restful lunch break.  A kitchen is provided for individual use or catering. To arrange a tour and find out more contact Felicia Hall.