Join us for Beer & Brats on  

June 15   

Join the Cleveland Restoration Society for our third annual Beer & Brats @ the Benedict benefit on Friday, June 15!  This fun summer gathering will be held in the beautiful garden of the Sarah Benedict House, which will be transformed for the evening into the Benedict Biergarten! Admire the grilling skills of CRS board chair Joe Marinucci and trustees Mike Cummins and Gordon Priemer as you munch on a Cleveland brat and wash it down with an ice cold beer.  Special entertainment will be provided by Pat Tamburro, l'Accordeoniste, a Cleveland-area performer specializing in music from the first half of the twentieth century.  Tickets are $50 per person. Free parking is available on site. Bring your family and friends.  Register for Beer & Brats by clicking here.  

CRS Summer Benefit Planned for July 28 at the Calfee Building     

At the eve of its 100th anniversary, what was constructed as the East Ohio Gas Company in 1915 has been transformed into the Calfee Building-a stunning new headquarters for Cleveland's venerable law firm, Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLC. Started in 1903, this enduring legal partnership now practices in a sparkling Beaux Arts style building bespeaking of the majesty of the law.  CRS's 2012 summer benefit will be held in this gorgeous space, and the evening will include dinner in the restored lobby and mezzanine of the building. Be dazzled by the beauty of the space and its transformation into a gorgeous environment for socializing and dinner.

The Calfee Building is a contributing structure in Cleveland's Group Plan assemblage of civic structures envisioned by Daniel Burnham at the dawn of the last century. Burnham's memorable words: "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood...Make big plans, aim high in hope and work."

Make your plans to join us on Saturday, July 28, for this special evening! Tickets will begin at $225 per person. Table hosting and sponsorship opportunities are available now.  Contact Felicia Hall at 216-426-3110.

Preservation Award Winners Recap

We've gotten lots of feedback that this year's Celebration of Preservation was the best one yet! Our nine award-winning projects were outstanding. If you'd like to see the awards show, you can! The City of Cleveland's TV 20 is showing its coverage of the event three times a day, 7:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m.,  right now until Monday, June 4.  Anyone can watch online at those times through this link. 

CAC Makes Video About CRS Programs

Also online is the video that Cuyahoga Arts & Culture created about the Cleveland Restoration Society for CAC's recently released annual report. You can view the short video here.

CRS Forms New Subsidiary

CRS has formed a subsidiary non-profit corporation, the Heritage Home Educational Society. The purpose of the new company is to operate the Heritage Home Program. This will allow the Program to reach areas outside of the Cleveland area and for us to partner with other preservation groups in offering the Program. The transition of Heritage Home Program operations to the new subsidiary has already begun and will not have any effect of how the program operates.  For more information about the program visit www.heritagehomeprogram.org.

Apply for a Diversity Scholarship to the  

National Preservation Conference

The National Trust for Historic Preservation seeks culturally diverse applicants whose attendance at the Conference will benefit their communities and whose commitment to historic preservation will be reinforced by their participation. The Diversity Scholarship Program supports and strengthens the work of diverse grassroots leaders by sharing with them a broad range of preservation tools and networks. The program provides financial assistance to individuals from diverse social, economic, racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds to attend the National Preservation Conference, which will be held in Spokane, Washington October 30 - November 3, 2012. Scholarship recipients will have an opportunity to express their perspectives during the conference and to take advantage of National Trust programs afterward. The application is online here and due by June 15. If you have any questions, contact the Diversity Scholarship Program at scholarship@nthp.org.

New Report on Historic Preservation and Right-Sizing

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has just released a report on Historic Preservation and Rightsizing, prepared by Cara Bertron and Donovan Rypkema. The report includes a survey of twenty American cities, including Cleveland and Youngstown, focusing on vacant buildings, vacant land, building stock, and the limited resources available to deal with these challenges. CRS's own Michael Fleenor assisted Ms. Bertron when she was working on her thesis in 2010 and was part of a panel she organized on rightsizing and historic preservation at the National Preservation Conference last year. Read the report here.

Back to the City?

A recent online article posted to The Atlantic Cities by Richard Florida notes a changing pattern across our country in moving "back to the city", with special attention paid to Cleveland. According to Florida, although most population and economic growth over the past decades took place in the suburbs and exurbs, the 2010 Census hints at a subtle shift back to urban centers and first- and second-ring suburbs. Our city's high downtown residential occupancy rate was noted, in particular. The entire article can be read here.

Finding Preservation and Accessible History at the 2012 Webby Awards

For a preservation-inspired blog entry about the recent 2012 Webby Awards, courtesy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, click here.

Annual Report on Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program Released

Themed "Renewed Program. Renewed Buildings. Renewed Communities.", the 2011 Annual Report of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program has been released by the Ohio Department of Development. The report celebrates both the Ohio General Assembly's commitment to renew the program in June 2011 and the literal renewal of historic buildings that the program facilitates. The report highlights the progress of the program during 2011, including the announcing of 26 new projects during Rounds 5-7 and reaching 49 completed projects. The completed projects represent more than $561 million in total investment, creating nearly 4,300 construction jobs and housing more than 6,600 permanent jobs and 1,270 housing units. The report spotlights three renewed buildings and the results of an Economic Impact Study completed by Cleveland State University in 2011. To read the Annual Report, click here.

Neighborhood Infrastructure Assistance Program Legislation Being Promoted

Heritage Ohio has just sent out word that it is working with partners to pass legislation to provide tax credits to for-profit corporations that invest in place-based catalytic neighborhood projects around Ohio. Ohio's Neighborhood Infrastructure Assistance Program (NIAP) would offer tax credits to businesses and corporations that invest private dollars in transformative community projects, such as theatre renovations, rural youth community centers, main street revitalization, brownfield clean-up or the development of affordable housing development.The program would be similar to those found in fifteen states across the country, including Ohio's neighbors Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania, Read more here.

Heritage Ohio's Annual Preservation Award Winners Announced

On May 10 Heritage Ohio announced the winners of its 2012 Annual Preservation Awards during its statewide conference in Toledo. Ten people, projects, and communities were recognized for their outstanding preservation work in the state of Ohio. Click here to learn more about these inspiring award winners.

2012 Ohio Top  

Preservation Opportunities

For the sixth year, Heritage Ohio has come out with a list of the "Top Preservation Opportunities" across the state. These are projects that are on the verge of transforming a community. For the list of Top Opportunities for 2012, click here.

"2012 Summer Excitement"  

in PlayhouseSquare

Starting May 29 through September 15, the PlayhouseSquare District will be bustling with activity outdoors on Star Plaza and inside the PlayhouseSquare theaters as PlayhouseSquare and the PlayhouseSquare District Development Corporation (PDDC) work to present "Summer Excitement 2012 at PlayhouseSquare." The program is the result of a combined effort of both organizations to build a thriving downtown neighborhood and present a variety of outdoor lunchtime and after work events.  Many events are free. See the schedule at www.playhousesquare.org.

Cuyahoga County  

Court House Centennial Celebration

Come celebrate the 100th anniversary of Cuyahoga County's beautiful court house building, located at the intersection of Lakeside Avenue and Ontario Street, on Sunday, June 10 from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. The Court House will be open for tours of its public spaces and hidden gems and there will be talks about Cleveland history, art, architecture, and high-profile legal cases. Light refreshments will be served. Free parking will be available in the surface lot behind the building. See the county's website for more information.

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.