New Report Shows That Downtown  

Retail, Residential, and Office Markets Continue to Thrive

The Downtown Cleveland Alliance has released a report that provides an in-depth look at downtown's business development for the second quarter of 2013.  The report shows:

• This quarter marked the ninth consecutive quarter of 95 percent or greater residential occupancy, with occupancy holding steady at 96.5 percent.
• Downtown retail continued its high growth this quarter, with a total of 31 new shops and restaurants opening so far in 2013 and 22 slated to open later in 2013 and 2014.
• Asking lease rates are on the rise Downtown, reflecting a national trend toward higher demand for office space in walkable, mixed-use areas near rapid transit and bus lines.
• Five Downtown hotel projects are underway, with current hotel occupancy at 75 percent, and daily rates and revenue per available room are showing year over year increases.
• Office occupancy has increased in eight of the last nine quarters, up from 76.7 percent in Q1 2011 to 80.3 percent in Q2 2013.

Click here for the full report.

East Cleveland History

A new book detailing the history of East Cleveland has just been published as part of Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series.  The book, East Cleveland, by Leah Santosuosso, is available from local retailers as well as www.amazon.com, and www.arcadiapublishing.com, among others.

Anniversaries in Oberlin

Executive Director Pat Murphy remembers that during her second interview for the job at the Oberlin Heritage Center back in 1993, then-board President Marianne Cochrane told her that the organization was a "sleeping giant which would soon awaken."  During the past twenty years, Cochrane's fairy-tale analogy has turned into a true story.  Members and friends of the Oberlin Heritage Center will be celebrating the highlights of the past two decades at a special event on the museum grounds on Sunday, September 8.  The occasion marks the 110th anniversary of the Oberlin Village Improvement Society (the early predecessor of OHC) and honors Pat and Assistant to the Director Mary Anne Cunningham, who both joined the organization in 1993 as part of the transition from an all-volunteer group to one led by professional staff.  The event also serves as a fundraiser to continue the growth of the Endowment for History Education at its ten-year mark.  We tip our hats to Pat in recognition of all that she and her loyal staff have achieved over the past twenty years.  Congratulations!

Columbus Landmarks Seeks  

Executive Director

Columbus Landmarks Foundation is seeking an executive director to be the senior staff person, spokesperson, community representative, and principal fund raiser for the organization. The executive director reports directly to the Board of Directors, working closely with officers and committee chairs in a strong leadership style. Goal oriented, engaging and motivating, the executive director should have excellent communication skills, administration and management ability of staff and finances, experience in grant solicitation and fundraising, and ability to represent an organization with a focus of historic preservation, urban design, architecture, and knowledge of Columbus. Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications. Founded in 1977, Columbus Landmarks Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of Columbus's architectural heritage. Address all correspondence to "Executive Director Search Committee," at info@columbuslandmarks.org.  Only resumes submitted electronically will be considered.  Deadline for submission is Friday, September 13, 2013.

News from the Sarah Benedict House

The Cleveland Restoration Society is pleased to welcome Ann Bish and Jessica Dawson to our staff.  Ann is an accounting professional with over fifteen years of experience who joins us as our new business & finance manager.  A board member of the Lakewood Historical Society, she has also chaired the Lakewood Chautauqua event in June 2013 and 2011.  Jessica joins CRS as our new database assistant and will be helping with membership and development activities.  Jessica has experience collecting data and managing databases for nonprofits.  She has taken some coursework in historic preservation in graduate school and is very interested in learning more about CRS's work.  Welcome, Ann and Jessica!

Celebrate the New Neighborhood Progress

You are invited to come celebrate the recent merger that took place within Cleveland's nationally renowned community development industry. Join staff, stakeholders and supporters of Neighborhood Progress, Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition and LiveCLEVELAND! to celebrate the merging of these groups. At this event, you will learn more about the new organization and receive important industry updates. Community development awards will also be presented to a number of Cleveland CDCs.  This will be an exciting event and will launch Neighborhood Progress and Cleveland's community development partners into a new phase of revitalizing Cleveland's neighborhoods.  Registration is required for this event, which will take place on Wednesday, September 25 from 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. at the Tudor Arms Hotel, 10660 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland.

Free Admission at  

Oberlin Heritage Center

If you have been curious about seeing the Oberlin Heritage Center, there will be a wonderful opportunity for you at the end of this month. The center will be participating in Smithsonian Magazine's 9th Annual Museum Day by providing free tour admission on Saturday, September 28 at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to visitors plus one guest.  All you need to do is present the Museum Day Admission Card, which is available at www.smithsonianmagazine.com/museumday.  Museum Day involves hundreds of museums around the country and allows for one day only the free-admission policy of the Smithsonian's Washington, D.C.-based properties to be emulated throughout America.  Don't miss this chance to take a tour of the Oberlin Heritage Center or to visit another participating museum on September 28!

New Exhibit Showcases Charles F. Schweinfurth 

Cleveland's finest ecclesiastical, civic, academic, and domestic architecture is the work of a singular architect - Charles F. Schweinfurth (1856-1919). Schweinfurth's genius transformed the city's nineteenth-century urban landscape more than any other architect.  This important retrospective is a joint project of ARTneo, formerly the Cleveland Artists Foundation, and the Cleveland Public Library's Charles F. Schweinfurth Memorial Library.  The exhibit will reveal images of Schweinfurth's 100+ works in Cleveland, of which more than 60 have been demolished.  Many of the exhibit items come from the Cleveland Public Library's Charles F. Schweinfurth Memorial Library, a collection of archival material given to the Library in 1925 by Schweinfurth's widow, Anna M. Schweinfurth.  These items, along with material from the Western Reserve Historical Society, Case Western Reserve University Archives, Cleveland State University and Trinity Cathedral, will illustrate Schweinfurth's amazing body of work.  A native of Auburn, New York, Schweinfurth arrived in Cleveland in 1883 with a commission to design the home of Sylvester T. Everett, financier, city treasurer, and railroad magnate.  Everett's massive home, completed in 1887 (shown here), was the first of fifteen residences Schweinfurth designed for the city's "Millionaires' Row".  Schweinfurth's prolific career included numerous landmarks such as Trinity Cathedral, the Shoreby Club, the interior of the Cuyahoga County Court House, the Union Club, the Rockefeller Park bridges and nine buildings on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.   

ARTneo's retrospective, curated by Anthony Hiti, AIA, will present, for the first time ever, original renderings, drawings and historic images, along with contemporary photography.  The exhibit opens September 6 and continues through November 2, at the Beck Center for the Arts, 17801 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood.  Gallery hours are Wednesday - Saturday, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. and by appointment.  An opening reception will be held on Friday, September 6, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

New Exhibition Explores Foreclosure Crisis

"Every Pace I Have Ever Lived - the foreclosure crisis in twelve neighborhoods," is a new exhibition that has just opened at the Campbell Gallery of of the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. In this display, photographer Charles Mintz explores the foreclosure crisis through documentation of the neighborhoods where he has lived throughout his life.  Most of Mintz's photos have been taken around his current home in Cleveland, but there are also images from locations in New Jersey, Indiana and Michigan.  There will be an opening reception on September 12, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the college, 1717 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland.  The exhibition will be open through November 15, 2013.  The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.  There are numerous public parking lots located around the CSU campus. Click here for visitor parking 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 Cleveland's MidTown neighborhood at 3751 Prospect Avenue.  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 plenty of free parking. Click here for more information.