CRS Accepting Preservation  

Award Nominations

The Cleveland Restoration Society and AIA Cleveland will once again hold a Celebration of Preservation during historic preservation month in May 2014.  Nominations for the annual award program are now open.  These preservation awards are bestowed upon individuals and organizations whose contributions demonstrate excellence and outstanding commitment.  Only a select number of recipients are chosen through a jury process, ensuring the best show of amazing transformations each year.  Nominations may be made online here.  If you have questions about the award program or a nomination, send it to Michael Fleenor, CRS director of preservation services.

Zoar Village Saved

The Village of Zoar and preservationists across the country are celebrating after learning that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is no longer considering removal of the levee that protects the historic village of Zoar.  This means that the greatest threat to the Village of Zoar - relocation or demolition of the historic community - is off the table.  This news comes after the Corps received over 2,000 comments in support of saving Zoar from people across the country and the world.  They also completed exhaustive engineering studies of the levee and determined that it is no longer likely to fail under normal operating conditions, partly due to interim risk reduction measures taken since 2008.  Founded by German immigrants in 1817, Zoar is both a functioning community, home to just under 200 residents, and a historic site that attracts thousands of visitors annually, telling the story of immigration to the United States and illustrating the history of settlement throughout this region of the country.  Zoar is protected from floodwaters along the Tuscarawas River by a levee built in the 1930s. Record floods in 2005, however, raised concern about the levee's integrity, leading the Corps to conduct a multi-year study to assess the levee's future. One of many alternatives that had been under consideration is removing the levee entirely, which would have required the relocation or demolition of 80 percent of the historic village, prompting the National Trust to place it on the 11 Most Endangered List in 2012.  Click here to learn more.  Photo by Andy Donaldson. 

Submit Places for the 2014 11 Most Endangered List

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is now accepting nominations for the 2014 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Over the past 26 years, the National Trust's list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places has been instrumental in helping to sound the alarm, and help save, hundreds of America's most important, threatened places.

Like Zoar Village, detailed in the article above, many places named to the list in recent years are already on the path to preservation.  The deadline for submissions to the list is March 3, 2014. 

US Loses its Vote in UNESCO

In early November, the United States formally lost its vote in UNESCO due to the non-payment of dues.  US/ICOMOS, together with Preservation Action and other organizations and individuals, have been working to increase public awareness of this issue for the past year.  Most recently, at the National Preservation Conference in Indianapolis, US/ICOMOS worked with the San Antonio Conservation Society, Preservation Action, and a coalition of World Heritage supporters in Ohio, among others, to host an exhibit booth, donated by US/ICOMOS Board member Andrew Potts, on World Heritage and the potential effects of non-payment of dues on upcoming World Heritage nominations for US sites.  Unfortunately, these efforts have not yet had a positive outcome.  US/ICOMOS will be hosting Senator Patrick J. Leahy as guest speaker at its upcoming benefit, being held on December 11 in Washington, DC.  Senator Leahy has been a strong and consistent voice in support of continued US participation in UNESCO.  You can read more about the US losing its voting rights in the New York Times and at CNN.com.

Warehouse District Anthology Unveiled

The Historic Warehouse District has new public art that tells the stories of Cleveland's first neighborhood.  Designed as book pages for the street and called Anthology, each free standing element is the creation of artist Corrie Slawson  and explores a history that has been curated and written by Thomas Yablonsky.   The first two chapters in the Anthology, Architectural Style and Architects (corner of West 6th and St. Clair Avenue) and The Garment Industry (1223 West 6th Street) were installed in November.   These pieces mark the completion of a $1M West 6th Street Enhancement project.  

Best Wishes to Judith Kitchen 

The Cleveland Restoration Society would like to recognize our colleague Judith Kitchen, Technical Preservation Services Department Head at the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, on her retirement at the end of November.  Kitchen joined the Ohio Historic Preservation Office in the early 1970s as its first employee.  She has created or been instrumental in the development of a number of programs that are now the foundation of historic preservation in our state, including the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program and the popular Building Doctor program.  We thank her for her lasting contribution to preservation and wish her well in her retirement.  Photo of Judith Kitchen (shown left during a Building Doctor visit) courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch. 

News from the Sarah Benedict House

Please note that CRS's office will be closed December 25 - January 1.  The office will reopen on Thursday, January 2.  From our Sarah Benedict House to your house, we hope that you have a wonderful holiday!

Office Space Available at Historic  

Sarah Benedict House

Available for lease January 1, 2014 is the third floor level of the Sarah Benedict House.  The space includes approximately 1,500 SF of fully improved office space: five+ rooms, restroom, and storage facilities. The first floor meeting rooms of the Sarah Benedict House are also available for use by third floor tenants, as is the adjacent garden. A kitchen is provided for catering and tenant use. Click here for more information. To schedule a tour, contact Felicia Hall at (216) 426-3110 or felicia.hall@clevelandrestoration.org.

Attend the Warehouse District's Annual Holiday Tour Tonight! 

Begin your holiday fun by attending the 14th Annual Holiday Tour this evening, December 4 in the Warehouse District.  Festivities kick off at a reception starting at 5:30 pm, in the Bridgeview Apartments' Atrium, 1300 West Ninth Street.  Beginning at 6:30 pm, the tour gets underway, featuring exciting downtown living and new developments in the district.  Sites include Bridgeview Apartments, The Bingham, 425 Lakeside, and The Erie Building, plus a peek at the trendy new Aloft Hotel Downtown Cleveland.  Along the tour route, attendees will enjoy great food samplings from many of the fine district restaurants and clubs, as well as music at many of the tour sites.   As guests finish their tours, they will head to a dessert reception at downtown's new jazz club, Take 5 Rhythm & Jazz Tapas Lounge, 740 West Superior Avenue, with desserts courtesy of Constantino's Market, and music by Blue Lunch.  Tickets for the tour are $75 at the door.  There is $2 parking available at the SE Corner of West 9th and St. Clair, courtesy of ABM Parking Services.  This event benefits the Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation.  For further information, visit www.warehousedistrict.org.

Reserve Your Spot on a  

CLE City Life Tour

Discover the vibrancy of Cleveland's neighborhoods on a two-hour chartered bus tour.  Go through Tremont, Ohio City, Gordon Square, MidTown, Downtown, University Circle and Little Italy and more to learn why city living is so popular.  Staff from Cleveland Neighborhood Progress will lead the way and reveal some of the city's best areas to live and visit.  Tours will be held on Saturday, December 28, Sunday, December 29, and Monday, January 20.  Each tour costs $12.  These tours are ideal for college grads, young professionals, boomerangs, suburbanites who want to reconnect with the city - or anyone with a love for Cleveland!  Each rider gets a copy of the LiveCLEVELAND! guide and a CLE City Life t-shirt.  Seats are limited.  Click here for more information.

New Exhibit of Miniatures at the  

Shaker Historical Society

Now through January 19, enjoy an exhibit entitled "Miniature Wonderlands" at the Shaker Historical Society, 16740 Shaker Boulevard, Shaker Heights.  Enjoy holiday sparkle with miniature rooms, dolls houses plus model trains.  View the collections of Jerry Arnold, The Cleveland Miniature Society, and Bob Orlando.  Embrace your inner child and wonder at a miniature world.  The Cleveland Miniature Society has been dedicated to the promotion and enjoyment of dollhouse miniatures since 1971. Jerry & Darla Arnold are both artists who collect antique holiday items.  Long-time model train collector, Bob Orlando will be displaying his model train, also shown in Rail Fest at Lakeland Community College. On display in the Jack and Linda Lissauer Gallery is solo art exhibit Parker's Playground, the playful paintings from Patricia Zinsmeister Parker.  Parker has become known for her expressive paintings and still life works on paper.  Museum Hours are Tuesday - Friday 11:00 - 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.  See the museum website for more information and entrance fees.