Because History Matters!

Sponsor Table Hosts

BakerHostetler

National Trust Community Investment Corporation

Thompson Hine LLP

Patron Table Hosts

BakerHostetler

City Architecture

Cleveland Construction, Inc.

Drury Hotels

Pat and Bill Eldredge

Ernst & Young LLP

First Federal Lakewood

Frost Architectural Preservation, Inc.

Grant Thornton LLP

Herman Gibans Fodor, Inc. Architects

J&M Real Estate Advisors, Inc.

McGladrey LLP

PlayhouseSquare Foundation

The Sherwin-Williams Company

Weber Murphy Fox Architects

CRS and AIA Preservation Awards Deadline Extended

Northeastern Ohioans are using creative strategies and preservation incentives to bring new life to our local historic resources. You will hear this good news when the Cleveland Restoration Society and AIA Cleveland present the annual Celebration of Preservation during Historic Preservation Month, May 2014. The deadline for nominating a project for consideration by the awards jury has been extended to Friday, February 14. Click here to download the nomination form. If you have questions about the award program or a nomination, send it to Michael Fleenor, CRS director of preservation services.

New Heritage Purchase/Rehab Program Launched

The Cleveland Restoration Society is pleased to announce the creation of the Heritage Home Purchase Program(SM).  This transformational real estate financing program provides qualified buyers the opportunity to purchase an undervalued home that needs a little TLC and make it their home. The Heritage Home Purchase Program(SM) combines free technical assistance from the Cleveland Restoration Society, a market-rate purchase loan from First Federal Lakewood, and a Heritage Home Program rehab loan from First Federal Lakewood at a special low fixed-interest rate. The Heritage Home Purchase Program(SM) was created as a collaborative partnership between the Cleveland Restoration Society, Cuyahoga County, and First Federal Lakewood. While the program was initiated as a project of the City of South Euclid, it will now be available to homebuyers in Cuyahoga cities that participate in the Heritage Home Program(SM). To celebrate the launch of this exciting new program, a press conference was held at a vacant home on Bluestone Road in South Euclid. This home would be a great opportunity to use the new purchase/rehab program. For more information, click here or call the Cleveland Restoration Society at 216-426-3116.

Volunteer Surveyors Wanted

Would you like to volunteer your time and help survey mid-century modern architecture?  The Ohio History Service Corps, a program of the Ohio Historical Society working with AmeriCorps members, is conducting history-related projects within communities throughout Ohio.  As a part of this effort, Petra Knapp, a surveyor for the Ohio Historic Preservation Corps, is surveying historic properties and neighborhoods of the mid-twentieth century, from 1940-1970, in Cleveland, co-sponsored with the Cleveland Restoration Society.  Properties will include residential, commercial, religious, civic, and cultural sites reflecting important themes and architecture associated with mid-twentieth century Cleveland and its suburbs. If you are interested in volunteering to assist with this survey, contact Petra Knapp.

Center for Community Progress Releases Report About Legacy Cities

A new report, Placemaking in Legacy Cities: Opportunities and Good Practices, explores how residents and leaders in Legacy Cities have used placemaking principles to transform blighted public spaces into revitalized community assets. The report, prepared for the Center for Community Progress by New Solutions Group, LLC, uses case studies to explore placemaking in four different Legacy City settings: downtowns, anchor districts, neighborhoods, and corridors/trails. Featured placemaking sites are: Over the Rhine in Cincinnati, Ohio; Midtown, the Georgia Street Community Collective, and Clark Park in Detroit, Michigan; Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, New York; and the waterfront development and associated trail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Click here to download the report.

National Preservation Award Nominations Open

What do the Empire State Building, a South Carolina Gullah Geeche house, a San Francisco YMCA building, and the Cleveland Restoration Society have in common? They've all received National Preservation Awards from the National Trust for Historic Preservation!  Now is your chance to nominate a deserving project, individual, organization, or agency to receive one of these prestigious, national awards!  Each year the National Trust for Historic Preservation celebrates the best of preservation by presenting the Richard H. Driehaus National Preservation Awards to individuals and organizations who have demonstrated excellence in historic preservation.  Do you know of a project that deserves to join this group and be recognized as one of the best in preservation?  Nominate that individual, organization, agency, or project now for a National Preservation Award.  The nomination deadline is March 3, 2014.

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 for, and save, hundreds of America's most threatened places. Many places named to the list in recent years are already on the path to preservation, like Ohio's Zoar Village.  The deadline for submissions to the list is March 3, 2014. 

Your Tax Return Can Make History

Its tax season again, and this is just a reminder that the voluntary tax "check-off" for the Ohio Historical Society that you'll find on your Ohio individual income tax return benefits history- and preservation-related organizations throughout the state. When you opt to donate a portion of your state income tax refund to the Ohio Historical Society, it goes to support the History Fund, which makes grants to organizations for local history- and preservation-related projects in communities across Ohio. In 2013, the History Fund received $137,153 in donations from 15,890 Ohioans who contributed a portion of their state income tax refund. Most donations are small, averaging $8.63 in 2013, but the impact is big for those who receive History Fund grants. The matching grants are awarded on a competitive basis. The Cleveland Restoration Society received a grant from the History Fund for 40th Anniversary Legacy Project to survey, celebrate, and protect landmarks of Cleveland's African American Experience. Please consider donating a portion of your tax refund to the Ohio Historical Society for the History Fund when you complete your state income tax return this year. Visit www.ohiohistory.org/makehistory or call the Ohio Historical Society's Local History Office at 800-858-6878 to learn more.

New William R. Joseph Ohio Arts Advocacy Medal Announced

Ohio Citizens for the Arts will celebrate the life and legacy of its founder and arts advocate William R. Joseph through an annual award beginning in 2014. The William R. Joseph Ohio Arts Advocacy Medal will be given annually as part of the Governor's Awards for the Arts in Ohio and Arts Day Luncheon. Bill was an expert in nonprofit law and a tireless advocate who did much to advance the network of arts and culture organizations in our region. He also served as a Community Advisor to the Cleveland Restoration Society. Ohio Citizens for the Arts' members may make nominations now through February 28, 2014 for the first recipient of the medal. For more information, click here.

LakewoodAlive Celebrates 10th Anniversary

On Saturday, February 8, more than 200 Lakewood residents, business owners, and community supporters are expected to gather to celebrate the success of many organizations and individuals who have contributed to the renaissance in downtown Lakewood and the community's neighborhoods. The evening will celebrate 10 years of successful partnership between the City of Lakewood and LakewoodAlive, Lakewood's economic development organization - helping to make Lakewood one of the region's most vibrant places to live, work, and play. The evening will includes a festive street party with decor that highlights areas that are uniquely Lakewood, an auction featuring unique local and regional experiences, and locally produced artwork for purchase.

Show your favorite Cleveland buildings some love! Come on down to City Beautiful's studio at noon on Sunday, February 9 to craft valentines while enjoying delicious coffee and light refreshments. Glitter, construction paper and other materials will be provided! That's right: GLITTER! Once your beautiful creations are complete, you will hit the streets to hang hearts on three historic structures. Fifth Church of Christ Scientist will be the one of the buildings targeted. The other two buildings will be determined by the group next week. City Beautiful is located at the 5th Street Arcades, 530 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. Invite your friends. The more, the merrier! More information here. 

Office Space Available at Historic  

Sarah Benedict House

Available for lease right now 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 [email protected].

Register for Statehood Day 2014

In commemoration of Ohio's founding, the Ohio Historical Society and its partners invite you to join a broad coalition of history advocates and keynote speaker Erin Moriarty of CBS News, an Ohio native, for the annual Statehood Day event. This year Statehood Day will be held on February 27. Statehood Day is a celebration of Ohio and its history, as well as a legislative advocacy event. Ohio's birthday, March 1, serves as an appropriate time each year for history advocates to come together to help showcase the importance of Ohio's history and how history, historic preservation and the organizations that help provide access to Ohio's rich history benefit the Buckeye State. Statehood Day registration is $25 until Friday, February 14 and $30 after February 14. Click here for more information and to register.