Perspectives Winter Banner
  Kerri Broome, editor
January 2015  

CRS logo
In This Issue
Thank You!
Save the Date for the Community Luncheon
CRS Accepting Award Nominations
Sacred Landmarks in National Magazine
Latest Round of State Historic Tax Credits Announced
State Seeking Proposals to Study the Tax Credit
New National Register Landmark in Hough
Children's Museum to Move to Stager-Beckwith Mansion
Renewal of National Heritage Designation for Ohio & Erie Canalway Moves Forward
Restoration Success in Canton
Where's Benedict?
Thanks WRHS
National Trust Preservation Fund Accepting Applications
Hudson Heritage Class Series
Statehood Day Registration Open


CRS on FacebookFacebook logo
 

 
 

























National Trust logo


CAC logo with tagline


OAC logo

CRS slide

Thank You for Supporting Preservation in NEO

Every year, Cleveland Restoration Society members, constituents, and community partners express their support through gifts to our Annual Fund. These contributions are immediately put to use creating vibrant, high-value neighborhoods in key historic areas through our Heritage Home Program; encouraging the preservation of Cleveland's greatest landmarks; advocating for preservation-friendly public policies; and celebrating and communicating the positive role of preservation through events like our Community Luncheon and the Celebration of Preservation. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we had a successful year-end campaign, raising over $56,600 in unrestricted funds, plus $10,000 in matching funds through the generosity of CRS trustee Mike Baruschke and Denise Huck. We invite you to join us in 2015 as we continue our work. The following are just some of our priorities for the next twelve months:

  • Complete the digitization of our collection of Cleveland images for our use and to create an online collection with Cleveland Memory;
  • Be the leading voice for Cleveland landmarks at City Hall and in the neighborhoods;
  •  Collaborate with our Legacy City colleagues to share best practices and coordinate for policy changes to preserve our heritage;
  •  Continue the upsurge in historic rehab lending to owners of older homes to help people stay in the houses that make our communities authentic and interesting; and
  • Provide preservation consultation services to City Council representatives and to communities working to leverage the value of their built heritage to attract resident and maintain vibrancy.

Click here to see CRS's Strategic Work Plan (PDF).

 

Save the Date for the  

Community Luncheon on March 13

Hot in Cleveland might be in its final season, but we don't need sassy Betty White to tell us that downtown Cleveland is the place to be. LeBron knows it, the Republicans know it, and you know it. Come to Cleveland's newest hot spot, The 9, on Friday, March 13 to hear all of the latest from Joe Marinucci, president and CEO of Downtown Cleveland Alliance, at CRS's annual Community Luncheon. DCA is dedicated to improving the experience for people who work, live and play in downtown Cleveland and to attracting additional private investment to the Central Business District. Joe has the scoop on downtown Cleveland's incredible momentum, including one of the fastest growing populations of workers with advanced degrees in the country; over 95% market-rate residential occupancy; successful hosting of the 2014 Gay Games; and many new projects in progress. Come hear about what's really hot in Cleveland! Put Friday, March 13 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on your calendar now. Look for the online registration to open soon.

 

Preservation award winners

Submit Preservation Award Nominations to CRS Before January 31 

The Cleveland Restoration Society and AIA Cleveland are looking for nominations for the best preservation projects in NEO! We will once again hold our Celebration of Preservation during May, preservation month, and recognize the best of the best in preservation from the past twelve months. Now we need to hear from you! Submit your nominations for the annual preservation awards by January 31. The nomination form is available here . If you have a question about the award program or a nomination, contact Michael Fleenor, CRS director of preservation services.

 

Sacred Landmarks Featured in  

National Magazine

The December 2014 issue of Traditional Building magazine focused on issues that affect historic religious structures and included an article by Gordon Bock entitled "Helping Historic Houses of Worship." Bock's article featured CRS's own initiative to assist the sacred landmarks of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, with quote from CRS staff member Michael Fleenor. Read the article here. See a full listing of the December 2014 Traditional Building table of contents here.

 

Standard Building detail
Standard Building detail. Photo by John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer

Latest Round of State Historic Tax Credits Announced

On December 18, the Ohio Development Services Agency awarded $41.8 million in Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits to 31 applicants planning to rehabilitate 35 historic buildings. Together, the projects are expected to leverage approximately $600 million in private investments in twelve communities. Click here for information about projects located in Greater Cleveland. The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program is administered in partnership with the State Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio History Connection. The State Historic Preservation Office determines if a property qualifies as a historic building and that the rehabilitation plans comply with the United States Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. For complete details about Round 13 credit recipients, click here.

 

State Seeking Proposals to Study the Tax Credit

The Ohio Development Services Agency is soliciting proposals for a qualified economic research organization to evaluate the economic impact and effectiveness of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program. Qualified candidates must be able to develop research methods, collect the data and issue a comprehensive final report. For more information, click here.

 

Photo courtesy of Cleveland Public Library Photographic Collection

New National Register  

Landmark in Hough

Cleveland Restoration Society is pleased that the National Register of Historic Places Nomination that we submitted last year for the Hough Carnegie Library/African American Museum was approved by the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board at its meeting on December 4, 2014. Built in 1907, the Hough Carnegie Library was designed in the English Renaissance Revival Style by the noted architect Abram Garfield. Garfield modeled the building's stately design after the British Exhibition Building at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, which in turn was an exact replica of the Orangery at Kensington Palace, London, built in 1904. The Hough Carnegie Library served its neighborhood until 1966, when it became a children's library known as Treasure House. In 1983, the building was sold to the African American Museum and renamed in honor of Ichabod Flewellen, the museum founder. The nomination will now proceed to the National Park Service. CRS appreciates the many volunteers who helped in the revisions of this nomination, including Elizabeth Meinke, Dawn Ellis, and Petra Knapp, as well as staff members Mary Ogle and Michael Fleenor.

 

Photo courtesy of cleveland.com

Children's Museum to Move to Stager-Beckwith Mansion

The Children's Museum of Cleveland has purchased one of the last remaining Millionaires' Row-era mansions on Euclid Avenue to serve as its permanent home. Known as the Stager-Beckwith House, the property was built in the 1860s and was long home to the University Club. More recently it was the location of Myers University, but it has been vacant since 2008. The museum, already on Euclid Avenue but in the University Circle area, must leave its current location so that the site can be redeveloped. The Chesler Group, Inc., under the direction of CRS trustee Michael Chesler, will guide the project to adapt the Stager-Beckwith House for the museum's purposes. The museum's move to the mansion is being is planned for some time in the late summer or fall 2015.

 

Renewal of National Heritage Designation for Ohio & Erie Canalway Moves Forward

Legislation sponsored by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to renew the National Heritage designation of the Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area, including the 86-mile long Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga, Summit, Stark, and Tuscarawas Counties, is progressing toward presidential approval. Authorized as a National Heritage Area in 1996, the Ohio & Erie Canalway stretches 110 miles between Cleveland and New Philadelphia. The canalway was originally built in the 1820s and 1830s and adds significant economic and historic value to Ohio. It attracts more than 2.5 million tourists per year and has leveraged almost $350 million since 1996 in private, local, state, and federal investments, including over $90 million from the Towpath Trail alone. The Canalway's designation as an historic landmark expired in 2012. The bill would renew this status for an additional seven years, making it eligible to receive federal funding. For more information about the Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area, click here.

 

Photo by Scott Heckel

Restoration Success in Canton

Coming out of Canton is a fantastic new project that you must see. CRS trustee Steve Coon, owner of Coon Restoration & Sealants, Inc. has guided the transformation of the Onesto Hotel into the Historic Onesto Lofts. A long-time supporter of the city of Canton, Steve saw the opportunity to revive this gem of property as a catalyst for downtown living. The Historic Onesto Lofts are now open. Click here to read a recent article written about the project, which has created 45 housing units in twelve-story brick and stone building. Another CRS trustee, Jonathan Sandvick, played a role in the project, as his company, Sandvick Architects, designed the suites. Learn more about the historic building here, and see historic photos as well as in progress photos.  

 

Benedict Returns 

It's been a while, but he's back! Look for a return in February of our traveling feathery friend, Benedict the Owl. We'll be featuring Benedict in front of a different local architectural treasure in each issue of Perspectives. If you are the tenth reader to respond and correctly tell us "Where's Benedict?", you'll win a complimentary twelve-month membership to the Cleveland Restoration Society!

 

Thanks, Western Reserve Historical Society!

On December 16, CRS staff undertook their annual holiday outing; this year traveling to the Western Reserve Historical Society and the beautifully restored Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel. The carousel, as well as the custom-built Carousel Pavilion, opened to visitors on November 23, 2014, nearly forty-five years after the iconic park's closure, and are now on permanent exhibit at the Western Reserve Historical Society. The carousel operates at the History Center, 10825 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. Dreaming of summer? The carousel is a great way to escape the cold! Why not visit today?

 

NTHP logo

National Trust Preservation Fund  

Accepting Applications

If you are working on a preservation project and need seed money to help kick-start your planning efforts, or if your organization is undertaking a new educational effort aimed at engaging new audiences in preservation, you may be eligible for funding from the National Trust Preservation Fund's grant program. Applications for the February 2, 2015 grant deadline are now available. Grants range from $2,500 to $5,000 and require a dollar-for-dollar match. Full eligibility requirements and grant guidelines, along with a link to the application, can be found here.

 

Hudson Heritage Offers Class Series

Learn about American architectural styles from of the Connecticut Western Reserve of Ohio from American colonization to the early twentieth century through a series of five one-hour classes being offered by the Hudson Heritage Association. An American Building Tour: Architecture of the Western Reserve will take place on Monday evenings from February 2 through March 2 at the Barlow Community Center. The cost for the entire series is $75 per registrant; $65 for HHA Members. Individual classes may be paid for the door. The class syllabus can be downloaded here. Class size is limited to 60 participants and registration will close on January 31. Click here for more information.

 

Statehood Day Registration Open

In commemoration of Ohio's founding, history advocates are invited to join together at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus on Wednesday, March 4 for 2015 Statehood Day. This advocacy event will feature keynote speaker Governor John Kasich (invited); recognition of legislative success; opportunities to meet with your local legislators; and the announcement of grant awards to local history organizations funded through Ohio History Fund grant program. The Statehood Day registration deadline is February 27. The registration fee is $30 and includes lunch and event materials. Click here for more information.

 

Events

Upcoming Events    

 

January 8 

"Lost Buildings of Hudson" 

Barlow Community Center, 41 South Oviatt St., Hudson

7:30 p.m., FREE

 Hudson Heritage Association 

 

  

January 20

"Paving the Way for New Transportation and Infrastructure in Cleveland"

The City Club of Cleveland, 850 Euclid Ave., 2nd Floor, Cleveland

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., registration required, $$

Society for Marketing Professional Services, Northeast Ohio Chapter

 

 

Save the Date    

  

February 2 - March 2

Class Series: "An American Building Tour: Architecture of the Western Reserve"

Barlow Community Center, 41 South Oviatt St., Hudson

7:30 - 8:30 p.m., registration required, $$

Hudson Heritage Association

 

March 4

2015 Statehood Day

Ohio Statehouse, Columbus

Ohio History Connection 

 

March 13

Community Luncheon

Featuring Joe Marinucci, President & CEO of Downtown Cleveland Alliance

Mint Ballroom at The 9, 2017 E. Ninth St., Cleveland 

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Cleveland Restoration Society 

 

 

 

 

Cleveland Restoration Society
3751 Prospect Avenue

Cleveland, OH  44115

(216) 426-1000

www.clevelandrestoration.org