Sad news from Central Ohio, where one of Ohio’s last true five-and-dime stores has announced its imminent closure.

The venerable Pilsner’s on North Sandusky Street in Downtown Delaware will be gone before the end of December, according to this story in Connect2OWU, the online magazine of Ohio Wesleyan University. With it goes a decades-old tradition in Delaware, as Pilsner’s is the last of other such stores in the same location.

Five-and-dime stores were all the rage in early to mid 20th century Ohio, and like their counterparts across the country, featured sundries, candy, stationary and, often, a soda fountain, operating under names like Woolworth’s, Kresge’s, Kress and G.C. Murphy.

This news comes as the Delaware Planning Commission has rejected, for the second time, an application for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in the southeast part of town.

Photo: Pilsner's in Downtown Delaware/GNU Free Documentation License

Yesterday’s mid-term election included a large number of local issues for Ohioans – and one directly impacting one of Ohio’s two jeopardized 19th century county courthouses.

In Defiance County, voters rejected a sales tax measure which would have resulted in the construction of a new county courthouse, according to this story in the Toledo Blade. The measure, which was defeated by a 2 to 1 margin, would have ultimately resulted in the demolition of the 1876 Defiance County Courthouse.

One county commissioner noted after the vote, “… [T]he courthouse belongs to everyone in the county and it's their decision. Either we didn't get the message out or they have no desire to do it this time."

Photo Credits: Defiance County Courthouse, Defiance/Used with permission, Maggie's Ohio Courthouses

On November 15, Columbus City Council will be hold a public hearing on proposed legislation which would establish a Neighborhood Conservation District program for Ohio’s Capital City.

A relatively new phenomenon, “neighborhood conservation districts” are in operation in several cities across the country. Like their counterpart, the local historic district, neighborhood conservation districts operate as overlays over existing zoning and land use controls, and focus on maintaining and enhancing the essential qualities of a neighborhood.  Both have similar goals of protecting property values, reducing crime and promoting diversity.

Typically, however, neighborhood conservation districts are enacted in areas with a distinct physical character, but which may not qualify for designation as a historic district. After creation, residents of the neighborhood identify those qualities which they would like to preserve and promote, and then create a set of guidelines based on those priorities. A board then administers the ordinance by reviewing proposed property owner projects against those guidelines. One possible use of such a district is to prevent the demolition and erection of so called “McMansions” – large residential structures that replace smaller properties and are out of keeping with the density and character of a neighborhood.

One concern about such ordinances is that they could be used as an easier substitute for historic districting, thereby allowing communities to bypass traditional historic district review based on the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, and leaving deserving properties unprotected.

In Columbus, the proposed program would create “Conservation Neighborhoods,” which would be established pursuant to a procedure launched by at least ten neighborhood property owners, and ratified by at least sixty percent of affected owners. Criteria for selection and specific procedures for review are also included. To access the proposed legislation and a fact sheet concerning the Conservation Neighborhood program, click here.

Photo Credit: Victorian Village, Columbus/AmyMo/Creative Commons License

Yes, it is still October - however now is the time when December schedules begin to fill up in earnest.  With that in mind, here is a selection of Yuletide events on tap in historic Ohio this year.  Click on each for additional information.

Wednesday, November 8 through December 30

Hower House Holidays Through the Decades - Akron - Each room of this Second Empire mansion will feature Christmas decorations of a specific decade.

Sunday, November 19 through December 17

Christmas at Oak Hill - Mansfield - One of America's great Gothic Revival houses decorated in its 19th century finest.

Saturday, November 25 through Christmas

A Christmas Story House - Cleveland - Visit the location for filming the classic, "A Christmas Story, restored to its movie appearance.
Friday, December 1 through December 3

Christmas in the Village - Waynesville - Traditional "Dickens Holiday" with Victorian street strollers, etc..

Dicken's Victorian Village Celebration - Cambridge - Numeous events, tours and performances in historic Cambridge.

Saturday, December 2

History, Hymns and Holly - Springfield - Tour of historic East High Street churches and the 1891 Warder Free and Public Library building.

Christmas Candelightings (also on December 9 and 16) - Roscoe Village, Coshocton - Celebrate the season in Ohio's restored canal village.

Holidays at Adena (also on December 3) - Chillicothe - Holiday decorations and themed tours at Thomas Worthington's house.

Sunday, December 3

Annual Holiday Open House - Cleveland - A tour of the Sarah Benedict House, home of the Cleveland Restoration Society.

Saturday, December 9

28th Annual Candlelight Tour of Historic Churches - Lancaster - An evening tour of eight historic churches with music.

Sunday, December 10

Festive Tour of the Charles and Ella Geilfus Mansion - Cincinnati - Queen Anne house in "holiday finery."

Great Hallelujah Tour of Churches - Downtown Columbus

Saturday, December 16

Christmas Candlelight Tour of Historic Lyme Village - Bellevue - Holiday tour of the John Wright mansion and other village buildings.

In a continuation of a story previously covered on MyHometownOhio, Preservation Ohio received a press release this evening from the Center Street Historic District Association in Ashland concerning the A. N. Myers House.

The fate of the Myers House has been the subject of intense discussion in this Ohio county seat town for several months, and has received local, statewide and national attention – including this story in Preservation Online, the online publication of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The entire press release is included here:

“The Ashland County Historical Society received a demolition permit last month for a home on the National Register of Historic Places. This classic example of colonial revival architecture was built in 1892 by Alva N. Myers, a member of the board of the F.E. Myers and Bro. Company. The house is located adjacent to the Ashland County Historical Society Campus on Center Street in the City of Ashland. In 1976 Alta Sims did research which led to the acceptance of Center Street on the National Register as a Historic District. Sims consulted with Jeff Darbee, who was with the Ohio State Preservation Office. He called Center Street "a veritable textbook of architectural styles." Destroying any historic home on the street takes away from the District as a whole.

Ashland's Ordinance 51-05 was enacted June 7, 2005 to "safeguard the heritage of Ashland as represented by those buildings, districts, sites and structures which reflect significant elements of Ashland history...Applications for demolition are reviewed by the Ashland Preservation Board based on the over all impact the demolition will have to the Historic District and the community." The Preservation Board denied the request for demolition on August 2, 2006.

The Ashland County Historical Society originally submitted a proposal for demolition on June 19, 2006 causing concern among residents of the Historic District. Before applying for demolition, Tina Carpenter, Director of Operations of the Society, made a written request to change the status of the A.N. Myers Home on the National Register to non-contributing, claiming the house had lost its character and history. The Ohio Historic Preservation Office, which oversees the National Register in Ohio, denied their request stating that the home is a contributing structure and retains significant exterior architectural details.

The Center Street Historic District Association which is made up of home and business owners within the District has the purpose of educating the "public with respect to the necessity and advisability of the preservation of historic structures." At the end of September, the Association made an offer to purchase the home in an effort to prevent its demolition. On October 25, 2006 the Association received a "final" offer from the Society to purchase the home for a dollar and move the structure. The Association was expected to reply within seven days and if the offer was accepted the home would have to be moved off of the lot by March 15, 2007. The lack of an available lot in the Historic District makes this offer impossible to consider. With hopes that the National Registered Alva N. Myers Home would be restored on its original location as a contributing structure in the Historic District and as an asset to the Society's existing campus, the Association has filed for an injunction to prevent this demolition."

Additional information on this developing story will be included on MyHometownOhio as it becomes available.  For local individuals to contact with more information, please send Preservation Ohio an e-mail at: info@preservationohio.org.

Photo Credit: Ashland County Courthouse, Ashland/fusionpanda/Creative Commons License