In the early 2000s, public speeches of one of America’s leading gurus on historic preservation and economic development, Donovan Rypkema, routinely included an observation that 19th and early 20th century downtown commercial buildings provide outstanding locations for technology companies. In his speech on the “Economic Power of Preservation,” for instance, Rypkema pointed to a situation where one Midwestern city tore down a downtown block to entice high tech firms to “modern” offices, however at the same time the trend was for such companies to seek out the uniqueness and adaptability of the same type of space that was demolished.

Guess what? Rypkema was right (of course)... and years later, that trend still holds true – in no less a place than downtown Cleveland. One of the epicenters of this phenomenon is a place where rent is reasonable, spaces are older, easy to re-configure and full of character, and where one can catch world-class theatre, dance and music within a very short walk – Playhouse Square, one of the largest concentrations of older performing arts venues in the country. To see an overall map of where the new high tech firms are locating in downtown Cleveland, click here.

This past Wednesday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer featured an article entitled, “Downtown Cleveland becoming technology mecca” – click here to read it. In it, the Plain Dealer interviews tech company execs and trade firms and finds out that the magic ingredient is the uniqueness and openness of space, combined with the synergy of being located near other tech firms. These firms tend to be in the growing stages, where the age and number of potential employees make historic downtown office space an ideal fit.

Photo: Playhouse Square, Cleveland -- kyleroth/Creative Commons License

The last few days has brought news of yet another Ohio community facing the possible loss of historic resources through a development proposal involving a chain drug store.

Earlier this month, New Philadelphia voters turned back plans of a developer seeking to place a Walgreens Drug Store immediately adjacent to one of the city’s original town squares. The impact of that construction would likely have led to the long-term decline of the Franklin Square neighborhood.

This time the controversy has different players but the same tune. Orrville, home to Smuckers, is a community of 8,500 people located in Wayne County. In early November, a Lakewood-based developer presented plans that called for the demolition of several buildings on a prime corner of downtown Orrville for construction of a “B-grade” CVS Drug Store. Among the buildings to be removed would be the 1947 Orr Theatre (now the Orr Twin Cinema), the community’s only theatre building (click here to visit the Orr Theatre online).

Downtown Orrville is currently undergoing a revitalization project under the auspices of Main Street Orrville. The website of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, sponsor of the national Main Street program, includes a section dealing with the issue of chain drugstores. This site includes a profile of several communities where important historic resources were preserved in spite of chain drug store development pressure.

Yesterday, the Design Review Board in Orrville voted to decline the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition. A reading of the local Design Review Ordinance indicates that this denial triggers a period of dialogue between the applicant and the Board, at the end of which the applicant can appeal a continued denial to City Council.

MyHometownOhio will continue to update our readers as this story unfolds.

Photo: Ludwig Restaurant Building, home of the Orrville Historical Society Museum -- revjim5000/Creative Commons License

We recently passed a milestone at MyHometownOhio, and thought that we might take a moment out to celebrate.

Earlier this month, we posted our 200th story (this one is, in fact, number 209). Our first entry was posted on the evening of July 21, 2006, and can be read by clicking here. It is great to note that the promises made at that time in terms of future content have been carried out, as we now carry feeds about both preservation and downtown revitalization from Ohio news sources, as well as from 11 additional blogs. MyHometownOhio is now the most visited statewide preservation and revitalization online magazine in the country – and the only one that carries the regular feed from PreservationNation, the blog of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

It has been an interesting time to cover preservation in Ohio. Our stories, for instance, have covered the introduction, lobbying efforts for, passage, signing, official launch and applications for the new Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit – as well dramatic preservation-related public discussions in Ashland, Tiffin, Cleveland, New Philadelphia and elsewhere.

This milestone comes as we look to the future not only for MyHometownOhio, but also for other Preservation Ohio online publications. Over the coming weeks, you will note new features as we attempt to increase the ways in which Ohioans interested in historic preservation can interact and build community. This will not only include enhancements to this site, but also the introduction of the Ohio Heritage Traveler, the country’s first interactive statewide heritage tourism website.

Thank you for reading MyHometownOhio. The best is yet to come.

This Fall saw the re-opening of two historic train depots, each the focus of substantial restoration and renovation effort – and a third historic depot welcomes visitors for a Christmas celebration on December 2.

After a somewhat troubled past as the community debated the best use for the property for some twenty years, the 1895 B&O Rail Depot in Athens recently opened to the public as an office rental facility. The result seems worth the wait –ceiling heights were maintained, and touches of the original use remain throughout, including fixtures and railroad-related memorabilia. Continuing concerns have been raised about the building’s exterior, however, according to this coverage in the Athens News.

Another B&O Depot – this one in Mount Vernon – opened its doors in October after community donations allowed for the purchase and renovation of the historic 1906/7 building. The result is spectacular, as period spaces were meticulously restored. The building is available for community use, including dinners and meetings. Click here for outstanding coverage of the open house by the Mount Vernon News, which includes a photo essay of the project and a video of a visit by a steam locomotive.

In Bucyrus, the T&OC Depot, the subject of a multi-year restoration project by the Bucyrus Station Association and Bucyrus Preservation Society, will host the second annual Christkindlmark on Sunday, December 2 from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.. This outdoor German Christmas Market will feature “…festive foods, hot cider, homemade items, the music of choral and instrumental groups from the Bucyrus area churches, plus the warmth of Christmas fires.” For directions, click here.

Photo: Finishing touches put on T&OC Depot renovation, Bucyrus - Bucyrus Preservation Society, used with permission

There is sad news to share from southern Ohio. On November 11, fire destroyed the historic Columbia Theatre in downtown Portsmouth, a landmark property undergoing a multi-year restoration effort. That work had achieved partial fruition in 2006, when the 95-year-old theatre opened for limited use. Stories covering the fire point out the struggle the owner had faced as he set out to accomplish the monumental task of theatre restoration without the support of local officials.

Either four – or five – communities will receive official Ohio Main Street program designation this December. According to the Defiance Crescent-News, Defiance will be enter the program this year, as well as the Ohio cities of Perrysburg, Medina and Warren. The Medina County News, however, in this story profiling Medina’s successful application, adds the Ohio River community of Ripley to that list. Speaking of Defiance, the Crescent News also recently profiled recent revitalization work there and in Napoleon and Bryan.

Hudson was successful in its “First and Main” downtown infill project – and now Findlay is looking to a much larger infill concept. The “Findlay Towne Center” would include a baseball stadium, offices, housing, 55,000 square feet of retail and a cultural and performing arts center, and would be constructed on the site of a former tire dump and adjacent park. The project is envisioned as creating a link between downtown and the campus of the University of Findlay. Click here for an overview of the proposed project in both Powerpoint and PDF versions, and click here to access coverage of the project by the blog of the Findlay Courier newspaper.

Revitalization sometimes comes with a price – short-term inconvenience. This is currently being felt in the northwest Ohio community of Delphos, where streetscape and facade renovation projects are being conducted simultaneously. The Delphos Herald reports that the result – a more attractive and vibrant community – will be worth the hassle.

Photo: Downtown Medina - OZinOH/Creative Commons License

Preservation Ohio salutes its newest Affiliate community - the beautiful county seat town of New Philadelphia. Our Affiliate organization in New Philadelphia is the Tuscarawas County Heritage Home Association, which is actively promoting the benefits of historic preservation there. From downtown with its beautiful courthouse to streets lined with period residences; from Ohio’s first European settlement at Schoenbrunn on the edge of town to the wonderful Tuscora Park with its antique carousel, celebrating the past is a big part of what makes New Philadelphia unique and well worth a visit.

Click here to visit the website of the Tuscarawas County Convention & Visitors Bureau.  For more information on the Preservation Ohio Chapters & Affiliates Program, click here.

Photo:  Downtown New Philadelphia -- PINEAPPLE XVI/Creative Commons License

Followers of the Seneca County Courthouse saga know of the ongoing involvement of the Toledo Blade, which has provided both substantial coverage and also a willingness to actually bring suit to support transparent public decision making. Importantly, however, the Blade has also written several editorials that strongly support the basic tenets of historic preservation – among which are its roles in community revitalization, quality of life and heritage tourism.

This past weekend, another Ohio major paper also editorialized about the role of preservation in community life and development. While the major focus of this Dayton Daily News editorial (“Our View: Building 26 debacle can’t be repeated") was the pending loss of the significant Building 26 on the campus of the University of Dayton, it went on to discuss how that controversy highlights problems in how Dayton appreciates and approaches its historic resources. As the importance of these “treasures” is deemed important, the paper says that “Dayton's dogged preservationists, the region's elected leaders and those who care about Dayton's past — and future — have to get together and figure out to prevent another situation where there's arguing among so many — all of whom want and need Dayton to do well.”

This discussion has now moved to the Daily News blog (click here), where the editorial staff has asked the community to share its views on what local properties merit preservation, and also on what process should be used to select this number. Over a dozen News readers have already responded with their answers to these questions, and their comments are worth reading.

Photo:  Downtown Dayton - jimcrotty/Creative Commons License

Feelings associated with the Civil War may well linger in Ohio… the Daily Bellwether, in a post entitled “Ohio’s Oddest Veteran’s Monument: Honors Rebel Who Fired First Shot” recently questioned the fact that an Ohio Historical Marker commemorates a site associated with Brigadier General Roswell Ripley – the man who ordered the initial firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, thereby triggering the War. The marker is outside the Ripley House in Worthington, Franklin County.  Click here.

Et Cetera: Publick and Privat Curiosities is one of several blogs that review and celebrate the announcement that Antioch College in Yellow Springs will remain open. This decision of College Trustees came after substantial fund raising by college alumni – which includes no less than $18 million in pledges. Antioch is a 155-year old institution initially founded by noted educator Horace Mann. The post includes period photos and a video showing statements of recent Antioch graduates.  Click here.

An October 28 posting on Columbus Underground about the “Struggle for Development in West Franklinton” has already generated over 10 pages of replies. In it, contributors display a variety of opinions, many of which center on the best ways to encourage 21st century urban redevelopment on a large scale, and others which compare the issues in Franklinton to those in other Columbus areas.  Click here.

There’s much to read already in the very new blog of Main Street Oberlin, the non-profit organization seeking to continue the revitalization of one of Ohio’s most beautiful college communities. The blog features a Calendar of Events, which includes upcoming holiday events in downtown Oberlin; be sure to take a trip to visit the Holiday Open House, which will be held from November 23 through 25.  Click here.

Cleveland vs. The World reports that The Cleveland Institute of Art has unveiled renderings of their planned $53 million renovation and expansion project. The plans call for an 80,000 square foot addition that undulates along the west side of the original building, with a design that echoes industrial motifs found in downtown Cleveland. It is hoped that the plans will meet the requirements for the Federal and Ohio historic preservation tax credits, which are deemed to be “…critical to the project.”  Click here.

Photos:
Antioch Hall, Antioch College - Chris Hardie/Creative Commons License
Downtown Oberlin - majorbonnet/Creative Commons License