We begin a series this month on the “Grand Avenues” of Ohio – those streets where the wealth of a community was prominently displayed in the erection of magnificent residences, churches and institutional buildings. From urban centers to county seat towns, these streets face similar challenges in facing development and retaining a sense of history. This month, we look at Euclid Avenue in Cleveland in a two-part series. One of the only Ohio streets to have its own Wikipedia entry, Euclid Avenue was the center of Cleveland's social life during the late nineteenth century. Connecting Downtown with important civic institutions to the east, Euclid Avenue was lined with mansions showcasing extraordinary wealth. As detailed in Wikipedia, this included billionaire John D. Rockefeller, politician Marcus Hanna, and John Hay, President Lincoln’s personal secretary.
While the majority of grand residences along Euclid Avenue have long since disappeared, the street continues to serve as a vital link between Downtown and the hospitals, cultural resources and schools of University Circle. The street is now the focus of a $200 million corridor improvement plan, designed not only to improve public transportation, but also to include public art, streetscapes, landscaping and integrated economic development. Case Western Reserve University is also proceeding with a $120 million retail and arts development on the eastern end of the project.
Later this week, we will take a photo tour of some of the surviving mansions of Euclid Avenue – architectural remnants of one of Ohio’s true “Grand Avenues.”
What do planes, winged goddesses and benches have in common? Each will be the focus of outdoor art displays in Ohio towns during 2007.
In Troy, the successful “Sculptures on the Square” program, which in years past has featured displays of life-size bronze figures, will place 25 miniature replicas of WACO airplanes throughout the downtown area. Each fiberglass airplane will then be decorated by local artisans. Troy was the home of the Weaver Aircraft Company of Ohio (WACO), a highly successful aircraft manufacturer between 1919 and 1946.
Not to be outdone, the Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County presents the “Spectacle of Speed.” The project will place six-foot high replicas of the Packard’s “Goddess of Speed” hood ornaments at historic sites around the county. Sponsors will fund local artists who will decorate the statues. At the end of the exhibition, the goddesses will be auctioned to support local efforts, including the National Packard Museum.
And, back again in Southeast Ohio, the “City of Sculpture “ organization will introduce the “County Seat Project,” which will see artisan-decorate benches line the streets of downtown Hamilton. According to the program materials, schools and other community groups are being encouraged to participate.
Sometimes pictures speak louder than words.Such is the case with the following piece of
video on YouTube, which deals with the highly endangered Seneca County
Courthouse in Tiffin.
Please note that this video was not created by Preservation Ohio, nor are the views expressed in this video completely consistent with our organization's position on the future of the courthouse. It is, rather, one person's take on a very unforunate situation.
Ohio can boast a number of contributions to the history of the United States. Seven Presidents of the United States were born here; the contributions of Ohio’s native sons and daughters – from Thomas A. Edison to John Glenn to Harvey Firestone to many, many others – are unparalleled.
One of the lesser-known but truly important chapters in American history occurred in the small village of Kirtland in Lake County.
In the early 1830s, the members of the new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which had been established in western New York State in 1831, came to Kirtland to establish their new headquarters. The centerpiece of their community was what is now known as the Kirtland Temple, which was finished in 1836. Before its dedication, and at the dedication service itself, church leaders and followers reported visions and angelic visitations, as well as spiritual flames rising from the roof of the building. It was a remarkably large and important building on the pioneer landscape of northeast Ohio.
The church moved on to Missouri and Illinois after only a few years in Kirtland. After 1844, the majority of the membership traveled under the leadership of Brigham Young to establish Salt Lake City. Now, over 100 such temples dot the earth; the Kirtland Temple was the very first.
The Kirtland Temple still stands and is in unusually original condition; the interior features elaborately carved, tiered pulpits for church leaders. The National Historic Landmark building is open for tours on a regular basis.
Some years back, the LDS (Mormon) Church decided to invest in and restore adjacent original structures, and also to re-construct missing components of the original community. The result is “Historic Kirtland,” which features, among other attractions, the only restored ashery in the United States. It is well worth a visit.
It might be easy to get bogged down by the ongoing struggles across the state to preserve historic resources. Preservation-related court proceedings are underway in at least three counties, and a referendum will soon face voters in a fourth.
There is good news out there, however, including the following…
In Northeast Ohio, the voter-approved project to renovate Village Hall in Bluffton will begin soon, as the village will solicit bids later in February. While the project will include substantial interior renovation, the exterior of the building will be fully restored, according to this Toledo Blade article.
The city of Tallmadge is celebrating its 200th birthday this year. The second of a year of events takes place on February 19 with a concert of combined church choirs. Click here to visit the official Tallmadge Bicentennial website.
The oldest Episcopal church in Ohio has a new lease on life after the recent bequest of funds to preserve and maintain the structure. The St. James Meeting House in Boardman was originally constructed in 1828 by the family of Elijah Boardman, after whom the township is named.
Photo: Congregational Church, Tallmadge/HABS-HAER - Public Domain
The online home of TurnHere is a wonderful place to spend some time… the company specializes in producing Internet-accessible short films, by independent filmmakers, that showcase cities and neighborhoods across the world – and right here in Ohio. And, not surprisingly, in an effort to convey a sense of place, filmmakers routinely turn to historic resources and the authentic experiences those resources provide. Narration comes from locals, who provide audio flavor to the wonderful visual images.
Over 40 Buckeye cities have been filmed, many done in conjunction with a large realty company in Ohio. Many of these videos are also available on YouTube and, recently, have become available on Google Earth, the virtual world atlas.
Here are a sampling of links to TurnHere videos about historic Ohio towns and neighborhoods (not an exhaustive list, by any means).
From Preservation Action in Washington… On Monday, January 22nd, Representative Russ Carnahan (D-MO) introduced the Preserve Historic America Act of 2007 (H.R.610) that proposes to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the incentives for the rehabilitation of older buildings, including owner-occupied residences. Representative Carhanan introduced an identical bill – H.R.5420 – in the 109th Congress. Provisions in the bill:
Expand the credit to residential housing
Create a credit to allow for moderately rehabilitated buildings
Permit credits to be transferred or assigned
Raise the tax credit rate to 25 percent for certified historic structures
Change the definition of a qualified rehabilitated building to buildings older than 50 years
Exempt historic tax credits from the effects of passive loss rules
Reduces the basis adjustment requirements for filers claiming both the Low Income Housing Tax Credit as well as the historic preservation credit
Raise the historic preservation rate to 130% for structures located within geographic designations considered low-income
Representative Carnahan secured 20 cosponsors for the bill, which has been referred to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee. The full text of the Preserve Historic America Act of 2007 can be viewed at: http://thomas.loc.gov and entering “H.R.610” as the bill number.
Click here to read a Summer 2006 interview with Rep. Carnahan, where he shares some thoughts on preservation and revitalization.
Author and consultant Donovan Rypkema, in his book “The Economics of Historic Preservation,” shares an observation that it is only in the last decade that those in the preservation community have begun to comprehend the true nature of the economic and social impact of their work. He also encourages individuals advocating for historic resources to adopt and use the language of the development community, as that is also the vocabulary which is key for local, state and national legislators.
In Ohio, a number of recent local discussions – from the consideration of historic and conservation districts to the enforcement of local design review and historic preservation ordinances – have turned on this very question. How can the impact of preservation be documented? The question is important, as almost all Ohio local ordinances include economic impacts as a major reason for enacting the legislation, and identifying the scope of those impacts is often critical in enforcement proceedings.
Here’s a start. This page on the website of the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers includes numerous state studies on this very issue. While none are from Ohio, the reports run the gamut from a review of historic districting on property values to the economic impact of state historic rehabilitation tax credits.
Recent efforts to create an additional historic district in the city of Mansfield included a look at property values in areas of the city which currently have such protection. As the proponents’ website shows, the result has been obvious. A County Auditor’s office is the likely starting-point for creation of a comparable map for your community.
Photo: Second Street, Lakeside, circa 1884 - Library of Congress/Public Domain
