Those looking for background historical information about a community in Northeast Ohio, or perhaps some vintage photographs to use in guiding the renovation of a period house or building, might take a look at the outstanding online collection maintained at “Ohio’s Heritage Northeast.”

The site includes a searchable compendium of digital resources, including photos, audio and video, that come from a variety of archival settings in the northeastern quarter of Ohio. Those collections include digital contributions from public libraries in Cleveland, Akron, Westlake and Shaker Heights, as well as collegiate archives at Cleveland State, John Carroll University and Oberlin College. The newest additions focus largely on the Akron area, and include a collection of hundreds of vintage postcards and 130 photographs documenting the arrival and rise of the mass transit system in Summit County.

It’s a fascinating place to do some searching, even if one doesn’t hail from Kirtland or Parma!  To visit, click here.

At their Spring meeting this morning, the Board of Trustees of Preservation Ohio approved the final selection of properties to be included in the 2008 List of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites.

Since 1993, this list has served as the official register of significant historic properties in Ohio that face an uncertain future due to a variety of threats, including announced plans for demolition, failure of a property owner to maintain the property, uncertain funding, and other challenges.

In celebration of National Historic Preservation Month, the list will be publicly unveiled on May 9 (including on this site). At the same time, we will announce those properties which are being removed from the Most Endangered List because of the removal of imminent threat.  For members of Preservation Ohio, including residents of Affiliate communities -- a preview of the Most Endangered List will be posted on the new Member Resource Center on May 2.

At the same time, four new properties have been added to Preservation Ohio’s Endangered Watch List, including buildings on the campuses of both the Ohio State University and Oberlin College. Information on those sites can be accessed in the menu to the right.

Photo: White-Haines Building, on 2007 List of Ohio's Most Endangered Historic Sites - Preservation Ohio File Photo

2008 marks the launch of projects in both Cincinnati and Columbus that will result in dramatic changes for frontage along the Ohio and Scioto Rivers, respectively.

The “Scioto Mile” will create a $38 million transformation of the east frontage of the Scioto River as it winds its way through downtown Columbus. The project has two primary features. First is a mile-long walking promenade that will extend from the Arena District on the North to the Galbreath Bicentennial Park on the South, which will include the restoration of the 1920s limestone balustrade, and with decorative lighting, pavilions, benches and other amenities along the route. Bicentennial Park will experience an $18 million overhaul with amazing new fountains that can create geometric designs, a glass-enclosed restaurant, and more. Click here for the website of the Scioto Mile, which has a wealth of information, renderings, etc..

A much larger project is taking place along the banks of the Ohio in downtown Cincinnati. “The Banks” is a massive transformation of eight city blocks of vacant land situated in the middle of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the two large downtown sports venues – the Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium. On April 2, ground was broken for the first phase of development that will eventually cost at least $800 million. It is a true mixed-use project, with hundreds of new residences planned, as well as millions of square feet of retail and office space. Click here to read a review of the history of this important area in the Queen City, first known as “The Bottoms” (and a list of links to other stories on The Banks), and here for the home page of the project.

Photos: Above - The Scioto Mile/City of Columbus ; Below - The Banks/Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority

April has been a busy month for preservation and revitalization news… here’s a sampling a stories that have caught our attention as the month has progressed:

Today’s Plain Dealer included the most thorough story yet on the termination of Ohio’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit program. It is well-researched, contains photos of projects that “missed out,” and worth a read; click here.

The once (and perhaps future) endangered 1971 Marcel Breuer-designed Cleveland Trust Tower’s future took a positive turn this past week, when the Cuyahoga County Commissioners accepted a bid to purchase the landmark structure. Plans of the new owner, K&D Group, call for a mixed-use complex (left) that involves renovation and new construction, with the Breuer Tower becoming home to 170 hotel rooms and 200 apartments. Click here to access a story covering the sale, and here to reach the website of K&D.

Speaking of large-scale downtown renovation, the Ohio Department of Insurance is the latest tenant to move into the former Lazarus building in downtown Columbus. Click here for details.

And, speaking of recent past preservation, there was good news on that front earlier this month as the Ohio Historical Society received a Preserve America grant to help them document mid-20th century building trends and architectural styles (click here for coverage). Concentrating on the Dayton area, the Society will use this opportunity to create a database of information as communities take a look at many of these resources for the first time.

On a lighter note, the Ohio University Press has announced publication of “Our First Family’s Home,” a volume (right) profiling the Ohio Governor’s Mansion and grounds – as well as the nine governors that have occupied the residence since 1957. Click here to access a very interesting web page presenting the book, which includes a link to a downloadable landscaping plan for the house, access to photographs and virtual tours, and much more.

Word was received this morning about a pledge drive aiming to make the difference for a key building in the Over-the-Rhine district of Cincinnati.

The building in question is the “Meiners Flats.” According to the Cincinnati Preservation Association, the structure “…at 1502 Vine Street was built c. 1875 by a family of German-American stonemasons as an investment. With an intricately carved stone façade, “The Big One” was a giant five-story advertisement for their business. For two decades, the magnificent Neo-Grec-style edifice has been empty, a sad presence on a hard-luck street. A series of owners have tried, and failed, to make it work. So rain and snow blew through missing windows. Wood sagged and bricks fell. Last month the City, fearing for the public’s safety, barricaded the sidewalk. Soon it could meet the fate of so many others in OTR: an empty lot.”

In response to this impending loss, an enterprising approach has been devised where individual pledges are being accepted to create a pool of funds to in turn leverage private and public funds for emergency repairs and stabilization. This is not an investment with a rate of return – this is an expression of direct support where your dollars can actually make the difference between a future and a wrecking ball for a significant piece of Cincinnati history. Pledges must be raised by April 23, so time is of the essence.

For more information, and to make a pledge, click on one of these two links (each represents a differing pledge amount):

www.pledgebank.com/Over-the-Rhine or www.pledgebank.com/1500Vine

Photo: Meiners Flats, Windows Live Local

The Ohio Historic Preservation Office has announced dates for its traditional series of workshops for property owners, developers, communities, and organizations interested in the future of historic properties in Ohio. Those dates and workshops include:

May 20, 2008

• Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits (Includes new information and work sessions)
  
• I-Form Advanced: Creating and Editing Digital Images for I-Form
  
• Online Mapping System Training Session
  
• Fundamentals of Section 106 Reviews

July 22, 2008

• Ohio Historic Inventory: I-Form Basic Data Entry Training
  
• National Register Digital Submission Standards
  
• Section 106 Review Project Summary Form Training Class
  
• Ohio Archaeological Inventory: I-Form Basic Data Entry Training

October 21, 2008

• I-Form Advanced: Creating and Editing Digital Images for I-Form
  
• National Register Basics
  
• National Register Advanced: Levels of Significance and Historic Context
  
• Section 106 Review Project Summary Form Training Class
  
• All-New Online Mapping System Training Session

Additional information, and online registration, can be obtained here.

As a follow-up to last week’s story about the announcement of potential new monies in the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, Preservation Ohio has since learned that the exact details of that possible $120 million allocation will go have not been specified. Details about the current discussion are available on the Preservation Ohio Member Resource Center, which can be accessed by clicking here.

One thing is clear, however. At the outset, the question of the remaining applications in “the queue” – those tax credit applications submitted on or after July 1, 2007 for the first cycle of funding, but not included among those that the Ohio Department of Development approved before the trial program was closed – are at the forefront of concern. These projects represent approximately $91 million in additional tax credits.

Because properties were required to be in a fee simple ownership status at the time of application, and because applicants had to aver that the project would not take place but for the granting of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit, this has left dozens of properties in a perilous condition – owners wanting to develop but not able to proceed. This week, owners of properties in Cincinnati, Dayton and Cleveland responded by filing a request with the Ohio Supreme Court for a Writ of Mandamus, a legal action which would, if successful, require the issuance of a tax credit should an applicant/plaintiff meet the requirements of applicable statues. For a review of that action on Building Cincinnati, click here. The case itself can be followed (and the legal pleadings read in their entirety) by visiting the Ohio Supreme Court’s website (click here), clicking on “Clerk of Court & Case Information,” and “Online Docket,” and entering the case number 2008-0675.

A look at the queue itself is illustrative of the importance of the program. Based on the 25% tax credit, these remaining unfunded projects represent a minimum of $364 million in investment in Ohio – investment, mind you, occurring in the middle of an economic downturn nationally and in Ohio. Because many of these projects would also use the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit, these projects also represent the missed opportunity for tens of millions in Federal dollars flowing to Ohio. And, because renovation of historic buildings generates an average of 32.2 jobs for every million dollars of expenditure, this represents a potential loss of well over 11,000 jobs!

MyHometownOhio will continue to post updates on the tax credit as they become available. For Preservation Ohio members, additional detailed information will be regularly posted on the Resource Center.

Photo: Ohio Statehouse Dome - Public Domain

Ohio has had a history of community involvement with civic and fraternal organizations since 1790, the year that the first Masonic lodge in the Northwest Territory was established in Marietta (and which is still going strong). In the last two hundred years, such organizations have blossomed across the state, and in addition to the Masons and other fraternal orders, many Ohioans are involved in Eagles, Elks, Moose and associated clubs.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is a direct descendant of similar fraternal lodges existing in 18th century England. With a goal “To Improve and Elevate the Character of Man,” the IOOF was the first national fraternity to include both men and women, according to the website of the Sovereign Grand Lodge. Without question, the Odd Fellows movement, and its counterpart for women, the Rebekahs, enjoyed many decades of strength and prosperity in Ohio.

As proof of the large number of Odd Fellows and Rebekahs chapters in the Buckeye State, you need look no further than the outstanding collection of Odd Fellows buildings which still line Main Street in many Ohio communities, large and small. Waymarking.com has a collection of photographs of IOOF buildings taken across the country. Out of some 82 pictures, a full 20 are from Ohio – from Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie to Amelia, outside Cincinnati. The site is an interesting look at a slice of Ohio history that is rapidly disappearing. To access the Odd Fellows photographs, click here.

Photo: IOOF Building, Galion - Preservation Ohio File Photo