In the middle of winter -- and not just any winter -- it might help to look ahead at upcoming events that highlight preservation, revitalization and/or sustainable growth in Ohio communities, across the state and around the nation.  As we look ahead, here’s a handy list of conference, workshops and events occurring between February 1 and April 30; click on links for more info on each.

• Cleveland Restoration Society New Members Reception - Cleveland - February 11
  
  
• Your Old House Day - Galion - February 21
  
  
• National Main Street Conference - Chicago - March 1-4
  
  
• Statehood Day - Columbus - March 3
  
  
• Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference - Boston - March 12-14
  
  
• “End of Winter Feast” Tavern Dinners at the historic Newcom Tavern - Dayton - March 13-14, 20-21, 27-28
  
  
• “The Skyscraper District,” lecture by Walter E. Langsam - Cincinnati Preservation Association - Cincinnati - March 28
  
  
• “The Restoration of the Rufus Putman House” - 2009 Campus Martius Lecture Series - Marietta - April 5
  
  
• “Great Cincinnati Families at Home” Exhibition - Cincinnati - April 25 - September 30
  
  
• State of the Region Luncheon - Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission - Columbus - April 30

Photo: Rufus Putnam House, Maritetta -- Public Domain

December saw two announcements concerning the federal Preserve America program that have an impact here in Ohio.

First, as of December 12, Bowling Green was named as an official Preserve America community, according to the city’s website.  As a newly-designated community, it joins Canal Winchester, Dayton, Delaware, Georgetown, Granville, Marysville, Medina, Nelsonville, New Richmond, Oberlin, Olmstead Falls, Piqua, Shawnee and Tipp City in the program.  Both the German Village (Columbus)  and Old West End (Toledo) neighborhoods are also included.

Preserve America designation brings with it a certificate of recognition, road signs, authorization to use the Preserve America logo, directory listings, national press releases, and eligibility for grants.

Secondly, one of Ohio’s Preserve America communities, Shawnee, received a $100,000 Preserve America grant to conduct a “Priority Property Asset Plan.”  According to Preserve America, this project will “,,,identify the most vulnerable properties of its Main Street Historic district and plan for their restoration and reuse. Funds will also be used to design a streetscape for the downtown historic district in an effort to spur tourism-based economic development.”

This grant joins two others already received by Ohio communities -- one to evaluate the heritage tourism impact in Dayton, and another to fund a recent past survey project by the Ohio Historical Society.

Shawnee’s downtown district was included on the 2007 and 2008 Lists of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites; in 2008, the listing read, in part, “Shawnee is a movie set come to life; a true "ghost town" that has simply and emphatically refused to give up.”  Click here to read the listing, and to view scenes of local buildings.

Photo: Knights of Pythias Building, Shawnee -- Used with permission, All Rights Reserved

Representatives of Ohio’s statewide history, revitalization, preservation and archiving organizations came together on Thursday, January 22 to solidify planning for Statehood Day 2009.  This year’s event will be held on Tuesday, March 3 at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.

Online registration has just been activated for the event, and can be accessed here together with additional event information.  Please note that this year a small fee is requested of each registrant -- $25 for those registering before February 6, and $30 thereafter.  This fee covers the cost of the meal and materials for the day.

A tentative schedule has been posted on the site, and will be updated soon, and a list of 2009 legislative priorities will also be added.  The confirmed luncheon speaker is OSU football coach Jim Tressel, who will speak on the role that local history has played in his family life.

This is a once-in-a-year opportunity to take the message to the Ohio Statehouse that “History Works for Ohio!”  Please join us and submit an online reservation today.

Photo: Ohio Statehouse -- thoth188/Creative Commons License

Its been a long time -- in fact, since last Summer, believe it or not -- since MyHometownOhio did a quick profile on interesting preservation and revitalization stories that hit our desks each week.  Many of these have been included in the Ohio Preservation News and Ohio Downtown News RSS feeds that grace the left column on a regular basis.  Some of these stories, however, really call for at least a bit more attention and focus, particularly those dealing with pending demolition discussions.  So -- at the beginning of 2009, these stories have recently captured our attention.

Cincinnati’s historic resources have taken a couple of hits recently, particularly with the loss of buildings in the historic Sedamsville area.  Now, Christ Hospital is seeking to raze two apartment buildings, claiming that their condition makes renovation financially unfeasible.  At least one member of the local Historic Preservation Commission has questioned whether or not this is a case of “demolition by neglect,” meaning that the owner let the properties deteriorate in order to eventually make the case for removal.  Interestingly, the owner cites “maintenance problems” as a reason to pursue its goal.

In Dayton, yet another monumental historic school is facing possible demolition..  In this case it is the former Julienne High School, a private, Catholic high school building now part of Dayton’s public school system.  It’s a typical scenario -- the Superintendent of School has been quoted as claiming that somehow voters choose demolition when they choose to enter the Ohio School Facilities Commission program, where the reality is that districts do have some leverage with renovation requests to the OSFC-- as communities like Greenfield and Bucyrus can attest.

This weekend, word was released that the Julienne building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and efforts are underway to have the building listed locally and subject to guidelines of the City of Dayton historic preservation ordinance.

In Columbus, Ohio State University has completed asbestos abatement and will shortly begin demolition of two of the oldest structures on campus, Lord Hall and Brown Hall.  While open to some sort of ongoing engagement with the preservation community in terms of future actions, the University has been unwilling to reconsider demolishing these structures -- despite no developed plans on what to do with the resulting open space.  It’s a sad example to set by the state’s flagship public university.

To read about the latest developments with the Seneca County Courthouse in Tiffin, please read the updates provided regularly on this site, primarily links to stories in the Toledo Blade and Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune.  You can find these updates in the right column of MyHometownOhio.

Photo: Former Juilienne High School, Dayton/Public Domain

Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 21, for the first preservation workshop event of 2009.

Preservation Ohio is teaming with the Galion Historical Society to present a seminar entitled “YOUR OLD HOUSE DAY" to be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, located at the corner of South Union and West Walnut Streets in Galion.

The event will offer an inexpensive and locally convenient way to get tips on how to renovate and restore a house or building.  Usually these workshops are very hard to find, expensive, and seldom offered for the home owner.

This seminar will include passouts and presentations by experts from Ohio renovation and restoration businesses and organizations.  Some topics to be featured include woodwork restoration, researching the history of your house or building, and "faux marbleizing."

A continental breakfast and a boxed lunch will be included with the $15 fee. Interested people may pay at the door, but reservations must be made by February 18 to assure handouts and lunch; to do so, call 419-468-6773.

Galion is easy to reach via the new US 30, or via State Routes 309 (from Marion) and 61 (from Columbus).

More information is available at: www.galionhistory.com or by e-mailing: programs@galionhistory.com or info@preservationohio.org.

Photo: Brownella Cottage, Galion while undergoing exterior restoration -- Preservation Ohio File Photo

A rare -- very, very rare -- happy day for traditional school buildings occurred recently with the opening of the newly-renovated landmark East High School on East Broad Street in Downtown Columbus.  East was constructed in 1922.

$30 million was spent on the project, which, as noted in a recent Columbus Dispatch article, has been touted as revitalizing the entire neighborhood.  The result of the expenditure is a facility completely equipped for modern technology and likely boasting a longer life expectancy than the hundreds of new school buildings being constructed across the state.

Its been said many, many times -- but in this era of intense economic strife, it bears stating again.  The Ohio School Facilities Commission program remains one of the largest missed opportunities in the history of the Ohio.  In Cleveland alone, a study conducted by the Cleveland Restoration Society revealed that new construction would cost Cleveland Public Schools taxpayers $66 million more than rehabilitation.  Projected across the state’s 600 school districts, this would reach a staggering figure.  When combined with the fact that the OSFC program has removed neighborhood anchors in large and small Ohio cities, the resulting social cost is enormous.

Hearty congrats to Columbus taxpayers -- you did your homework, bucked the trend, chose to renovate buildings, saved a bundle, kept neighborhoods intact, and now have every right to start enjoying the results.

Photo Credit: East High School, Columbus - OZinOH/Creative Commons License

We in Ohio might not like to admit it, but occasionally (OK, a bit more often than that) our friends in “that state up north” have some clever ideas.

On more than one occasion, Preservation Ohio has communicated with one of our sister organizations, the Michigan Historic Preservation Network.  In 2007, for instance, the MHPN helped us advertise our Courthouse Summit, and many Michiganders made the trip down to Michigan to participate in a discussion about the preservation of landmark civic buildings.  Their Director, Nancy Finegood, has always been ready to assist with information or advice.

In that last couple of weeks, we have been made aware of two great resources from the Wolverine State.  Shortly before Christmas we received an e-mail from the MHPN, who shared a real gift -- a PDF copy of “An Introduction to Preservation Trades for High School Students,” a guide created by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training and the MHPN.  According to their e-mail,

“Members of the MHPN Education Committee…have worked over the last 16 months on gathering preservation educators, in order to create a guide that can be used by “preservation champions” around the United States, who would like to educate youth in preservation crafts and skills… Please share the document widely and let us know of any champions in your midst. We would be pleased to assist them in setting up similar programs… In these rather difficult times, when we hear so much that is negative, it is so nice to see something positive …. these young people who are excited about preservation and their communities! Just take a look at the photos in the report, and check out the grins and smiles!”

It’s a fantastic resource that lives up to its billing, and Preservation Ohio is pleased to pass it on to you.  To access a copy, please click here and click on the icon.

Then, this week, we ran across the brand-new blog of the Michigan Main Street Program.  While several of the already-posted stories feature staff bios and information about the Michigan program, they also share valuable general insights about downtown revitalization.  We have posted three below, and will include more as they become available.

• Want to advertise your downtown?  Don’t do this!
  
• Return to the Streets…
  
• Obama’s Strategies Can Help Downtowns Win Volunteers and Customers

Photo Credit: CedarBendDrive/Creative Commons License

Welcome to 2009 -- a year which will see the 27th anniversary of Ohio’s statewide preservation organization, as well as the 16th year for Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites.  Stay turned for information about nominations to that list coming soon to all Preservation Ohio online locations.

This is certain to be a critical year for the future of Ohio’s historic resources.  As previously profiled on this site, the economic downturn has had significant impact on both multi-million dollar renovation projects and on the Main Streets of small town Ohio.  Challenges presented by cutbacks at the Ohio Historical Society have had a chilling impact, and with a budget bill to be considered this year by the General Assembly additional cuts are a real possibility.

This year will also undoubtedly fix the future for the beleaguered Seneca County Courthouse, a landmark building whose fate is inexorably tied to the future economic potential of downtown Tiffin.  Other important buildings, including Longwood Manor in Macedonia, and Bethany Hall in Lebanon, continue to await their ultimate fate.

Preservation Ohio is looking forward to the coming year with a new energy and commitment to fulfilling its mission to promote Ohio’s built history through education, advocacy and partnership.  We will be introducing new facets to our operation soon, including new features for MyHometownOhio.

In the spirit of the new year, we share with you the first 5 of “20 things we’ve learned about preservation,” a list recently authored by well-known preservation economist Donovan Rypkema.  Mr. Rypkema’s complete list can be seen here; it’s a must read that should provide inspiration and advice as you begin 2009.

1. Not every historic building can be adapted for every use, but the vast majority of quality historic buildings can be adapted to the vast majority of uses.

2. You can nearly always build something cheaper than you can do a complete renovation; but if quality is part of the equation, historic preservation is a cost competitive alternative.

3. The more similar the adaptive reuse of the historic building is to the original use, the more cost effective the rehabilitation will be.

4. The cost competitiveness of rehabilitation versus new construction is distorted when the costs of demolition and disposal are not included in the new construction cost estimates.

5. The remaining economic life of a quality rehabilitated historic building is not measurably different than the remaining economic life of a quality new building.

All the best from the Staff and Board of Preservation Ohio for a happy, healthy and preservation-friendly 2009!

Photo Credit: thegilmanator/Creative Commons License