|
For Immediate Release - November 3, 2011
Contact: Tom Wolf, 614.298.000 or 297.2396 or by email at twolf@ohiohistory.org
OHIO HISTORIC SITE PRESERVATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETS NOVEMBER 4
Four Proposed Nominations to the National Register of Historic Places Will Be Considered
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board will meet on Friday, November 4, 2011, at 10 a.m. at the State Library of Ohio, 274 E. First Ave., Columbus. At the meeting, the board will review four proposed Ohio nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. They include:
Cleveland Heights / Cuyahoga County: Shaker Farm Historic District, roughly bounded by properties along Fairmount and North Park Blvds to the south, Fairfax Road to the north, Roxboro Middle School to the west and Ashton Road to the east.
A residential development platted in 1904 on the south side of Cleveland Heights, Shaker Farm occupies 266 acres owned from 1822-1889 by the North Union Shaker Colony. The developer, Shaker Heights Land Company, had limited success selling home sites there until O.P. and M.J. Van Sweringen took over marketing and sales in 1905. While deed restrictions governing the development were already in place, the Van Sweringens embraced them, promising buyers a carefully planned community. House plans had to be approved before construction. Attached houses, row houses and commercial buildings were prohibited, as were billboards and “other unsightly nuisances.” Only one home was allowed per lot and deeds required setbacks of 60 to 100 feet, with ample space between houses. Homes on Fairmount Boulevard required a $7,000 investment, those on Stratford $6,000, and those on Guilford, Islington (later Arlington), Monmouth and Fairfax $5,000. Tree-lined streets followed the lay of the land rather than a more conventional grid plan and led to a wide central boulevard. Generous provision for churches, schools and other amenities -- including streetcar service, essential at the time -- completed the formula. The first house was built in 1906. About two-thirds date from 1910 to 1919 and nearly all were built before 1929. Architecturally, the proposed district features a range of styles popular a century ago, including Shingle, Colonial, Neoclassical, Tudor Revival, Spanish Revival, French Renaissance Revival, Bungalow and Craftsman, with many examples of work by leading early 20th century Cleveland architects. With some refinements, Shaker Farm became a model for the Van Sweringens' later development, Shaker Heights. The proposed Shaker Farm Historic District includes a portion of the Fairmount Boulevard Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1974.
Mount Vernon / Knox County: Downtown Mount Vernon Historic District, roughly bounded by South Main, South Mulberry, South Gay, High, Vine, Gambier and Howard Sts. and Ohio Avenue and Phillips Dr.
Proposed for nomination to the National Register for its local historic and architectural significance, the Downtown Mount Vernon Historic District encompasses Mount Vernon's downtown business district along Public Square, S. Main St., High St., Vine St., Gambier St., Ohio Ave., S. Gay St. and S. Mulberry St. The oldest building in the proposed historic district is the 1829 Adam Pyle Building at 110 S. Main St. More than 60 other historic buildings in the proposed district reflect Mount Vernon's commercial development over the years through 1963. The mostly brick, two-to-four-story buildings are in a range of 19th and early-to-mid 20th century architectural styles including Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Richardsonian Romanesque, Queen Anne, Art Deco, Art Moderne and Colonial Revival.
Newbury / Geauga County: South Newbury Union Chapel, 15829 Ravenna Rd.
South Newbury Union Chapel was the product of an 1857 controversy in which James A. Garfield -- a member of the clergy and later president of the United States -- was prevented from speaking in a local church because of his religious beliefs. The incident angered some, who decided to build a chapel that would allow free speech by all people. In 1858, Union Chapel was constructed to be used for “literary, scientific, moral and religious purposes, and free for lectures upon all useful subjects, and free for all denominations.” It became a local symbol of free speech and assembly, serving as a place where ideas could be freely expressed, even controversial ones. While it was a chapel by name, services were held once a month and it was more often used for speaking engagements, meetings and events, also serving at various times as a library, schoolhouse and cultural center. Union Chapel was used by a variety of social reform organizations as a place for free discussion of ideas like women’s right to vote, temperance and other important late 19th and early 20th century issues. The Ohio Northern Health and Dress Reform Association was the first such organization to use Union Chapel for monthly meetings to discuss topics including wages, the right to vote and divorce. The meetings eventually led to formation of the South Newbury Women’s Suffrage Political Club by many of the same women, which also met at Union Chapel. Temperance organizations including the Cold Water Army, Good Templers and Sons of Temperance also met in Union Chapel. Susan B. Anthony spoke there in 1879 and prominent Ohio suffragist Harriet Taylor Upton visited in 1919.
Youngstown / Mahoning County: St. John's Episcopal Church, 323 Wick Ave.
St. John’s Episcopal Church is proposed for nomination to the National Register for its local historic and architectural significance. Founded in 1859, it was the city's first Episcopalian congregation, and as Youngstown grew, St. John's became active in establishing missions and churches in new neighborhoods and providing social services to Mahoning Valley residents. Built between 1897 and 1901, the church building was designed by William Halsey Wood and is an example of Jacobethan, a style combining features of two English styles of the 16th and 17th centuries, Jacobean and Elizabethan. The building also reflects the influence of the turn-of-the-century Arts and Crafts Movement, which sought to revive the hand-crafted quality of pre-industrial times. Architect Wood used rough-faced random limestone, massive stone arches, timber roof trusses and other "handmade" materials to introduce the Arts and Crafts aesthetic to Youngstown. The building features three stained glass windows by New York's Tiffany Studios, with others by the Charles J. Connick Studio and Willet Studio. The connected Tudor Revival-style Edward L. Ford Memorial Parish House, designed by a nationally prominent architectural firm, Cram and Ferguson, was completed in 1929.
If the board finds that the proposed nominations appear to meet the criteria for listing on the National Register it will recommend to Ohio’s State Historic Preservation Officer, Burt Logan, that they be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places for her consideration.
The 17-member board is appointed by the governor to advise the Ohio Historical Society and the state on historic preservation matters. It includes professionals in history, architecture, archaeology and other historic preservation related disciplines as well as citizen members. The board meets three times each year to consider proposed Ohio nominations to the National Register of Historic Places and conduct other business.
About the National Register
The National Register lists places that should be preserved because of their significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture. It includes buildings, sites, structures, objects and historic districts of national, state and local importance.
To be eligible for listing on the National Register a property or district must:
- be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history, or
- be associated with the lives of people significant in our past, or
- embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values or represent a significant, distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction (e.g. a historic district), or
- have yielded, or be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
National Register listing often raises community awareness of a property. However, listing does not obligate owners to repair or improve their properties and does not prevent them from remodeling, altering, selling, or even demolishing them if they choose to do so.
Owners or long-term tenants who rehabilitate income-producing properties listed on the National Register can qualify for a 20 percent federal income tax credit if the work they do follows the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, guidelines used nationwide for repairs and alterations to historic buildings.
In Ohio anyone may prepare a National Register nomination. Nominations are made through the Ohio Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio Historical Society. Proposed nominations are reviewed by the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board, a governor-appointed panel of citizens and professionals in history, architecture, archaeology and related fields. The board reviews each nomination to see whether it appears to be eligible for listing on the National Register, then makes a recommendation to the State Historic Preservation Officer. The final decision to add a property to the register is made by the National Park Service, which administers the program nationwide.
The Ohio Historic Preservation Office is Ohio’s official historic preservation agency. A part of the Ohio Historical Society, it identifies historic places in Ohio, nominates properties to the National Register of Historic Places, reviews federally-assisted projects for effects on historic, architectural, and archaeological resources in Ohio, consults on the conservation of older buildings and sites and offers educational programs and publications.
-30-
Editor (for information only): Click here to go to our Media Page where you can download high resolution images of each property or copies of the proposed nominations with additional background information.
|
