Ohio Historic Site Preservation Board Approves National Register Nominations



Ohio Historic Site Preservation Approves State’s Nominations to National Register of Historic Places
 
(COLUMBUS, OHIO) — The Ohio History Connection held a public meeting of the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board on Friday, June 26 at the Ohio History Center. The board approved nine proposed Ohio nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, which is a list of historic places worthy of preservation because of national, state or local significance.
 
The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board is a governor-appointed panel of citizens and professionals in history, architecture, archaeology and related fields.
 
To be eligible for listing on the National Register a property or district must qualify for at least one of the following:

-Be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history

-Be associated with the lives of people significant in our past

-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)

-Yield, or be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
 
The nine approved Ohio nominations include:
 
Bedford: Villa San Bernardo Historic District, 1160 Broadway Ave.
Villa San Bernardo is nominated to the National Register for its contribution to religion and education, associated with the large Slovak immigrant community of Cleveland.  At one time in the early 1900s, Cleveland was reputedly the city with the largest number of Slovaks in the world. The Vincentian Sisters of Charity congregation was established in Bedford in 1928 specifically to serve the Slovak population in the greater metropolitan Cleveland area.
 
Cincinnati: Bon Air Flats, 615 Maple Ave.
Completed in 1907, the Bon Air Flats are significant for its association with the development of suburban streetcar transportation and multi-family living multi-family living for middle class residents in Cincinnati’s emerging inner-ring suburb of Avondale during the early twentieth century.
 
Cincinnati: Mohawk Place Historic District
The Mohawk Place Historic District is significant for its architecture and in the areas of community planning and development, transportation and industry. The district’s continuous streetscapes of three-and four-story brick buildings, two-part commercial blocks, double buildings and Italianate and other revival-style dwellings reflect Cincinnati’s development in the mid-to late nineteenth century as well as architectural styles of that period. The Art Moderne movie theater reflects the viability of neighborhood motion picture venues during the 1930s. The twentieth-century brewery-related buildings reflect the continuation of the beer industry after Prohibition.
 
Circleville: Circleville High School, 520 S. Court St.
Circleville High School is nominated to the National Register for its significance in the educational history of Circleville, Ohio and representative of broad trends in public education in Ohio in the early 20th century. The former Circleville High School building and adjacent elementary building were designed by nationally-recognized Columbus architect Frank L. Packard. The red brick buildings with stone trim and carved details reflect the Collegiate Gothic style seen in other schools designed by Packard. The two educational buildings were connected with an addition in the 1930s and later post World War II additions reflected new curriculum trends of the postwar era.
 
Cleveland and Shaker Heights: Woodland-Larchmere Commercial Historic District
Woodland-Larchmere Commercial Historic District is significant as representative of neighborhood commercial shopping districts which formed at the turn of the 20th century.  The commercial corridor provided basic goods and services to the surrounding residential neighborhoods in Shaker Heights and Cleveland from the early to mid -20th century.  The Historic District is also significant for its distinctive collection of early to mid-20th century neighborhood commercial architecture.
 
Cleveland: Mayfield Heights Historic District
Mayfield Heights is nominated to the National Register because it represents a textbook example of a neighborhood that exists due to its location adjacent to streetcar lines and the small number of non-contributing primary buildings ensures it represents a significant and distinguishable neighborhood of the “streetcar suburb” era.The Mayfield Heights Historic District is a significant example of suburban community planning showing the evolution of residential neighborhood development in Cleveland Heights during the 19th and 20th centuries. The historic district includes the community’s oldest school, church and home. The remarkable intact neighborhood displays late-19th to early-20th century residential house styles and types, including the Queen Anne, Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Prairie, Neoclassical, Craftsman, Colonial styles and American Four Squares and bungalows.
 
Cleveland: Stuyvesant Motor Company Building, 1937 Prospect Ave.
The Stuyvesant Motor Company Building, built in 1917 is eligible for its significance in the context of Cleveland’s automobile industry.  Prior to the eventual dominance of the “big three” automotive companies, the Stuyvesant Motor Co. (and later, the merged Hudson-Stuyvesant Motor Co.) embodies the shift from small, local manufacturer to the larger assembly-line based automotive corporations whose legacy remains in today’s brands.
 
Columbus: South High School, 345 E. Deshler Ave.
South High School is nominated to the National Register for its significance to the broad pattern of neighborhood development in the south side of downtown Columbus, Ohio.  South High School is associated with a growing population of Merion Village in the late 19th and early 20th century while creating an educational focal point of the new community.  In addition to the building’s associations with development of the surrounding neighborhood, this property is also nominated for being a distinctive example of public school architecture designed by David Riebel.
 
Newark: Newark High School, 112 .W Main St., 9 N. 5th St.
Newark High School is nominated to the National Register for its contribution to the history of government economic aid and the broad pattern of educational modernization of mid–century America.  The building stands as a result of Federal aid by the Public Works Administration initiative to advance and enrich local school systems during the Great Depression.  Newark High School’s evolutionary history parallels the progression of the city and remains a testament of national relief and development efforts at the community level.  In addition to the structure’s educational history, this property is also nominated for the distinct characteristics of its mid-20th century masonry Classical Revival architecture.
 
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Review Process for the National Register of Historic Places
Nominations are made through the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office. The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board reviews each nomination’s National Register eligibility, and then make 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.
 
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Ohio Historical Society is now Ohio History Connection
On May 24, 2014, the Ohio Historical Society changed its name to the Ohio History Connection. Established in 1885, this nonprofit organization provides a wide array of statewide services and programs related to collecting, preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, archaeology and natural history through its more than 50 sites and museums across Ohio, including its flagship museum, the Ohio History Center in Columbus. For more information about programs and events, call 800.686.6124 or go online at www.ohiohistory.org.
 

Posted July 2, 2015
Topics: Historic PreservationMy History

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