New Blog Content In Search Of Preservation-related Questions

I would like to take a moment and introduce myself to the readership of Cleveland Area History:

My name is Jessica Ugarte, and I am an enthusiastic new resident of the Cleveland area. I am also a preservationist at the Cleveland Restoration Society, with both Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees in the field of historic preservation. Through a combination of classroom studies and preservation-related employment I have had the opportunity to be involved in stabilizing and restoring many different types of built culture. Over the past decade I have worked on projects like repairing the interior plaster of a 1920s theater, leading a project to stabilize an important 1890s home shortly after Hurricane Katrina, participating in the restoration of a 1910 steam locomotive engine, and heading a project for the National Park Service to stabilize and repair marble funerary monuments on remote islands on the Outer Banks. While I haven’t seen or worked on it all (yet), my years of focus on material conservation and science usually enables me to have a good idea of what needs to be done and even how to do it.

Cleveland Area History has asked me to start writing a regular column on this website where I will be answering reader questions about the materials, deterioration, repair, and even construction of their older or historic Cleveland-area buildings.
But in order for this to get started, I need to hear from you! Please email your inquiries along with your name, phone number, the property address and an image if possible to: jugarte@clevelandrestoration.org.
You can send me old building-related questions like “how do I repair a historic wood window,” “why do I see what looks like chunks of chalk in my home’s mortar,” “what is the best way to clean and restore a clear finish on historic wood” or even “so what’s the big deal with using vinyl siding on a historic home?”

While I promise to respond to all requests for information and assist in any way possible, not all questions and answers will be able to be posted here on Cleveland Area History. Additionally, depending on your particular question and needs, a more in-depth follow-up may be required.

I look forward to hearing from Cleveland Area History’s readers and finding out what questions may be on their minds.

Thank you!

Jessica Ugarte is employed by the Cleveland Restoration Society, a nonprofit that uses the powerful tool of historic preservation to revitalize our diverse communities, strengthen the regional economy, and enhance the quality of life in northeastern Ohio. www.clevelandrestoration.org

Another look at the Columbia Building

From Ohio Architect and Builder, January, 1909, page 80.

In light of the threatened demolition of the Columbia Building, I've done a bit more research, and can now provide some details of its construction. The following is from Ohio Architect and Builder, January, 1909, page 39.

The First Eight Story Concrete Building

The first eight-story reinforced concrete skeleton frame was finished Saturday, Dec. 12, 1908, for Mr. M. A. Bradley's building.

The concreting of basement columns was started October 8, 1908, and concreting of roof slab completed on Dec. 12, 1908. Over 200 ton of steel reinforcement and 3,000 barrels of Portland cement were used. All concrete is slag concrete, the slag is manufactured by The Cleveland Macadam Company. The column rods are upset and threaded and connected by sleeve nut splices making same continuous from basement footing to seventh floor. The column rods for the two upper stories are connected by pipe splices. All columns are hooped with band steel wrapped spirally. The column reinforcement is round rods and beam and floor reinforcement twisted rods.

This building is being erected for Mr. M. A. Bradley for office purposes.

The Building Code was revised to allow the construction of this building to go eight stories.

The Reaugh Construction Company are contractors for the reinforced concrete and masonry. Mr. Marion E. Wells, architect.

In order to continue the concreting during the cold weather, the owner, Mr. M. A. Bradley furnished steam from one of his adjoining buildings through a large pipe line extended over the entire floor area of the eight floors and the roof.

The brick work of this building has just been started and rapid progress on the same is promised.

The photograph of the above building in its present state can be seen on the last page in this book in connection with The Reaugh Construction Company's advertisement.

An advertisment the following month (Ohio Architect and Builder, February, 1909, page 80) shows the progress in the construction.

A 1911 article in Ohio Architect and Builder goes into detail about the Reaugh Construction Company. The article is illustrated in detail - it's worth taking a look at the structures that they built. One of note is shown here:


From Ohio Architect and Builder, October, 1911, page 35.

This is one of the structures that was just demolished to make way for the new innerbelt bridge. Correction, as pointed out by Steven McQuillin: It was, in fact, the Higgins Buidling, which he notes was located "At the northwest corner of Huron Road and Ontario Street, demolished for the rail approaches to the Terminal Tower in the 1920s."

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It's worth noting again that the Columbia Building is a Cleveland Landmark, one in good, usable condition, and that that should be considered in any decision.

Threatened: The Columbia Building

Note: This was originally posted on Wednesday, May 11, 2011. Due to an outage, the original file was lost. The text and images remain the same, but some of the formatting may have changed.


Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission.

The Columbia building on Prospect-av. at E. 2d-st. stands alone as the only eight-story reinforced concrete building in Cleveland. It was the first to be built under the provisions of the revised building code. It was erected by M.A. Bradley, who has erected a number of other buildings during the past year. Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 26, 1909, page 25.

This new fireproof office building, now a Cleveland Landmark, was designed by architect M.E. Wells. It has been the home to many different businesses over the years. The most recent tenant was David N. Myers University, who occupied the space from 1985 until the recent move to Chester Avenue and East 40th Streets.

The Columbia Building (112 Prospect Avenue, in downtown Cleveland) is threatened with demolition for a parking garage for the new casino. A report on the matter will be presented at the Cleveland Landmarks Commission meeting tomorrow, Thursday, May 12.

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This 1909 photograph shows the newly-finished Columbia Building. The first floor featured plate glass windows and retail space yet unfilled. The photo was used in an advertisement, published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on August 26, 1909, page 8.



Another ad, a detail of which is used here, extolls the virtues of the location - on the streetcar line and close to Public Square. It was published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on October 3, 1909, page 8.

The full history of this building is not known. It has been an office building since it was built, but the full tenant history remains to be investigated. It would be interesting to learn everything that might have happened within in these walls.


Photograph by Warner Thomas, City of Cleveland Bureau of Photographic Services.

This 1981 photograph shows the entrance to the building, now marred by a less than pleasing awning. This could be remedied with relative ease.


Courtesy of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission.

Some parts of the ornamentation surrounding the entrance can be seen in more detail here.

The building, while not as grand as some, is an attractive, solid structure, that contributes to the history of the city and the character of the neighborhood. It remains in good physical condition and could readily be used for any number of things.

You might ask, why, then, is it being demolished?

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The demolition of this Cleveland Landmark will make way for this, the "welcome center" (parking garage) for the new downtown casino. This rendering shows the side facing Ontario. The older building in the center of the image is the Stanley Block, one of the oldest commercial structures in downtown Cleveland, which, thanks to your efforts, was saved.

I really try to avoid architectural criticism. It's better left to people who are more knowledgable, like Steven Litt. Further, I attempt to keep my opinions here limited to those surrounding history and historic preservation.

With that said, the proposed parking garage seems like almost as much an assault on the historic Stanley Block as condemning it was. I see no attempt to make the new structure harmonize with the existing one. This could have been done through use of similar lines, or through similar materials, or through any number of other means.

It seems almost as if they're trying to make the Stanley Block stick out so much from the surroundings that the public will want it gone. Further, no attempt has been made to make it fit with the neighborhood. A design that would appeal to casinogoers could surely also make this concession.

How does this relate to the Columbia Building? Because the land the Columbia Building is standing on will be part of the parking garage.

I understand that parking is necessary. But it seems stupid to replace a perfectly good building with a parking garage of questionable merit when there's a vacant lot but a block away that's being used for surface parking.

The lot in question is bounded by Prospect, East 4th, and Huron. It could be used for a combined parking lot for the Q and the casino. This would free up the lot utilized by the Q Arena on Ontario for use by the casino.

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The plans may be found in the agenda for the Cleveland Landmarks Commission meeting tomorrow, May 12, 2011. An archive of the plans can be found here.

You may register your opinion either by appearing at the Landmarks Commission meeting tomorrow morning at Cleveland City Hall, at 9:00 am, or contact either Commission chair Jennifer Coleman, Commission secretary Robert Keiser (216-664-2531) or Councilman Joe Cimperman (216-664-2691).

Historic Preservation: What You Can Do

With the coming demolition of the historic James H. Foster residence in the Ambler Heights neighborhood of Cleveland Heights, many people have asked what they can do. They've suggested that historic preservation legislation is needed - I agree.

Historic preservation laws can do quite a bit - if you look at the historic neighborhoods that are doing well in this area, many of them are where they are in part because they are part of landmark districts. These neighborhoods are often in better condition and have higher property values than the surrounding areas.

Landmarks legislation is only part of the picture. It's hard to get such legislation with real teeth. It can slow down the demolition process, but often little more than that, if the owner is determined. It's worth pursuing, mind you - and if you want to proceed forward in this regard, talk to your city council member (or euqivalent).

I don't know of any landmarks legislation in the greater Cleveland area that would have protected the owners of the James H. Foster residence from completely gutting the interior - and the interior is at least as significant as the exterior. With any residence, once the interior is gone, the excuse will pop up at demolition hearings that "most of the historic detail is gone, so we should be allowed to bulldoze it."

This is why, if we are to protect the history of our community, we need to take an additional step - we need to take a more active interest in this history. We need to *gasp* talk with our neighbors and tell them that we're concerned about our history. We need to become more interested in the history of the area as a whole, rather than to just be content that we're maintaining the status quo in our individual communities.

Further, it means that we'll have to figure out how to explain why we're concerned with these issues. Is it because we find the stories of those who came before us fascinating? Is it because we love the aesthetic of the beautiful old buildings? Or is it just because we want to continue to live in an area where there are historic buildings in addition to the ones that we, personally, live in?

All are valid reasons. Each of us needs to figure out how to express this to our neighbors, because while we can work for legislation, none of this will be effective without the community as a whole being more interested in our history.

You say you don't know that much about our history? That's fine. Take a look at the books at your local library branch - see if any of them deal with your neighborhood. Bring up a story you read here, on Cleveland Area History, about a historic farmhouse, for instance, and ponder if something like that might exist in your neighborhood.

Individually, all we have to do is start a dialogue with our neighbors. We're making progress. Now we have to start actually talking to other people, instead of just talking amongst ourselves.

A pleasant surprise: the Schofield building

Many of the skyscrapers built in Cleveland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries have received steel and glass façades that make them appear to be more recent structures and hide any clue as to their historical appearance. The Schofield Building was one such structure.

The building, at the southwest corner of Euclid Avenue and East 9th Street, was built in 1901. The architect was Levi Scofield, who was also responsible for the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, on Public Square.

I can't say the building ever made a significant impression on me. It looked like a non-descript skyscraper built in the 1970s or 1980s.



Imagine my surprise when I saw the scene above while walking down East 9th Street to a recent Landmarks Commission meeting. Most of the façade has been removed, revealing the historic structure. A small part of it is still visible on the side of the building at the left of the photo, facing an alley.



Note the level of detail present originally. There are Corinthain columns on the corner. Considerable detail is present around the windows.

According to this article, published on Cleveland.com on June 8, 2009, the investors who own the group received a $1.25 million loan from the city of Cleveland to remove the façade and determine the original appearance of the building. The article notes that this would be the first step in applying for state and federal historic preservation tax credits.

This thread on Urban Ohio includes an excellent historic image of the building. I sincerly hope that the exterior hasn't been damaged too much, and that it can be returned to its original appearance.