Category Archives: Building Preservation
Stewart Elementary School with new ramp and steps to doors at the addition and historic building from the parking lot and parent drop-off to the left.HDC Documents Another Building at Taylor Farm Park
HDC is working with the City of New Albany to document the Chicken House at Taylor Farm since the building sits in the flood plain and may have to be moved or reconstructed at another location. The design for this half-monitor chicken house was invented by the University of Illinois Extension and became quite popular on rural properties in the Midwest throughout the 1920s. Since these buildings typically did not have electricity, the south-facing windows let in plenty of light to warm the nesting boxes used by the hens along the north wall in the winter. The high windows in the monitor draws hot air up and out for ventilating to keep the hens cool during the summer. The steep north roof causes cold north winds to blow over the building and there are no windows on the north wall. This building sits on a concrete foundation that features three square openings under the south-facing windows that allowed the chickens free access into the yard. The interior would have been divided into three individual rooms with removable walls for easy cleaning.
At left is an archival photograph of the southeast corner by Jeff Bates and at right is a cast iron corner brace at the screen door.
HDC Remembers Cathie (Chris) Senter 1966-2023
The historic preservation community was shocked to hear of the sudden passing of Cathie Senter on February 27, 2023, of a heart attack. Cathie started her career in Canton, Ohio, where her passion for historic preservation earned her multiple awards, including Stark County Citizen of the Year. Cathie first interviewed for a job at HDC in 2007 but ultimately decided to go back to school. Before she started school, she worked at HDC over the summer on the window package for the Woodward Opera House and helping to finishing the HAER drawings for Monongahela River Locks and Dam project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District. After getting a degree from Belmont Technical College, she stayed to become a beloved instructor of the preservation trades, including doors and windows, model and mold making, plaster, roofing and flooring, and all types of historic masonry. Cathie came back to work for HDC in 2017 and endeared herself to preservation clients, who appreciated her knowledge and willingness to explain proposed solutions. She conducted assessments and prepared reports for the St. Louis Arsenal, caretaker lodges and chapels at national Veterans cemeteries, and was working to complete the final phase of the rehabilitation of the Historic Gardner Homestead. Her attention to details and desire to take care of her clients often led to extended schedules, but her premature passing is one deadline we gladly would have postponed.
Cathie (Chris) at work at HDC.
At left, a 2007 drawing from the Monongahela Lock and Dam documentation project and at right, the restored windows at the Woodward Opera House in Mount Vernon.
HDC Looks Back On and Forward to Black History Projects
In recognition of Juneteenth this month, HDC looks back on our projects that were associated with Black history.
In early 2002, HDC started a project to prepare a renovation master plan for the Gammon House in Springfield, Ohio. The Gammon House was built in 1850 by George Gammon, a Black abolitionist and is one of the few Underground Railroad sites in Ohio that was owned by a free person of color. HDC subsequently implemented the first phase of the renovation plan to stabilize the exterior.
The Gammon House before (left) and during (right) stabilization in 2007.
In 2003, HDC was commissioned to prepare a feasibility study to renovate the Lincoln Theatre in Columbus into a modern performing arts center. The Lincoln Theatre, an Egyptian Revival theatre that opened in 1928, was funded by a Black developer, designed by a Black architect and built by a Black contractor. HDC’s study was used to secure funding from the City of Columbus and Franklin County, with the remaining funds raised by private donors. The grand re-opening occurred in 2009, and the project received awards from Columbus Landmarks Foundation, Heritage Ohio and the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.
The interior of the theatre before (left) and after (right) rehabilitation in 2009.
In 2005, the City of Wichita commissioned HDC to prepare a redevelopment study for the Dunbar Theater, which was constructed in 1941 and named after Paul Lawrence Dunbar, the Black poet and author from Dayton, Ohio.
It was the focal point of a commercial and entertainment hub that served the McAdams neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods that were predominantly African-American in origin until 1963, when the theater closed. Power CDC, a developer that specializes in inner-city Wichita, acquired the building in 2007 and restored the façade and marquee in 2012-2014.
The Dunbar Theatre continues to be a work in progress.
In 2007, HDC prepared a Historic Structure Report and implemented the stabilization and exterior rehabilitation of the Lathrop House, which was built c. 1850 by Lucian Lathrop, a prominent white abolitionist in Sylvania, Ohio. The house contains an Underground Railroad Museum in the new basement and HDC completed an update to the Historic Structure Report in 2021 to rehabilitate the interior of the house and make it accessible.
The Lathrop House before (left) and in 2021 (right).
In 2017, HDC prepared a master plan to rehabilitate the Ozem Gardner House in Sharon Township near Worthington, Ohio, which was built in the 1840s by a local abolitionist, into offices for the Flint and Walnut Grove Cemeteries. The Gardner Family donated the original land to create the cemetery in 1821. The pandemic set the project back from its goal of opening in 2021. It is currently anticipated to be completed in 2022.
The Ozem Gardner House before (left) and after restoring the original masonry window openings (right).
In 2020, the City of Athens commissioned HDC to prepare a renovation master plan to convert the Mount Zion Baptist Church, built in 1904 by a Black congregation, into a community center and museum of African American Appalachian culture. The study was used to obtain a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to start the rehabilitation process.
The Mount Zion Baptist Church in Athens, Ohio.
HDC recently worked with architect O.A. Spencer on the interior renovation of the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex in Columbus, whose mission is to connect community through the arts by engaging central Ohio through performing, cultural and educational programs of high artistic merit that increase and disseminate knowledge regarding the vast and significant contributions of Black Americans to the culture and history of America and the world.
The main Auditorium with new flooring, ceiling and lights, looking through the updated column (left) and looking into the Lobby past the mural by artist Wali Neil (right). Photos by Shellee Fisher Photography.
And finally, HDC is very honored to have been awarded the project to prepare a Historic Structure Report of the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Lawrence County, across the Ohio River from Huntington, West Virginia. The church was built c. 1849 and is one of the first Black churches constructed west of the Appalachian Mountains. The team is looking forward to starting work in August!
The Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in South Point, Ohio.
Stained Glass and Faceted Glass at Jefferson Barracks Chapel
The exterior (left) and interior (right) of the chapel at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis
One of the seven national cemetery locations HDC is investigating with Tetra Tech is Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis. The project here is not the historic superintendent’s lodge, but a chapel built in the 1970s. Since it is such a recent building, the team was lucky to be able to visit the studio of Emil Frei & Associates in St. Louis, the firm that designed and installed the stained glass windows in the 1970s and the faceted glass skylight in the early 1980s. In addition, Stephen Frei led our tour and demonstrated how faceted glass is made by chipping away at a 1″ thick block of glass. He also came to the site to inspect the skylight, which he himself had personally installed. Stephen Frei also explained how the stained glass trees around the perimeter were intended to blend in with the trees outside and that the faceted glass skylight was renamed “The History of Humanity” from “The History of Religion” to be accepted for use in a federal building.
The faceted glass skylight in the chapel (left) and Stephen Frei explaining how faceted glass works (right)
HDC Starts Work on the Historic Meade House in Symmes Township
Northeast corner of the Meade House in Symmes Township
HDC is leading a team that includes engineers from Elevar Design Group to prepare a feasibility study to rehabilitate the Meade House in Symmes Township into a banquet facility. The house was built in 1906 on an over 200-acre farm for Dr. Charles C. Meade, a homeopathic physician, Pulte Medical College of Cincinnati professor of obstetrics, Homeopathic Medical Society president, and former president and director of the Hamilton County Fair Board. Dr. Meade was born in Fort Branch, Indiana in 1862, the son of Stephen Walter Meade and his wife Sarah Jane Rutledge, who was of English descent. Dr. Meade graduated from Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana, in 1886 before earning a medical degree from Pulte Medical College in Cincinnati in 1890. He went on to post graduate studies at the New York Post-Graduate School of Medicine and Surgery. As part of the teaching staff at Pulte College, Dr. Meade served as chair of embryology and junior obstetrics from 1898 to 1902. From 1902 to his retirement in 1905, he held a full professorship and oversaw both junior and senior obstetrics. Dr. Meade lived in this house with his second wife, continuing to assist neighbors with difficult births in his retirement. He sold the house in 1917 and moved to the Hyde Park neighborhood of Cincinnati.
Can this team save the former OSU Sheep Farm?
Left: front elevation of the Lane House on West Case Road, Right: the Red Barn and silos on West Case Road.
HDC is on MKSK’s team to prepare a feasibility study to convert the former OSU Sheep Farm into West Case Road Park for the City of Columbus Department of Recreation and Parks. The team is investigating the work and costs needed to repair/upgrade the existing brick farmhouse into a leasable event space, as well as convert the existing barns into vehicle storage buildings and possibly larger event spaces or picnic shelters. The house was constructed c. the 1880s and is one of the oldest structures remaining in northwest Columbus. Originally owned by William F. and Maude Lane, the house is a simple Federal style with windows that are three-ranked (three windows across on the second story with two windows and a door on the first story), stone lintels, and a hipped roof with exposed rafter ends. The overall building type is a hipped L, which is a two-story building with an L-shaped plan and intersecting hip roofs. The front door overhang and rear extension were later additions. The initial response was that the buildings should be demolished, but after the team submitted a draft assessment and rehabilitation report for the historic farmhouse and red barn, the City is now considering saving both.
HDC Work Featured in Toledo Blade Article: HDC Completes Renovations and Updates to Lathrop House Historic Report
The Toledo Blade recently published a newspaper article on the Lathrop House in Sylvania, Ohio. HDC was quoted in the article about their involvement in the rehabilitation of the house.
In 2006, HDC was commissioned by Toledo Metroparks to prepare construction documents to stabilize the Lathrop House using transportation enhancement funds from the Ohio Department of Transportation. The house had just been moved from its original site to a location within a city park to save it from demolition. At the request of the Ohio Historic Preservation Office (OHPO), HDC also prepared a historic structure report to guide the proposed rehabilitation of the property, which was completed in 2007. Upon OHPO’s approval of the report, HDC submitted construction documents to reinforce the first-floor structure, which consisted of tree limbs with bark still intact, rehabilitate the windows, replace the roof, and repair the siding to make the house weathertight.
The house was built in 1840 in the popular Greek Revival style of its time. In addition, HDC’s investigations revealed that what was assumed to be an addition was actually a separate older house, which had been repurposed and attached to the Lathrop House as an addition.
In 2014, the new basement was renovated into an Underground Railroad museum exhibit. Since then, visitors have been asking to tour the first and/or second floors, and in 2020 Heritage Sylvania commissioned HDC to update their 2007 Historic Structure Report to include the 2014 renovation and to recommend first and second floor rehabilitations, including the location of an elevator. Click here for a copy of the updated report.
Check out these before and after pictures of the house’s exterior renovations:
The Lathrop House under construction in 2008 (left) and the Lathrop House in 2020 (right)
Spring 2018
President Charissa Durst Honored as a Progressive Entrepreneur
Charissa Durst was named a 2018 Progressive Entrepreneur Honoree at the Smart Women Breakfast on April 17, 2018. The award recognizes female entrepreneurs who have forged their own path and developed a company that has achieved substantial growth. Charissa was honored for establishing herself as a leader in her field and among other women business owners, as well as for building Hardlines Design Company (HDC) from the ground up into an award-winning company that has earned an excellent reputation for its creative approach to architectural design and its love for the renovation of historic buildings.
Demonstration of D/2
Cathie Senter gave the office a demonstration on how to clean masonry using D/2 Biological Solution, which is a non-toxic cleaner that can be sprayed onto masonry at full strength or diluted with water. We used bricks obtained from the Dawn Theater during the last field visit and confirmed that the brick featured black speckles that matched the original black mortar. The longer the brick was in contact with the solution, the cleaner it became. D/2 is also commonly used to clean historic gravestones in cemeteries.
Bricks from the Dawn Theater in a D/2 bath
Woodward Opera House Gets Partial Occupancy Permit
After 17 years, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! The Woodward Opera House project received partial occupancy at the end of March, which allowed portions of the building (the commercial sections) to be leased and occupied. Areas still under major construction include the theatre areas, which likely will not be ready until the fall season at the earliest. Charissa Durst and Brad Curtis have been working through the federal historic tax credit reporting forms as well as responding to issues brought up by the contractors and state inspectors. Many people have been asking about a grand opening, and we hope to have some news on that soon!
View of new main stair in the Promenade, April 2018
View of the Stage (left) and view of the Balcony (right)
HDC works with Commonwealth Heritage Group at the St. Louis Arsenal
Last fall, Commonwealth Heritage Group asked HDC to team with them on a project at the historic St. Louis Arsenal in Missouri for Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. HDC’s portion of the project was to conduct a conditions assessment and prepare repair and mothballing recommendations for when the Air Force transferred ownership of the buildings to the General Services Administration in the near future. Cathie Senter conducted the field work and recently contributed to the executive summary currently under review.
The Arsenal has a long history that began in 1827, when the site was used to manufacture and repair small arms and gun carriages for the Army as well as territorial militias west of the Mississippi River. It played a key role in settling the American West from arming U.S. troops during the Indian Wars of the 1830s to being a Union outpost during the Civil War. The Arsenal property is today a satellite to Scott Air Force Base and is highly secure, and all field team members had to be escorted and could not take photographs. However, the following historic images are already in the public domain and can be shown here.
Historic photo of Building 7, built 1849-50 as the Ordnance Coal House and now the Visitors Center.
Historic photo of Building 6, built in 1852 as the Carriage-Maker’s Shop and now demolished.
When the Boss is Away, the Dogs Will Play
When HDC President Charissa Durst attended the Women Presidents Organization annual conference in Los Angeles, Donut the Beagle stayed home to be tended by Charissa’s husband, Don Durst. Meanwhile, back at the office, the staff’s dogs made guest appearances.
Brad tries to teach Baxter the building code.
Megan’s Sherlock refuses to do any work and prefers to watch traffic.
Donut, who turned 14 on March 25, goes to Prairie Oaks Metro Park the weekend after the WPO conference and would rather be splashing in the water than posing for a photo.
Hardlines’ Oyler School project wins rehabilitation award
(by Charissa Durst, posted on December 11, 2012)
Back in 2006, when Dick Krehbiel of the Roth Partnership asked me if HDC would be willing to join their team for some historic school renovations in Cincinnati, I said “Sure!” HDC would be the team’s historic preservation consultant and be responsible for the rehabilitation of the exterior enclosure, with emphasis on roofs and historic masonry and terra cotta. It seemed pretty straightforward. Little did we know that our work to repair the exterior of Oyler School would be part of an award-winning design project or that the school would become nationally recognized as a catalyst for turning around a poor urban neighborhood.
Oyler School was built in 1930 and designed by the prominent Cincinnati architectural firm of Samuel Hannaford & Sons. The building anchors the Lower Price Hill Historic District, which is located in the river valley to the southwest of downtown Cincinnati. The school’s impressive exterior was described in the National Register nomination as a “delightful blending of Art Deco and Italian Romanesque executed in terra cotta, brick, and Rookwood tile.” Statues of boys and girls executed by Rookwood are seated in various locations on the building.
View of the south elevation of Oyler School
In the mid-1970s, when Cincinnati Public Schools announced it would close Oyler, the Lower Price Hill community rallied to save their school. In the 1980s, the Community Council formed to give the community a voice in city politics and the neighborhood was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Cincinnati’s largest historic district. Ultimately, Cincinnati Public Schools committed to a $20 million rehabilitation and addition to Oyler School.
Detail of terra cotta on the south elevation
HDC’s work centered around the restoration, repair, and replacement of the terra cotta details. HDC’s design team researched the composition of the exiting terra cotta in order to find materials and methods for seamless repair and replacement. The team paid special attention to the different types of glazing finish the contractor would encounter, including monolithic (uniform solid), mottled (speckled), polychrome (having two or more colors on the same unit), and polychrome blended colors (varying colors are blended by method of surface application).
Falcon detail on south elevation
Ultimately, HDC designed and specified terra cotta work that work included removing, cleaning, and re-installing terra cotta features after the repair and reinforcement of the underlying structural system; repairing cracks and damaged glazing, and replicating missing/damaged items using glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC). HDC staff also made multiple visits to the job site to approve the quality of the mockups and to resolve hidden structural problems as pieces of terra cotta were removed for cleaning.
Capital terra cotta details
Oyler School was one of eight projects to receive a 2012 Rehabilitation Award from the Cincinnati Preservation Association. The event was held on Saturday, November 17, at the Cincinnati Zoo, whose renovation of the Reptile House also received an award. Charissa Durst and Bill Faciane represented Hardlines Design Company and were joined by representatives from the Roth Partnership, Cincinnati Public Schools, Oyler School, and the Lower Price Hill community in what may have been the largest turnout in the history of the awards.
Dick Krehbiel of the Roth Partnership and Charissa Durst of Hardlines Design Company (photo by Bill Faciane)
In tandem with the completion of its physical transformation, the school’s unique K-12 program targeted at serving the community is making national headlines, as American Public Media featured the school on four segments of its “Marketplace” program this year. Once again, Hardlines Design Company has contributed to the preservation of a historical community building.