Fall 2017

HDC Welcomes Cathie Senter!

Cathie worked with HDC on the Woodward Opera House in 2007, where she assessed the condition of the wooden windows and prepared drawings and specifications for their repair. Cathie noticed that the second floor windows were originally 6-over-6, but the muntins had been cut out and they were reglazed as 1-over-1 windows. Because of the alteration, we were able to replace the windows with new insulated 6-over-6 windows that matched the other multi-pane windows on the building. In 2011, we worked with Cathie on implementing the first phase of the Historic Structure Report she had prepared for Five Oaks Historic Home in Massillon. After 7 years teaching at the Building Preservation & Restoration program at Belmont College in St. Clairsville, Cathie was ready to get back into designing and managing projects. When she contacted HDC, we snapped her up immediately! While moving to Columbus from Wheeling in late summer, we had her work on projects in nearby Belmont and Noble Counties, and she also conducted assessments of historic stone buildings at the St. Louis Arsenal.

HDC Receives Praise for Eielson Air Force Base Documentation


Cover sheet with maps and front elevation

Floor plan and building section sheet

The final version of the Level I HABS Documentation of Building 1190 at Eielson Air Force Base was reviewed and approved in July 2017 by Ms. Sylvia Elliott, Architectural Historian with Alaska’s Review & Compliance Office of History & Archaeology, who commented that “It was an excellent report.” The MOA required that the documentation drawings include floor plan, section, and the front and side elevations. However, HDC thought a drawing of the side elevation would not convey any more information than a photograph, and focused on adding a plan of a B-29 aircraft, for which the hangar was designed.

Click here for a copy of the final report: Bldg1190 HABS Report Final

Indian Mound Recreation Center Getting Ready to Bid


REVIT rendering of the proposed Indian Mound Recreation Center

HDC’s first major project with the City of Columbus Department of Recreation and Parks is the design of the new Indian Mound Recreation Center to replace an existing one constructed in 1970. The existing rec center was built during the energy crisis and has low ceilings and no windows, which is a major complaint by the staff. As the design progressed with multiple neighborhood meetings, it became clear that the new building would be larger than the $7 million budget. This prompted HDC Project Architect Brad Curtis to recommend that the City retain the gym from the 1970 building, which is still in good condition, and put storage and other less public functions into the existing building, thereby shrinking the size of the addition and meeting the budget. The project is scheduled to bid at the end of December.

HDC President Visits Taiwan and Japan


Taiwan’s Pacific coast on the one sunny day of the trip

Gassho (praying hands) thatch roof buildings in the Shokawa Valley, Japan

HDC President Charissa W. Durst spent 14 days in October accompanying her mother on an overseas trip. Charissa’s uncle had arranged a college reunion trip to Japan, but was two people short of getting a group rate, so her mom volunteered the last two people. Since her uncle’s college is in Taiwan, the group trip originated and ended in Taiwan. Charissa’s last trip to Taiwan was in 1983 when she attended a summer language school with her brother. During the last week of that 2-month trip the class toured Taiwan but was unable to make it to the east coast since monsoons washed out the road. The rainy season typically ends at the end of September and October is normally sunny and dry. Unfortunately, global warming extended typhoon season well into October this year and it pretty much rained every day in Taiwan and Japan. They made it to the east coast of Taiwan, but were unable to access the national parks due to dangerous road conditions from the constant rain.

Donut Gets Marooned!

Donut the Beagle made multiple trips to Prairie Oaks Metro Park this summer, and she frolicked in Big Darby Creek a record number of times. During one trip after a heavy rain, Big Darby Creek was higher than normal and the usual center islands were underwater. Donut had to make do (unhappily) with a rock.