Category Archives: Architecture
Construction Opens up Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church for Additional Dendrochronology
L: Overall view of interior looking SE. R: Detail of floor beam with bark still attached.
Dendrochronology is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. HDC had previously utilized the College of Wooster Tree Ring Lab in 2011 to date the logs used in the construction of the Deardurff House in Franklinton, Ohio. The house was known as the oldest structure in Franklin County still on its original foundation, built c. 1807. Dr. Greg Wiles took core samples in 2011 and determined that some of the logs were cut in 1798 and others in 1806, confirming the 1807 construction date, much to everyone’s relief! We suspect that the earlier logs were salvaged from the first shelter constructed by Abraham Deardurff and his teenage son before he went back to Pennsylvania to bring the rest of the family to Ohio.
Dr. Wiles came out to the Macedonia Church in the summer of 2024, but was unable to definitively date the logs since the ones he could reach were hewn and had lost their outermost rings. He asked to return when construction had started to see if better log candidates could be identified. Construction started in November 2024 and in December, the contractor, Mullins Construction found that termites had damaged the floorboards from below. The damaged floorboards were removed, exposing most of the original floor beams to view. Some of the floor logs still had bark, which makes them good candidates for dating. The Tree Ring Lab hopes to be on site this Spring to take samples from the wall and roof structure as well as the floor beams to get a complete picture of the building.
L: Front elevation of the Deardurff House after removal of wood siding exposed the underlying log structure. R: Dr. Greg Wiles taking a core sample in 2011.
HDC Dives into Working with 3D Scanning!
L: Elevation of Cedarville Opera House by Existing Conditions. R: Model of Clifton School by Truescan.
In 2006, The Kleingers Group, a civil engineering and surveying company headquartered in Cincinnati, conducted the construction surveying for our project at the Lincoln Theatre. After the project was completed, they came to our office to introduce a new service they had started on 3D scanning. After discussions on timelines and costs, we concluded that it was about the same cost to get a building scanned with drawings exported as it was for us to actually field measure and prepare the drawings. Field measuring in person also had the advantage in that we could also conduct a conditions assessment at the same time. However, it also poses a challenge if the building was very tall or not safe to measure in person.
This year, HDC opted for 3D scanning for the first time and worked with Truescan, who are the Kleingers team spun off on its own. The price was surprisingly affordable and the cloud model created by the scanning allows us to get dimensions for any part of the building without having to go out and measure it! It also offered efficiency as compared to typical field measuring. The scanner operator explained that the equipment has advanced quite a bit and what used to take 45 minutes to scan now takes 45 seconds. The equipment captures millions of pixels per second with 2 mm accuracy. HDC also utilized the company Existing Conditions to scan a different building at the same time.
Project Manager John Creasy Retires
John Creasy retired at the end of 2024 after working over 10 years at HDC. John grew up in Delaware County, Ohio, and earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Florida in Gainesville. He worked at various architectural and engineering firms in central Ohio before landing at HDC just in time to spearhead the completion of the construction documents for the final phase of the Woodward Opera House rehabilitation and addition in Mount Vernon. He was project coordinator and construction administrator for renovation projects in Springfield, Ohio, and lead the construction administration of the Indian Mound (now Scioto Southland) Recreation Center renovation in Columbus. At the time of his retirement, John was working on wrapping up the lower-level renovation of the Beightler Armory for the Ohio National Guard and renovation of City of Columbus grant-funded projects at Carol Stewart Village and All THAT Teen Center. We wish John a long and relaxing life in retirement!
HDC Welcomes Back Vivian Majtenyi!
The void left by the passing of Cathie Senter was thankfully filled by the return of Vivian Majtenyi in March. Vivian worked for HDC from 1999 (we were her first full-time architecture position) until 2013, when she left to take a break after working almost non-stop on our signature projects. During her 14 years at HDC, she traveled the country to complete facility assessments on Air Force Materiel Command installations and conduct research and documentation of historic buildings on navy bases. Vivian worked with Charissa Durst on the initial fieldwork at the Woodward Opera House through the rehabilitation of the second floor. She was also the project coordinator for both the addition to and renovation of the Lincoln Theatre and the addition and renovation of Stewart Elementary School. Vivian also obtained her architecture license in 2011. In the 10 years since she left HDC, her diverse work experience included the in-house design department of a construction firm, a large (over 650 employees) full-service A/E firm, and researching and writing historic architectural reports for cultural resources projects. Since HDC started new projects with the City of Columbus and State of Ohio this year, we are very happy to have Vivian back!
Left: Vivian leading a tour of the Lincoln Theatre. Right: Vivian’s celebratory cake upon passing the architecture license exam.
HDC Continues Successful 10-year Relationship with Kramer Engineers
HDC first worked with Kramer Engineers at Hocking College in 2013 on a feasibility study to renovate a former bookstore building for the School of Music. The team is currently working on a new storage building for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in Fernwood State Forest. In the intervening years, major projects together include the Scioto Southland Recreation Center, Devon Pool Bath House and Mechanical Building, administration buildings in Clark County, and the John Bryan State Park Day Lodge. The relationship has also worked in both directions with HDC working as Kramer’s consultant on their projects for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and Department of Developmental Disabilities.
At left, the Hocking College Bookstore, which the team concluded was originally a modular building, and therefore not acoustically suited for a music school and at right, the interior of the John Bryan State Park day lodge, with built-in devices in the ceiling to lift the one-piece solid wood table.
At left, the new Devon Pool Mechanical Building designed to match the Bath House and at right, the Scioto Southland Recreation Center with the renovated gymnasium left of the new entry and addition.
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.
Interesting Feature of a Water Meter and Backflow Preventer Building
The southwest corner (left) and interior of the building while under construction (left)
HDC was on M-Engineering’s team to design two buildings to house new backflow preventers and water meters where Ohio State University’s water system connects with the City of Columbus’ infrastructure. Construction completion was delayed due to issues in delivering the specified brick, but the contractor was able to achieve substantial completion in December of 2021. The available infrastructure made traditional floor drains very expensive, so the team was charged with coming up with another solution if the equipment suffered a catastrophic failure and flooded the building.
Our solution: flap valves on the rear elevation that only open with sufficient water pressure!
The southeast corner shows the round openings that are the flap valves that release water during a catastrophic failure
Ziti’s official ranking on the 
Photo of Ziti flying toward the finish line from official event photographer