Category Archives: Building Preservation

Five Things to Keep in Mind About Historic Building Renovation

December 20, 2016Architecture Firms, Building Preservation, Hardlines Design Company, Historic Building Restoration, Historic Preservation, Historic TheatresCharissa Durst

(by Charissa Durst, originally posted on October 4, 2012)

We often take for granted the history of a neighborhood. Where once stood an Art Deco office building, now sits a cookie-cutter strip mall. But what if an architect had taken the time to study the history behind the Art Deco building? How would they have gone about completing an historic building renovation that not only would house shops but could also have a positive impact on the neighborhood as a whole? By following a few guidelines, renovating a historical building doesn’t need to be the money pit many developers would have you believe.

Do your research. Understanding the history of a community will give you a huge advantage when beginning your restoration project. Just as architectural periods segue from one style to another, neighborhoods reinvent themselves over time. Through careful research, patterns will emerge that will help you tackle your project while maintaining the building’s integrity. Historically, research has always been a bit of a treasure hunt. Hours of library research often turned up scant details while other days you could immerse yourself in a building’s original plans. Luckily, the internet has opened up the world’s historical archives and sources such as Sanborn Fire Insurance maps collection give you an instant picture of a neighborhood’s character.

Review regulations. Every city has its own regulations on historical preservation. Taking the time to learn know your area’s regulations will definitely save you time, money and headaches. Submit plans early in the process; you might need the extra time to make design adjustments. Also, check the historical designation of the building you are restoring. Is it listed in the National Register of Historic Places or as a contributing structure to a historic district? Contact the state historic preservation office, the agency that oversees historic preservations, and ask if your project has any restrictions you’ll need to follow. Generally, historic renovations should follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines for Rehabilitation (link to NPS site?). Finally, check if your property is located in an area subject to review by a local area commission, architectural commission, or historical commission. I sit on the German Village Historic Commission here in Columbus, and believe me, we are way more strict with buildings in our district than a property that is merely subject to state or federal regulations!

Secure funding. Historic building renovations can qualify for a variety of federal grant programs. These programs, which help offset the high cost of preservation projects, have various requirements so make sure you know your projects parameters and goals before applying. The Main Street Grant program assists historic downtown areas retain their tradition and character. Our company is currently working on a façade improvement project in the City of Xenia that was partially funded by a Main Street grant.

Rendering of proposed facade improvements in Xenia, Ohio

Federal historic tax credits and new market tax credits have been a source of funding for renovation projects since the 1980s. When coupled with state historic tax credits, a significant percentage of the project’s costs can be covered. Our Woodward Opera House project recently applied for federal and state tax credits, which allowed the project to expand from a $2.5 million “just fix-it” construction budget to an almost $15 million state-of-the-art performing arts center budget.

The Woodward Opera House in Mount Vernon, ca 1916

Reuse and recycle. Bringing modern conveniences and materials into your historical renovation can be a labor of love. By installing environmentally friendly products during your renovation, you can bring warmth and savings to your building. Reuse, restore or repurpose flooring you salvaged during demolition. Creating a ‘sustainable-use plan’ prior to construction will expedite the material recycling and help you organize the inventory for future use. If your goal is a sustainable project, consider obtaining LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. A project earns points for each sustainable criteria met. A total building renovation qualifies as a LEED New Construction project, which requires 40 points for basic certification, 50 for Silver, 60 for gold, and 80 for platinum. HDC is currently renovating a historic elementary school with the goal of achieving LEED for Schools Silver Certification.

Stewart Elementary School in Columbus, Ohio, with the original 1874 building in the front

Hire the Right Team. The pool of design firms that provide historic renovation services seems to grow as the economy shrinks and property owners stop building new and start focusing on maintaining their existing real estate. In reality, many firms actively avoid historic renovations because they are, as one engineer told me, “dirty.” The site can be full of unknown contaminants, there are too many restrictions on the design work, and you never know what will be uncovered during construction that will require a sudden change in the plans. In a new construction project, all the mistakes are your own and you don’t have to deal with inherited issues. But if you ask most people, they would much rather live and work in a nicely renovated historic building than in a modern building. The materials, proportions, and craftsmanship of historic buildings just cannot be replicated today without breaking the bank.

Undertaking an historic building restoration doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Thoroughly researching the project before you begin will save you both time and money. Hiring the right team will save you headaches during design reviews and construction. The reward for your effort, though, is knowing you saved a piece of history for yet another generation to cherish

I Slept in a Wigwam

December 20, 2016Building Preservation, Heritage TourismCharissa Durst

(by Maria Burkett, originally posted March 1, 2012)

Route 66 is a treasure trove of American mid-century vernacular architecture. Many songs and movies have been made about traveling the historic route, which runs from Illinois to California. Built in 1926, the route has long passed its heyday, but it is still a bastion of culture for any fan of mid-century modernism.

I love signs–here’s one marking Route 66.I was so excited to be staying in an icon of the Mother Road.

Several years ago, I was in California doing fieldwork for a cultural resources assignment for Hardlines Design Company, and I found myself driving along Route 66 in San Bernardino, looking for a place to spend a few nights. After a little research, I made an amazing discovery: one of the original Wigwam Motels is located along Route 66 in Rialto, California, just outside of San Bernardino. I immediately booked a room. For any of you who are fans of the Disney movie Cars, the Traffic Cone Motel was modeled after this.

Seven Wigwam Motels were constructed across the country between the 1930s and 1950s to serve as roadside stops for people along the new highway system. The first Wigwam Motel was constructed in Horse Cave, Kentucky, in 1933 and is sadly no longer standing. The one in Rialto was constructed in 1949 and was the last of the motels ever built. Today, only three Wigwam Motels remain, located in Cave City, Kentucky; Holbrook, Arizona; and the one in Rialto where I stayed. The motels are all situated along popular early highways and are (or were) surrounded by other interesting roadside attractions. (For more on this topic, check back for future posts in this series.)

The wigwam motels were all constructed of poured concrete and then painted. They have a round plan and are a single story tall. The design for the wigwam’s was patented in 1935, and all of the wigwams were constructed exactly the same, with the only variety being the front office and the layout of the individual wigwam buildings.

Several of the wigwams at the Rialto motel

Wigwam Motel No. 2 in Cave City, Kentucky. Unfortunately, I did not sleep in these wigwams; I just drove past them on the way to Mammoth Cave about five years ago. While the wigwams have an identical design, the layout and setting is much different than the one in Rialto. All of these wigwams are in a single arched row around a large central wigwam, and the motel is in a more residential setting, surrounded by mature trees.

The Rialto motel is located in a commercial area of the city near fast food restaurants and car lots and is a distinctive landmark for residents. The motel is laid out as a series of teepee-shaped rooms around a central rental office and pool. Each wigwam consists of a single room with a small bathroom. The rooms have the original western-style furniture, including a wigwam-shaped mirror. One thing I was surprised about was the low ceiling; the room is not open all the way to the top.

The complex is in excellent condition and is lucky to have owners that care for the history and the future of the motel. The wigwams were meticulously restored several years ago by the present owners, and the complex was listed in the National Register on January 3, 2012, joining the other two extant wigwam motels.

I enjoyed sleeping in a Wigwam and would like to repeat the experience again in the future! Have any of you ever slept in a wigwam? What did you think of the experience? For more information on the history of the motel, or if you’re in Rialto and want to sleep in a wigwam, click here for the Rialto Wigwam Motel’s website.

Lincoln Theatre Wins the Recchie Award!

December 20, 2016Architecture, Building Preservation, Hardlines Design Company, Historic Building Restoration, Historic Preservation, Historic Preservation Specialists, Historic Renovation, Lincoln TheatreCharissa Durst

(by Charissa Durst, originally posted December 9, 2011)

The Goldilocks Principle, or Third Time’s a Charm!

The James B. Recchie Award was established in 1984 by the Columbus Landmarks Foundation to honor those who have made exceptional advances in historic preservation and urban design in the central Ohio area. Since previous projects that received the award were designed by the most prestigious design firms in town, we here at HDC have always felt that the Recchie Award is one of the premier historic preservation awards in the state—and one that I’ve dearly wanted for the firm!

HDC began the addition to and rehabilitation of the Lincoln Theatre in 2005 with a master plan, with construction completed in May 2009. The 1928 Egyptian Revival theatre once was the heart of a thriving African-American neighborhood, but it had sat vacant for almost 40 years. The City of Columbus acquired the property in 2004 and recruited the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) to manage the building rehabilitation project. The Lincoln Theatre Association was formed with wide community support and a stated mission to “serve as the steward of the historic landmark theatre, as an incubator for talented, emerging artists.” This complex project was completed on such a fast schedule that when people asked what was our favorite part of the Lincoln Theatre project, we sometimes joked: “When it was over!” But today, we’d answer (this time, only half jokingly): “When we won the Recchie Award!”

Our path to the Recchie Award, however, was elusive, and the competition tough…

The 2009 Recchie: Were we too small?
The Lincoln Theatre opened on Memorial Day of 2009, and we nominated the project for the Recchie Award by submitting a description of the project along with the benefits to the community. Five of the nominations were selected to be finalists, including the Lincoln Theatre, and needless to say, everyone involved was elated. The HDC design staff coordinated with the theatre staff of CAPA to show the three jurors around the building, and then we attended the awards ceremony the next day, with high hopes and crossed fingers. But the Recchie was awarded to the Ohio State University Thompson Library renovation, a large-scale, high-profile project to expand and modernize the beloved main library, one of the anchor buildings on the Oval at the OSU campus. We had to admit, the work was indeed massively impressive and well deserving of the award. So, we thought, maybe next year…

The 2010 Recchie: Were we too big?
In 2010, we again nominated the Lincoln Theatre (thinking maybe 2009 was an anomaly), and the Lincoln again became a finalist. But this time, the Recchie Award went to a project on the opposite end of the size spectrum, the Franklin Park Residence and Gardens, a residential-sized project commended not only for its design but also for its community involvement and impact. Dozens of nearby residents came out to praise the gardens. Again, we had to admit, it was a beautifully executed historic house renovation, and one with an immediate community benefit.

HDC architect Vivian Majtenyi explains the Lincoln Theatre project during the 2010 jury tour

The 2011 Recchie: Surprise! This time, just right!
In 2011, we decided to skip the nomination while we gathered more operating data about the theatre’s affect on the community. So you can imagine our surprise when the notification arrived that—for the third time—the Lincoln Theatre was an award finalist! When we asked who nominated the project, we were told that all nominations are anonymous, and in this case, only the name “Lincoln Theatre” was submitted, with no description or justification. This time, for the juror’s tour, HDC and CAPA each sent three people, and we highlighted the jazz academy on the third floor, the rooftop patio (missed on previous tours), and the diverse uses of the theatre.

The Jazz Academy’s keyboard studio (left) and the rooftop patio (right) (Photos courtesy of Brad Feinknopf)

We arrived at the 2011 awards ceremony at the Franklin Park Conservatory with subdued expectations, aiming to enjoy the presentation for itself. At the end of the evening, when Nancy Recchie announced that the winner was the Lincoln Theatre, we were stunned! After the presentation, we were congratulated by many friend and peers, who said the award was well deserved and long overdue.

When our group got together to talk about the process, we surmised that this year, we had done a good job on the tour of explaining what the Lincoln Theatre was all about. During the tour, juror Patty Stevens, Chief of Park Planning at Cleveland Metroparks, was amazed that the three design representatives from HDC were all women and marveled at how one firm could have architects, historians, and archaeologists under one roof. Juror Cleve Ricksecker, Executive Director of Capital Crossroads and Discovery District SID, was very impressed by how heavily the theatre was used for non-traditional events such as graduation parties and funerals, and Mark Feinknopf, an Architecture & Planning Consultant with Sacred Space Inc., was a former resident of Columbus who remembered being in the theatre before the renovation. He was particularly moved by its revival. The three jurors also commended the design of the newly inserted balcony, which has been very successful with audiences!

The performer’s view from the stage, showing the new balcony at the back (Photo courtesy of Brad Feinknopf)

The audience view of the Lincoln Theatre, from the balcony looking at the stage (Photo courtesy of Brad Feinknopf)

Epilogue
Too small? Too big? Just right! That’s the Goldilocks principle, and for us, the third time quite unexpectedly turned out to be the charm. We were also given an extra award plaque to present to Mayor Coleman, in recognition of his support in securing the initial funding for the project; we’ll be giving the mayor his award in mid December.

And so, on a happy note, we here at HDC give a hearty thanks to all who contributed to the Lincoln Theatre renovation and operations, making this award possible. Be sure and check out the history of the Lincoln Theatre, and don’t miss their calendar for unique events and shows!

The Lincoln Theatre project team:
Architect: Hardlines Design Company
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing/Engineer: Korda/Nemeth Engineering, Inc.
Structural/Civil Engineer: Kabil Associates
Acoustician: Acoustic Dimensions
Interiors/Furnishings: Williams Interior Design
General Contractor: The Quandel Group, Inc.

Also check out the announcement in the Columbus Dispatch.

The Hardlines Design Company Story Part 1 – Our Beginnings

December 7, 2016Architecture, Building Preservation, Cultural Resources Management, Hardlines Design Company, Historic Building Restoration, Historic Preservation SpecialistsCharissa Durst

(by Charissa Durst, originally published October 20, 2011)

Everyone knows that garages are the birthplace of many a great company, and although Hardlines didn’t actually start in a garage, you could say a garage is what started it all! The company was founded by Don Durst and me (then Charissa Wang), who met as undergraduates at the University of Maryland School of Architecture in 1984. We both subsequently attended graduate school at The Ohio State University (OSU), and during spring break of 1990, our final year, Don rented an office over a hobby shop in Akron so he could prepare his thesis project in a private place away from his family. The owner of the building also owned an auto repair shop, and when he learned that Don was an architecture student, he asked Don if he could design a three-car garage for him to store cars. Don brought the project back to Columbus and asked me to help him with it. The date was April 28, 1990, and that became the official foundation date for the firm. The project expanded to include a three-bedroom living unit above the garage, with the hobby shop (owned by the wife) in the front, and construction occurred later that year. Our partnership was born—we just designed the garage instead of working in it!

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When Don and I graduated from OSU in December 1990, we fully intended to do what most other graduates do: find a job and intern under other architects. Unfortunately for us, Operation Desert Storm was underway, and the country was in a recession. All of the firms we sent resumes to indicated we should try back later in the year. So, our careers took a brief detour–Don’s first job with a graduate degree was to work third shift at a parking garage, and mine was as a hostess in a Chinese restaurant!

In the summer of 1991, Don and I obtained summer jobs with the National Park Service (NPS) to prepare HABS/HAER* drawings at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base since we had some previous experience doing this work as undergraduates. After the summer work was completed, we persuaded the NPS to contract with our company to finish the project. As this project was winding down in the spring of 1992, the NPS recommended us to a client in Madison, Indiana, to finish HAER documentation of the Schroeder Saddle Tree Factory. We completed this work in the fall and decided to set up a permanent office in Columbus. And so the story of Hardlines begins…

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*Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record

Stay tuned for next week: Why “Hardlines”?