Category Archives: Hardlines Design Company

Fall 2018

Beagles, HABS/HAER Documentation, Hardlines Design Company, Heritage Tourism

HDC Staff News

Although Megan Claybon was born and raised in Atlanta, her mother grew up in Upper Arlington and learned to swim at Devon Pool. So it seemed only fitting that Megan coordinate the construction documents for HDC’s project to replace the 1950s pool house with a new building. Just as the project was going into construction after the pool closed before the first day of school, Megan gave birth to Phoebe in August! So, instead of attending progress meetings at the construction site, she is keeping busy with her new daughter at home. We are all thrilled for her adventure in life, but we will greatly miss her at the office!

Prior to coming to HDC, Cathie Senter taught building conservation and preservation at Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville, Ohio. While she was wrapping up her teaching and housing situation, it seemed logical for Cathie to coordinate the construction documents for HDC’s projects in eastern Ohio: an expansion to the existing paper packing plant at nearby Belmont Correctional Institution and the replacement of exterior stairs at Noble Correctional Institution. In July, Cathie’s dog Casey passed away at the age of 15-1/2 years. Several people at the Harrison County Dog shelter, where Cathie often volunteers, forwarded her information on three Lab/Sharpei mixes that had recently been rescued. Cathie took a fancy to one she called Murphy. Murphy and his brothers ended up at the “Save a Puppy” program at Belmont Correctional Institution, where inmates provide obedience training and socialization. Cathie was able to meet with Murphy and his trainer while attending job meetings on site, and after Murphy graduated in August, she brought him to his forever home in Columbus.

   
Murphy alone (left) and with Cathie (right)

For their 13th wedding anniversary, Charissa Durst and her husband took a driving trip north to Michigan. They attended the Cherry Festival and visited Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park and then Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula. Bookending the trip was the initial stop at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo and the final stop at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, where there was an exhibit on Charles and Ray Eames.

   
Air Zoo exhibits (left) and an Eames furniture exhibit (right)

HDC works with Commonwealth Heritage Group on the Ballville Dam

HDC continues to work with Commonwealth Heritage Group on the historic documentation of the Ballville Dam, which was proposed for demolition to restore the natural flow of the Sandusky River near Fremont, Ohio. HDC is providing the drawings. Charissa Durst visited the site in 2017 to obtain information and start the drawings. The dam was demolished in July and HDC visited to check conditions that were not previously visible. The drawings are scheduled to be completed this fall.

   
The dam before demolition in August 2017 (left) and during demolition in July 2018 (right)

HDC Starts Work on the USAF Alert Facility Cold War Museum in Blytheville, Arkansas

In 2016, a pilot and volunteer interested in saving the 1950s Alert Facility on the former Eaker Air Force Base in Blytheville contacted HDC about preparing a study to determine the costs to rehabilitate the abandoned building into a museum. HDC visited the site and provided information on the costs needed for a study. The project moved forward in the April 2018 when HDC made a presentation to the board about the work needed to complete the study. In three months, the funds were raised to commission HDC to prepare the study, and Charissa Durst and John Creasy drove down to Arkansas to conduct field work. By happy circumstance, at the WPO conference in Los Angeles, Charissa Durst sat next to A.J. Goehle, the executive director of Luci Creative, who happen to be museum designers with military project experience. HDC has partnered with Luci Creative to provide recommendations and budgets for the museum’s future exhibits. The goal of the museum is to provide a memorable experience on what it was like to be on 24-hour alert to defend the United States from a Soviet attack.

   
Alert Building from the Guard Tower (left) and one of the security gates that will be part of the visitor experience

Donut Runs (Almost) Free in the Park

Throughout the summer, Donut often goes to the Prairie Oaks Metro Park on the weekend. In June, before it got really hot, she happily ran down the mowed paths on the prairie section. Donut has always been an unusual beagle in that she doesn’t wander off on her own. We often drop her 40-foot leash and let her run ahead before calling her back for a treat—her absolute favorite park activity. Later, when it became really hot, Donut would end up in Big Darby Creek getting a drink and cooling off, her second favorite thing to do at the park.


Donut running with ears flapping

Spring 2018

Architecture, Beagles, Building Preservation, Hardlines Design Company, Historic Preservation

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.
Charissa Durst receives her award. (Photo by Jay LaPrete)

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.

Winter 2018

Architecture, Beagles, Hardlines Design Company, Historic Renovation


It’s Called a WHAT?

While attending Heritage Ohio’s 7th Annual Appalachia Heritage Success Stories meeting in December, Charissa Durst, Megan Claybon, and Cathie Senter got a tour of the Ohio statehouse. From the floor of the atrium connector you could see the underside of the soffits of the Greek Revival annex building, and what appeared to be Lego pieces on the underside. Cathie was able to identify these pieces as mutules, since she once taught a restoration class where they cleaned and restored so many wooden versions that they were all sick of the word.

Officially, a mutule is a rectangular block that hangs from the soffit of the cornice in the Doric order and appear over the triglyphs. They are likely a stone translation of the round pegs used to fasten structural pieces together when Greek temples were made entirely of wood. Even so, they still look like Legos pieces to me!

  

HDC Commissioned to Rehabilitate the Dawn Theater

The City of Hillsdale, Michigan, commissioned HDC in December to rehabilitate the Dawn Theater, a vaudeville/movie house that opened in September 1919. The building was renovated in 1938 with the addition of “Nu-Wood” acoustical paneling and again in 1970 when the brick façade and windows were covered with cement panels, which also unfortunately removed the stepped parapet. The theater’s latest use was a nightclub, where tiers infilled the sloped floor to make room for dining tables. Two rows of original movie seats still remain in the balcony. The goal of the rehabilitation is to restore the front façade and rehabilitate the interior for continued use as a banquet and meeting space.


The facade of the Dawn Theater as it looks today

The facade of the Dawn Theater when it opened in September 1919.

HDC employee Cathie Senter measures the slope of the parapet


Devon Pool Project Out to Bid

In Spring of 2017, the City of Upper Arlington commissioned HDC to make improvements to the existing pool house constructed in the 1950s. After a series of public meetings and presentations, the City decided to replace the existing building. The new building is scheduled to be open by Memorial Day 2019 with new shade structures and deck furniture provided this Memorial Day 2018. The new pool house will contain enlarged facilities for the staff, dressing rooms and interior showers, a concession stand with kitchen, and ample storage.


REVIT rendering of the new pool house


Clark County Exterior Work Almost Completed

When HDC was commissioned by the Clark County Commissioners to renovate their administration buildings in 2015, all parties knew that the wish list of work exceeded the available budget, especially at the historic courthouse and A.B. Graham building. HDC’s prioritized the work by securing the exterior envelope before considering interior improvements. HDC saved the county money by creating separate bid packages for roofing, windows, and masonry, negating the need for a general contractor and their markup. With the completion of the exterior work, County agencies are meeting to decide where the remaining funds should be spent and whether to appropriate additional money for the entire wish list.


Exterior of the A.B. Graham Building

Exterior of the Clark County Courthouse

Exterior of the Jobs & Family Services Building


Donut Defies the Cold!

Right after Christmas the temperature dropped to the teens and single digits. When it gets this cold, Donut’s paws usually start hurting after a few minutes when she walks through snow/ice. However, when she sees the sun shining through the window she just wants to go outside and run. Spraying her paws with non-stick cooking spray seems to buy more time outside when it’s cold. Here’s a picture of her enjoying the sunny weather and facing down the wind.


Donut on a rock at Prairie Oaks Metro Park

Holiday 2017

Beagles, Hardlines Design Company, What's New

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season and a prosperous 2018 from all of us at Hardlines Design Company!

Cathie, Brad, Megan, John, Charissa, and Donut

And here are our canine companions, who also want to chime in:

Charissa’s beagle Donut, in 2017
Brad’s buddy Baxter, dressed up in 2016

Sadly, John’s dog Roscoe passed away in 2017; here he is in 2011
Megan’s baby Sherlock, in 2017
Cathie’s 14 years old Casey, in 2017

If you would like a copy of the 2018 Donut calendar, click HERE.

 

January 2017

Beagles, Hardlines Design Company, Historic Renovation, Historic Theatres

(Originally posted January 31, 2017)

Hardlines Design Company (HDC) has a new look for our website! We’ve updated information and images, and hopefully made it more informative and useful.

HDC welcomes Megan Claybon!

Megan joined HDC at the end of 2016 due to her interest in historic preservation projects. Megan holds a Master of Architecture and Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Georgia Tech. She has also studied abroad in Paris. Megan’s previous experience includes managing several Kroger supermarket design projects from programming to bidding as well as the design of historical style high-end custom residential homes. Megan is from Atlanta and she and her Boston terrier Sherlock are trying to get used to Ohio winters.

 

Clark County Juvenile Court Courtyard Project Nears Completion

 

HDC is currently punching out the project to enclose the existing courtyard at the Juvenile Court facility. The new multi-purpose room will provide space for meetings, classroom lectures, and even amateur theatrics. A new exterior entry vestibule and kitchenette area were also added. The enclosure features skylights that provide required light levels to the holding cells whose windows previously looked into the exterior courtyard.

Woodward Opera House

  

After we’ve been working on this project for 16 years, the Woodward Opera House is racing to finish by the end of 2017! Most of the work completed to date has been in the adjacent Annex building and the new construction behind it. The photo on the right shows the Promenade that forms the lobby serving the opera house on the third and fourth floors. The openings mark the location of the new main stair. The photo on the left shows the new top floor that encloses and showcases the Italianate roof brackets.

Donut Visits a Project Site

  

Due to the decent weather over the Christmas and New Year holidays, Donut went for walks at Franklin County Metroparks five times, 5-6 miles each! The last trip was to Glacier Ridge Metropark in Dublin, where we unexpectedly ran into a historical marker Hardlines Design Company had designed for the Ohio Department of Transportation marking the site of Mulzer Mill

Fall 2016

Beagles, Cultural Resources Management, HABS/HAER Documentation, Hardlines Design Company, What's New

(originally posted October 31, 2016)

This Fall’s edition of What’s New highlights the company’s big move, showcases a rehabilitation project and a HABS project, and a new video offering featuring Donut.

Hardlines Design Company Sells Cultural Resources Division to Commonwealth Heritage Group

On April 11, 2016, HDC decided to divest itself of the cultural resources department in order to focus on architecture, historic architecture, preservation planning, and architectural history. See the following news articles for coverage:

Columbus Business First

Clintonville This Week

HDC Completes Rehabilitation of Historic Church

View of Exterior and Interior of the Wildermuth Memorial Church in Carroll, Ohio

In the Fall of 2015, HDC was commissioned by the Wildermuth Memorial Church Board to prepare an assessment and recommendations report to rehabilitate the church for the congregation’s 200th anniversary in 2016. The church was likely built in the 1830s and then moved across the street to the current location in 1875 and moved further back from the road in the early 1950s to accommodate a road widening project.  The Board approved the recommendations and commissioned HDC to move forward with the design and construction of all the recommended work. Exterior work consisted of a new faux wood shake roof on the church and a new asphalt shingle roof on the attached youth center, reconstruction of the furnace flue/chimney, and repair/refurbishment of the windows, siding, trim, and shutters. Interior work included removal of two levels of acoustical ceilings to restore the original ceiling height with a new drywall finish, removal of the carpet and restoration of the wood floor and base, and restoration of the original chancel floor with carpet only in the area of the 1970s expansion. The church held a 200th anniversary public open house on July 30, 2016, that was attended by almost 300 people.

HDC goes to Alaska for the First Time!

Exterior and interior views of Building 1190 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska

HDC was sub-contracted by Versar, Inc. to complete HABS documentation of a hangar proposed for demolition at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska, for the Alaska Air National Guard. In October, HDC President/Historic Architect Charissa Durst traveled to Fairbanks with Jeff Bates, who has been HDC’s HABS/HAER photographer for over 20 years. Building 1190 was one of four identical hangars constructed from 1946-1948 to prepare aircraft for transport to the Soviet Union under the lend-lease program after World War II. The other three hangars were lost to fire or demolished to make way for new construction. This hangar (Building 1190) was retained and has been used since 1958 as an air freight terminal under Air Mobility Command to deliver supplies to locations all over the world for all branches of the Department of Defense.

A Day in the Park with Donut

If you ever wondered what exactly Donut does when she’s at the park, check out this compilation video:

 

Hardlines President Charissa Durst co-hosts design:ROLLS this Sunday!

Architecture, Architecture Firms, Hardlines Design Company, Heritage Tourism

 

(originally posted by Andy Sewell on October 1, 2014)

This Sunday, October 5, 2014, Hardlines Design Company President Charissa Durst will be the “host” at the Lincoln Theatre, one of seven stops for the design:ROLLS bicycle tour of downtown architectural projects. The bicycle tour starts at 1 P.M. at the The Center for Architecture and Design, 50 West Town Street.

The itenerary includes the following stops:

Cristo Rey/Old School for the Deaf: Built in 1899 and renovated 2014

Columbus Museum of Art: Built in 1932 and renovated in 2012

Long Street Cap and Cultural Wall: Built 2014

Lincoln Theatre: Built in 1928 and renovated in 2009

Yellow Brick Pizza: Significant for yummy pizza!

Trautman/250 South High Street: Built in 2014

Land Grant Brewery: Built in 1921 as Capital Lift and Manufacturing Company, renovated in 2014

Tickets are still available at the Center for Architecture and Design website: http://www.columbuscfad.org/designrolls/

Spring 2014

Archaeology Surveys, Beagles, Hardlines Design Company, Historic Building Restoration, Historic Preservation, Ohio Department of Transportation

(originally posted by Andy Sewell on April 15, 2014)

Welcome to Hardlines Design Company’s Spring 2014 update! As I write this, it sure doesn’t seem like spring, with snow on the ground and 30-degree temperatures, but that just exemplifies how the weather was a big factor in our projects during the last quarter, with numerous weather-related schedule modifications. Despite the weather, HDC archaeologists managed to complete two field projects; more on those in another post. Other updates of note include the following:

HDC Completes Work on Mulzer Mill Plaques for Highbanks Metro Park in Delaware, Ohio

HDC recently completed the design of two interpretive signs for the Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Environmental Services (ODOT-OES). The signs were created to commemorate the site of the former Mulzer Mills and an associated house located near the intersection of State Route 315 (SR 315) and West Powell Road, at the northwest corner of Highbanks Metro Park in Delaware County. As part of a mitigation effort for the construction and alterations on this intersection, ODOT-OES agreed to install interpretative signs to commemorate the former mill complex, whose foundation ruins were sited within the construction zone. These signs will be erected along the walking path along the Olentangy River in Highbanks Metro Park.

HDC used historic and modern photographs and brief descriptions in the design of the signs to allow for the best possible user experience. Potential sign designs were reviewed and improved over a series of meetings with the public until the text, photographs, and overall design of the signs were approved. High-pressure laminate signs were chosen over the traditional bronze plaque, as they allowed for images and more detailed written descriptions of the site. After the design phase was completed, HDC was able to work with Fossil Industries, a high pressure laminate sign company operating in Deer Park, New York, to have the signs manufactured. Because of the low cost offered by the high pressure laminate versus bronze, an extra sign panel for each sign was delivered to Highbanks Metro Park to provide a spare in case a sign is vandalized or destroyed by an act of nature. The weather this winter has delayed the final installation of the signs, but Highbanks Metro Park will have the signs installed later this spring.

HDC CRM staff attend GAPP conference

HDC was well represented at the Gas and Preservation Partnership (GAPP) Conference, held in the ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A historian and archeologist from HDC attended the conference, which is aimed at formulating a working partnership between historic preservation professionals and the oil and gas production industry. The boom in natural gas production in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania has resulted in a substantial increase in hydraulic fracturing. or “fracking’” projects. Because these projects are currently exempted from federal environmental permitting, fracking projects are not legally required take into account any impact to cultural resources. To address the concern of preservationists about the impact of fracking on cultural resources, GAPP hopes to create a voluntary “best practices” approach for the fracking industry to follow regarding the treatment of cultural resources without requiring additional government regulations. HDC will continue to stay appraised of this developing partnership, and will continue to work to preserve and document cultural resources, hopefully with the help and support of the oil and gas industry.

HDC’S Camp Perry Project Nears Completion

Construction on HDC’s project at four barracks buildings and the historic chapel at Camp Perry in Port Clinton, Ohio, is now nearing completion after a slowdown due to excessive cold. The project involved replacement of the asphalt shingle roof with metal, new metal soffit, fascia, gutters, and downspouts at two barracks; and replacement of existing siding, door, and windows at the other two barracks. Exterior work for the historic chapel consisted of washing, tuckpointing, and resealing the brick masonry, along with repair/replacement of fascia, soffits, steeple vents, exterior doors, and entry steps. Interior work included painting the chapel space as well as replacing the aisle carpet and refinishing the woodwork. HDC was also commissioned to prepared construction documents for a new HVAC system at two of the barracks, which would be bid at a later date when funding became available. Construction started in August of 2013 with construction completion in mid-April 2014.

Hard to Believe, but Donut the Beagle turned 10 Years Old on March 25!

This event almost slipped HDC’s collective mind if it wasn’t for an email from her vet reminding us of her birthday and upcoming vaccinations.  The year 2004 went by very slowly with her weekly training classes and daily homework assignments, but once she stopped deliberately biting people, time seem to just speed by!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

As you can see in her 2004 photograph, Donut was like a cartoon of a “cute puppy.” This image was once posted on the Daily Puppy website and one of the comments received was “with that face she could get away with murder!” Well, she did get away with biting everyone who touched her but luckily we were able to get her to stop after she was 7 months old. In her early photographs, many people also commented on the “wild animal” look in her eyes.

Like Bagle her predecessor, Donut started going gray at the age of 5 in 2009. However, Sadie the Beagle didn’t go gray until she was 10. Our theory is that beagles (dogs) who are smart and worry a lot go gray by age 5, and those that don’t think about things too much, like Sadie, keep their color until sheer age catches up with them. Donut definitely calmed down by the time she turned one, which led one engineer to comment that she was like a totally new dog. In this Christmas photograph, Donut definitely looks calm!

In 2013 Donut was taken to one of the Columbus Metroparks on nice weekend days. After the recent polar vortex winter, Donut started going to a park whenever the weather was sunny and over 40 degrees Fahrenheit. We’ve learned that it takes a couple of miles to take the edge off her and get her to stop pulling at the leash, and after 5 to 7 miles she’s happily tired and ready for a nap. In this photograph, Donut also needed a long bath to wash the melting snow/mud off her!

Fall 2013

Beagles, Hardlines Design Company, Historic Building Restoration, National Register Nomination

(originally posted by Andy Sewell on November 6, 2013)

Our quarterly update for Fall 2013 focuses on recent work we have done with historic buildings and historic districts. And of course, there’s a beagle update at the bottom!

HDC assesses the Canal Fulton Public Library’s moisture issues

HDC completed a moisture penetration assessment of the historic Canal Fulton Public Library, which received a grant from the Ohio Historic Preservation Office. The original building was constructed in 1879 as a residence known as the Sullivan-Held House. The library moved into the house in 1949 and built an addition in 1958. The library is a contributing element of the Canal Fulton Historic District, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1982. In 1992, the library constructed a second addition, and in 2003 underwent a complete renovation, along with the erection of a third addition. The Library commissioned HDC earlier this year to identify sources of ongoing moisture penetration and to provide recommendations and cost estimates to remediate the problems.

Canal Fulton Public Library, ca. 1882

HDC identified two active areas of active moisture penetration caused by improper installation of roofing materials in the previous renovations. In one area of the EPDM roof, improper slope caused water to pond, aggravated by improper roof drain locations and flashing details. In another area, EPDM roofing improperly overlapped an existing asphalt shingle roof, causing water to get under the shingles. Both of these problems could be easily remedied without adversely impacting the building’s historic features.

HDC also identified areas of excessive moisture content in the wooden siding, caused by too many coats of paint, as well as excessive humidity in the basement caused by an open crawl space. HDC also provided work recommendations and cost estimates for these items that followed the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

National Register Nominations in Middletown, Ohio

For the past several months, HDC has been working with Downtown Middletown, Inc., to list a former railroad depot and two historic districts in the city of Middletown, Ohio, in the National Register of Historic Places. The former Big Four Depot National Register nomination was approved by the Ohio Historic Preservation Advisory Board (OSHPAB) at the end of September and was sent to the National Park Service for final approval. The Main Street Commercial Historic District nomination will create a new historic district in Middletown to encompass several historic buildings along Main Street including its intersection with Central Avenue. A revised draft of the nomination will be reviewed by the OSHPAB during their December meeting. The Central Avenue Historic District will create a new historic district comprised of more than 40 of Middletown’s historic commercial buildings. This nomination has been submitted to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office (OHPO) for their comments. After the OHPO’s comments are received and addressed, the Central Avenue Historic District nomination will be sent onto the OSHPAB for their approval as well. By listing these historically significant buildings and districts on the National Register, they will be granted some protections from federally funded and/or permitted projects, and the property owners can qualify for historic preservation tax credits. In addition, listing on the National Register assists downtown revitalization efforts by adding a sense of significance to the historic downtown, and can be a source of pride for the local community.

Donut L-O-V-E-S her Backyard!

Since the day she came home from the shelter at the age of 8 weeks, Donut has just been obsessed with the backyard. Where our previous beagle (Bagle) would head straight for her supper dish when she got home, Donut heads straight for the back door for a chance to run around in the yard. One side of the backyard is separated from a public walkway by only a chain link fence, so Donut can seen everyone (and every dog) who walks by and bark at them. We discovered long ago that Donut has a 30-foot turning radius (she fought every tie out length until she got 30 feet), and have avoided putting in raised garden beds that would interfere with her ability to get up to full speed.

Donut posing with sunflowers from [her] garden Donut posing with gardening tools
There are days when Donut will spend hours by herself outside, happily barking at passers-by and only coming in for a drink. Her favorite days are sunny cool days where she lays in the sun and soaks up the warm rays, but the ground is still cool enough to she won’t overheat. After an hour she flips over very slowly and does her other side.

 

Summer 2013

Beagles, Cultural Resources Management, Hardlines Design Company, Historic Building Restoration, What's New

(by Andy Sewell, originally posted July 1, 2013)

Stewart Elementary School Enters Main Phase of Construction

Stewart Elementary School is the oldest school still in operation in the Columbus City School District. The original building was constructed in 1874. The main entry was on Stewart Avenue and the building contained four classrooms on each of the two main floors. In 1894, an addition was constructed to the west that contained two classrooms on each floor. In the mid 1920s, the front entry stair was removed and the space made into two small rooms on each floor. The entry was moved to City Park and a second stair constructed at the connector between the 1874 and 1894 wings. In the 1950s, two small basement rooms under the original front entry were combined to form a large multi-purpose room with a small stage. At this time, the front entry was moved back to Stewart Avenue at the 1920s connector location.

In the summer of 2010, a fire damaged the southwest corner of the 1874 wing. In spring 2011, Columbus City Schools commissioned Hardlines Design Company to design the renovation and addition to Stewart Elementary School. The project proved to be quite a challenge. The building lies within the German Village Historic District, which is the oldest and, some would argue, the strictest of the City’s commissions. In addition, the District purchased land across Pearl Street for playgrounds and playing fields, which lies within the Brewery District Historic District. This project therefore had to be reviewed by both commissions, and special meetings had to be set up so both sets of commissioners could comment at the same time.

Another challenge was the funding. Schools funded by the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) are budgeted based on square footage, but without any concessions for building size; large schools are budgeted at the same per square foot cost as a smaller school. As a result, small schools are typically under budgeted, and Stewart Elementary School, at 350 students, is the smallest size school OSFC will consider funding. On top of all this, this project had the normal procedures of any urban school in the City of Columbus: zoning appeals, CC drawings reviews, and drawer E reviews for work in the right of way.

To maintain the construction schedule, HDC obtained approval from the German Village Commission to remove the connector between the 1874 and 1894 wings and issued an early demolition package, which was completed in spring 2013. HDC obtained certificates of appropriateness from both commissions along with all City review processes, and the main phase project is currently under construction with the goal of completion in time for the start of the 2014 school year.

Left: Stewart Elementary School before renovation. Right: Rendering of proposed addition

HDC Completes Zoar Historic Baseline Study for Corps of Engineers

The village of Zoar in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, holds a unique place in Ohio history. Founded in 1817 by a group of German Separatists fleeing religious persecution in Germany, Zoar is a well-preserved example of a nineteenth century communal society, with numerous surviving houses, buildings, and landscape features that illustrate the distinctive character of its inhabitants. The Society of Separatists of Zoar existed from 1817 to 1898, and was an agrarian communal society, with a small industrial component that produced raw material and finished products from natural resources and agricultural products. At their height in the mid-nineteenth century, the Separatists owned close to 12,000 acres and had over 300 members. They had two grist mills, a woolen factory, owned two iron furnaces, and operated sawmills. The Separatists played a role in the development of the Ohio & Erie Canal in the late 1820s, contracting to excavated 3 miles of the canal through their landholdings and building a lock and other components. Differing from other communal organizations like the Shakers, membership was largely limited to ethnic Germans, with very few non-Germans allowed to join the society. The Separatists were inward-looking, seeking to sustain their existing community rather than convert others to adopt their ways.

Zoar Garden House and Greenhouse

The historic value of Zoar was recognized early in the twentieth century, as residents took steps to preserve important landmarks, beginning with restoring the ornamental public garden in 1930. The community was threatened with inundation from the construction of Dover Dam during the 1930s as part of a massive flood control program in the Muskingum River watershed. However,  the USACE was persuaded through public outpouring to protect Zoar with a massive earthen levee and an upstream diversion system, completed in 1938, rather than relocate the community as happened with other similar-sized villages in areas that would be in the new flood zone created by the dam. The village of Zoar may be the only such community protected because of its historical, rather than economical, significance. Portions of the village became a State Memorial in the 1940s, and the village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.

Over the course of the last 75 years, the Zoar Levee and Diversion Dam has served its purpose well, protecting Zoar from periodic flooding episodes. However, recent events have revealed developing flaws in the levee system that must be addressed by the Huntington District of the Corps of Engineers. To find a long-term plan to reduce risk to Zoar, Huntington is currently preparing a Dam Safety Modification Report (DSMR) for the Zoar Levee and Diversion Dam in accordance Section 2033 of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2007, which among other things, requires Huntington  to adopt a risk analysis approach to project cost estimates for water resource projects and ensure that the benefits and costs associated with structural and nonstructural alternatives are evaluated in an equitable manner. A building block of the DSMR is producing baseline studies of existing conditions at Zoar, including studies of environmental, societal, and historical factors. Huntington contracted Tetra Tech, Inc, to produce a historical property baseline study and a community impacts baseline study for the DSMR.

As a subcontractor to Tetra Tech, Inc, HDC completed the historic property baseline study for the Zoar Levee and Diversion Dam. The baseline study included exhaustive archival research to create an in-depth history of Zoar Village and its founders, the Society of Separatists of Zoar. The baseline study also examined the history of Zoar Village during the twentieth century. A survey of all above-ground resources within the 708-acre study area centered on Zoar Village collected information on 348 buildings, structures, and landscape features, along with three buildings and structures outside the study area confirmed to have Separatist associations. In addition, pre-contact and historical archaeology probability models were developed for the entire study area to aid in assessing project alternatives developed by the USACE.

As part of the this project, HDC also assessed the previous National Register documentation for the Zoar Historic District. The National Register assessment resulted in recommendations for a revised list of contributing resources, an expanded period of significance, and an expansion of the district boundary, although actually preparing a National Register update was not in the scope of the project. Meetings with consulting parties, stakeholders, and residents of the village took place in March 2013, with  the baseline study documents completed at the end of June 2013.

HDC documents Columbus’ First Public Housing Project, Poindexter Village

Poindexter Village, located on Columbus’ near east side, is the city’s first public housing project. While not the first federally-funded public housing project in the nation (that honor goes to Techwood Homes in Atlanta), Poindexter Village is one of the earliest such projects built in Ohio. Construction of Poindexter Village began in 1939 at the site of “The Blackberry Patch,” a traditionally African American neighborhood near the Champion Avenue Public School and the Union Grove Baptist Church. The housing project was designed by the Columbus architectural firm of Richards, McCarty, and Bulford, and consists of 35 two-story buildings of multi-family housing, originally laid out in eleven blocks. The twelfth block (Block XII) was constructed in 1960 at the same time as Poindexter Tower.

Poindexter Village is considered to be historically significant for its association with the history and development of the Federal housing programs of the 1930s and 1940s. It is also associated with the early history and development of the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) and its efforts to provide safe, sanitary, and decent housing for low-income city residents as a result of the Depression-era housing reforms. In addition, Poindexter Village is significant for its association with the African American history of the east side of Columbus.

Poindexter Village was a bustling residential complex for years, but as the decades passed, the buildings within Poindexter Village began to show their age. While efforts were made to continually modernize the units, the expense to maintain and renovate the buildings began to outpace the ability to fund those projects. The CHMA has vacated the buildings and demolition of many of the buildings in Poindexter Village is currently underway to allow for redevelopment of the land.

Prior to commencement of demolition, the CMHA, in consultation with the City of Columbus and the Ohio Historic Preservation Officer (OHPO), developed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to mitigate the adverse effect caused by the demolition. In February 2013, the CMHA hired Hardlines to complete Stipulation II outlined in the MOA signed between the City of Columbus, CMHA, and the OHPO. Stipulation II required the documentation of Poindexter Village, including a narrative report, current photographic documentation, historic photographs, copies of existing and historical drawings of the buildings, and paper copies of Ohio Historic Inventory (OHI) forms for each of the eight row house types in Poindexter Village. Work to meet the stipulation was completed in June 2013. The documentation will be maintained at the State Library of Ohio and will be accessible to future generations interested in learning about this part of our city’s history.

Poindexter Village

Donut Finds a New Playmate!

We’ve always known that Donut’s play instinct is way stronger than her prey instinct. When she was two months old, she saw her first rabbit on a walk (it was almost as big as she was back then), but instead of chasing it, she gave a play bow and wagged her tail! That’s when we knew Donut just wasn’t going to be a very good hunting dog, unlike her predecessor Bagle. Maybe the traits go together: Donut really likes to play, and Bagle, being much more serious minded, hardly ever played.

Donut’s early playmates lived in the neighborhood, as many of the neighbors adopted puppies around the same time and brought them to the same field to play. Her best friend was a German Shepherd named Journey, who was two weeks younger. As a result, they were about the same size for a month, before Journey grew to be almost three times heavier at 85 pounds. Then there was Zoe, a hound mix; Lizzy, a golden retriever; Buddy, a black lab; and Finn, a yellow lab. Donut also ran with the vizlas, as our neighborhood for some reason supported four of these not-so-common breeds.

In the office, Donut got to play with Karly, the beagle that belongs to historian Roy Hampton. When Roy retired, Karly stopped coming to the office. However, HDC’s new architect Brad Curtis has a family dog named Baxter, who visits the office every now and then. Brad keeps these visits few and far between, since when Donut and Baxter play, everyone stops working to watch their antics. Baxter is Donut’s opposite:  male, about a year old, and only 10 pounds in size. As a result, there is no competition and Baxter brings out Donut’s inner puppy (never lurking too far from the surface) as the two of them happily run around the office and wrestle. The staff looks forward to the days when Donut gets to play with Baxter, but we probably have to make sure no cats are visiting!

Donut and Baxter rest after wrestling all morning