Category Archives: Uncategorized
Cedarville Opera House Construction Underway!
The Cedarville Opera House has been slowly under construction with exploratory demolition and structural reinforcement, and on May 28 as part of the re-roofing, the reconstructed steeple was installed on the hose tower by Midstate Contractors. The hose tower originally served the fire station that was on the first floor and the steeple was removed at one point after wind damage. The low-slope roof has been leaking ever since so the team reconstructed the steeple from historic photographs to better shed the water. Once the exterior envelope has been secured, interior finish work will begin with an anticipated completion date in December 2026. Click HERE for a sped-up video of the installation, with the song Icehunt-Hover featuring Heather Tess by NoCopyrightSounds.
L: View of the new structural framing to support the main house floor, which is being reconstructed to meet accessibility standards and to remove tripping hazards. R: Drone view of the steeple structure in place on the hose tower.
Gardner House Nears Completion with Open House Scheduled for September!
After five phases of construction, the Historic Gardner Homestead is nearing completion with a public reception scheduled for September. HDC initially completed an existing conditions assessment with a master plan for the future renovation. The initial construction phase involved demolishing the first floor restroom and installing a new HVAC system. The second phase consisted of reinforcing the attic and replacing the roof, gutters, and downspouts. The next phase involved exterior brick masonry restoration and repair of the historic wooden windows and replacing the modern vinyl windows. The fourth phase consisted of demolishing the rear porch and excavating the dirt from the south basement. The fifth and final phase involved the rehabilitation of the interior along with structural underpinning of the south basement.
Design highlights include exposing the old wood beams in the first floor ceiling by installing the drywall between the beams, refinishing the original wide plank wood floor in the northeast bedroom, and exposing existing chimney and bearing walls as an accent. Challenges included installing a structural beam in the Meeting Room ceiling to support floor joists that used to bear on a removed wall and meeting accessibility clearances in the small rooms on the first floor by using pocket doors.
The Reception Area before and after rehabilitation. New drywall was installed between the original ceiling beams to highlight them.
The Meeting Room before and after rehabilitation. The ceiling beam in the background replaces a structural wall that had been previously removed.
The second floor northeast room was originally a bedroom but is now office space. The original wide plank wood floor boards were refinished.
Beightler Armory Construction Complete!
Construction for the renovation of the lower level of the Beightler Armory in Columbus started in the summer of 2024 and was completed in 2025. Closeout stalled when the original Ohio National Guard project manager moved out of state but has since been completed in spring of 2026. The project involved removing several partition walls forming small offices and storage rooms to create larger classrooms, conference rooms, and open office space. The lower level also received all new floor, wall, and ceiling finishes, including new LED light fixtures.
L: Typical open workspace in lower level BEFORE renovation. R: Completed open office and work area.
Lower level corridor before and after renovation.
Tarlton Armory Construction to be Completed This Summer!
HDC is working with American Structurepoint (and taking the lead in construction administration) to rehabilitate the Ohio National Guard Armory building in Tarlton near Lancaster, Ohio. The building opened in 1968 and its design is attributed to George P. Guthrie, armory architect. Guthrie earned an architectural degree from The Ohio State University in 1927 and later served in World War II as a first lieutenant assigned to headquarters staff of the 136th Field Artillery. After the war, Guthrie was appointed an architect with the construction division of the Veterans Administration headquarters in Columbus and later served with the Adjutant Generals Department, where he worked on new armory buildings in the 1950s and 1960s serving as Chief of the Engineering Division when this building was designed.
The renovation’s exterior work includes membrane roof repairs, replacement of the windows, and repainting of the previously painted concrete block walls. Interior work includes expansion of the women’s restrooms into an adjacent space, removal of partition walls to create larger spaces, new lighting and HVAC, and new floor, wall, and ceiling finishes. The project is scheduled to be completed in September.
L: The female latrine in February after demolition started with the existing wall between two rooms removed. R: Female latrine in June with wall completed with porcelain tile and fixtures set.
L: Drill Hall in February after the National Guard moved out. R: Drill Hall in June with walls painted and ceiling painting in progress.
Ziti the Noodle Dog Gets Her Very First C-ATCH Title!
Ziti has been running in both AKC (American Kennel Club) and CPE (Canine Performance Events) agility trials. CPE has more “games” classes than AKC, and one that is particularly difficult for handlers (as least newbies like us) to figure out is Snooker. A Snooker course has 14 obstacles (jumps, tunnels, or 6 weave poles), but often one of the obstacles involves multiple jumps or tunnels, and you have 45 seconds to finish. The obstacles are labeled 2 through 7 and you get 2 points for taking obstacle #2, 3 points for obstacle #3, and so on. Then there are four red jumps worth 1 point each. You start with a red jump, followed by any numbered jump, and you do this three times, with a different red jump each time. After three red-number combinations, you run the numbered course in order, #2 to #7. If you knock one of the red jumps, you have to find another red jump to continue. If you knock two red jumps, you’re out. The team with the most points wins first place. The maximum points you can get is 51 by doing the #7 obstacle three times, but it can be tortuous to find a new red jump between each #7 obstacle. If there’s a tie in points, the team with the faster time wins.
To earn a C-ATCH title (CPE Agility Trial Champion) Ziti has to complete all lower levels and then complete all classes at Level 5, which means five each of Jumpers, Colors, Wildcard, Full House, Jackpot, and Snooker, along with 10 Standards. Ziti completed everything by 2025 except for the fifth Snooker. Charissa and Ziti ran a very conservative (minimal points) Snooker on January 17, 2026, and Ziti received plenty of meatball treats! Click here for a video of her successful run.
