R.I.P.: THE DEATH OF A VICTORIAN

This post is going to be very different (as you will easily see) from all the posts typically seen on this blog.  How so?  This post will be dominated by pictures -- all educational/informative illustrations created by architectural historian Tim Barrett.

In a nutshell, this is about one of the most intrusive and destructive remodeling ever done to a historic structure, having occurred in 2020.  Seen in the Ohio City neighborhood at the southwest corner of West 32nd and Carroll, it was for many years the First German Reformed Church.  Fast-forward to sometime in the second half of the 20th century, it was acquired by the Jesuit order, to become part of their ever-expanding campus of Ignatius High School, but no longer used as a church.  

Please follow along with the information and views in the illustrations below.  As you know, "A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words"!!!  [Note; You most likely will have to use your device's zooming tool.]

Mr. Barrett says: "Although this was never intended to be a grand church. this, one of the region's oldest extant sacred structures, is now a pastiche that only serves to confuse its own history."

Mr. Barrett, contemplating a possible 'reversal' sometime in a more enlightened future, adds, "Removing the new brick wouldn't be a problem.  That's probably reversible.  However, the concrete slurry now bonded with the historic brick would totally destroy that brick if you even tried to somehow separate the two.  What was done has totally and irreversibly eliminated the visible restoration of the original historic material and appearance of this building.  Tragically, it was only exposed for a few weeks.  O yes, it's there, like the buried dead below ground in our cemeteries, and like the dead, we'll never see them or it again." 

 

"BACK IN BLACK!"

How surprised some or all of you must now be to see a new post on this blog after the few years that have passed in which you saw none.  The only "excuse" for that is certain 'greater' priorities that persisted during that period.

But, right now, in the late-autumn of 2023, a different priority, strictly related to this blog, suddenly appeared.  Google (the 'parent' company) does not like to see blogs with zero activity for somewhat long periods of time.  They served their official warning that either there be more posting or the blog would be taken down.  Regardless of any 'greater' priorities, taking down the blog was definitely not acceptable at this end.

There is at least one topic that would be typical for the theme of this blog that can be formulated and posted, 'forthwith'.  The present intention is to post it perhaps as soon as later today.  It's likely true that this post alone will 'rescue' the blog from 'extermination', which then should mean that there isn't a need to be in a hurry to post more, but the preference now is to want to try to follow it with more posting ("post-haste").

Thank you to all of you who ever chose to want to look at the posts on this blog.  It should be true you had no trouble finding others out there posting things of interest to you, and thereby you suffered no 'loss' due to the absence of the posting on this blog.  But, as of now, spotlighting on this blog the more recent anti-preservation horrors, which have surely have continued unabated in this historic neighborhood, is back on track.

D. I. Y. H. (DESIGN-IT-YOURSELF HISTORY)

Whatever percentage of you actually include some of your attention to historic buildings via for-sale-announcements may have become aware of a sale, current at the time of this post, of a house on Franklin Boulevard.  The announcements claim that it was built in 1872 for Frederick Pelton, Cleveland's Mayor at the time.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  An easy search of City Directories circa 1872-3 shows that Pelton, in fact, lived on West 25th Street.  Pelton never even owned this property.  [He did own property immediately to the west around this time.]  This house, in fact, was built in 1879 for banker Ceilan M. Spitzer. This has been well-researched, definitively proven by historical [not contemporary] real-estate tax records.

1995 photo by C. B.

The erroneous account can be traced at least as far back as 2002, when this house was included in the Ohio City Home Tour and its owner, interviewed by the media, gave this very account.  Apparently, whatever research was done by her, or someone acting on her behalf, misinterpreted the Pelton ownership of the property next door as her property, which then led to other conclusions not relative to her property.  Ironically, shortly after those interviews were published, she did finally learn of the correct history of the construction of her house -- which was unfortunately never published.  And, now, with two owners beyond her, the factual history of this house has fallen through the cracks.

Since we are talking of this house, and what is factual versus what isn't, another myth associated with this house is the claim that a local attorney named James Dempsey owned and occupied this house in the 1880s.  This is only half-true.  John Dempsey, the father of James Dempsey and not an attorney, owned this house.  His son, though, did reside there as well, but only for a few years.  Also, the elaborate Gothic Revival fussiness seen in the gable of the front porch today, and what at a glance might appear to be 'hoods' over some of the house's windows, were added around only 20 or so years ago.  There was no evidence supporting that the porch had ever been this ornate, and there is even some circumstantial evidence that it had been fairly simple in appearance.

If the "former mayor's house" story leads to a sale, let's hope the new owner doesn't become too attached to this story.

[For anyone with a much deeper interest in this house, please see the story on Cleveland Historical:  https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/917 ]

The TRUE story of the "Franklin Castle"

One of the most known and recognizable structures in what is considered Ohio City is the Tiedemann House [more commonly known as "The Franklin Castle"], located on Franklin Boulevard.  It was built in 1881 from designs supplied by Cleveland architectural firm Cudell & Richardson.

A very extensive article was written about this house and its owners and occupants by William Krejci, which was published in the Spring 2010 issue of The Argus, a short-lived newsletter devoted to more historical topics pertaining to Ohio City.  We are now re-publishing this article, LITERALLY as it appeared in The Argus.  This is the most that has ever been written about this house and who used it.  It would be a major challenge to surpass it.  Please excuse its abnormally large size on the page.

UNHINGED IN HINGETOWN

Please note the image above, which shows a commercial building -- or more specifically a rear perspective of such -- located in the north east corner of Ohio City.  This photo was taken this past winter.  Particularly note the wall "treatment" on the rear wall.  Apparently the "threadbare-rug" look is being suggested as the next exterior-wall-covering trend.  This almost makes one want to wish for a revival of aluminum siding (not that it could have been successfully attached to a masonry building like this, but, on the other hand, how did they get all these discarded rug fragments to adhere to the building?). This 'modern' form of 'abstract' expression can, perhaps, be expected in this particular 'enclave'.  Much like Key West having once tried to be a sovereign nation called the Conch Republic, it appears that a few of the business owners in this section have been trying to convey that, suddenly, this section is no longer part of Ohio City -- hence coming up with a name that seems like it ought to belong to a specialty hardware store.  Perhaps applying a few more "avant garde" decorating schemes to more of the nearby structures will cause Ohio City, out of embarrassment, to 'disown' this section.  (Was this the devious plan, all along?)  Hey -- what about covering the next building with discarded, bald tires???
                                                                                                                                                       -- C. B.

HOME TOURS FOLLIES #3 & #4

The 2010 Ohio City Home Tour contributed a two-for-the-price-of-one folly deal.  Both were related to buildings on the tour that were not homes, but businesses, instead.

One, a three-floor building on the primary business thoroughfare, had included in its tour description a reference to the "...third-floor ballroom of the Odd Fellows Society in the late 1870s".  First of all, the Ohio City chapters of the Odd Fellows [the International Order of Odd Fellows was its actual name, by the way] were actually occupying a brand-new (1873) structure, built specifically for them, in a different part of Ohio City.  Second of all -- and this is clearly more significant -- this structure wasn't even built until 1884 (for a man named Leonard Maurer, to the designs of local architect Andrew Mitermiler, for those who may wish to know such 'minutiae').

The other structure was built for an organization known for its devotion to providing physical exercise for its membership.  Located on what had long been the premier residential avenue of Ohio City, which had finally faded and was then beginning to see institutional use usurp the residential, the tour description alleged that the structure was "...built in 1901...".  It would seem that someone had merely looked for the institution at this location in the historic city directories.  They did, indeed, first appear at this location in 1901, but, it was inside of one of the old grand dwellings.  After constructing a gymnasium addition at the rear of the dwelling, it wasn't until ten years later, in 1911, that the structure on the tour was built, replacing both the dwelling and the gymnasium addition.

In a later Ohio City home tour [we've misplaced what year it was], included was another business, inside of a commercial building, on another primary thoroughfare that historically had been overtaken by commercial development.  Within the tour description, there was a reference to the "...earlier portion of the building from the 1850s...".  It is very much true that there is an earlier portion of the building, but it certainly is not from as far back as the 1850s.  It was actually built in 1869, and there was even at least one newspaper account in that year about this very event.  Its owner, Henry Heil, was considered a significant citizen.  The design was provided by local architect Henry E. Myer. 
                                                                                                                                                     -- C. B.

HOME TOURS FOLLY #2

One of the buildings on the 2000 Ohio City Home Tour was 2070 West 41st Street.  In the brief accompanying description in the tour booklet for this house, it claims it is an "1880s home" and was "built in the 1890s".  This is quite remarkable to discover a structure that doesn't have merely one age, but two!!  Sadly, though, neither of these is correct!  It, in fact, was built in 1903 [sorry -- no additional times].  Its original owner and occupant was an Albert Fischer.  One of the other stories found in the tour booklet description is about a house-to-house intercom that had once existed between this house and a now-demolished neighboring house. There seems to be grounds to at least make this story believable. If true, this could have been used by Fischer to communicate with his neighbor and partner in a real-estate firm, Louis Litzler (who also happened to be married to one of Fischer's daughters), who resided in the now-demolished house.  [Note: A new house has since been built on this neighboring lot.]
                                                                                                                                                     -- C. B.