We know our readers like Over-the-Rhine.
In the past year, we've published more than two dozen
stories about this neighborhood including development stories on efforts to revitalize and restore its historic infrastructure as well as features about the
creative, innovative people who are choosing to live and work there and be part of its revitalization. You've made some of these our top stories of the year. It's probably no surprise to the casual reader that I love OTR too, a love affair that goes back 16 years when I made my first trips to the neighborhood while attending law school, and later playing in its clubs as a local musician. Since then, I like many of you, have embraced the neighborhood's character and personality via its beautiful architecture, urban density, and of course the people who give it its soul now.
Last Tuesday, neighborhood supporters and members of the
OTR Foundation and
Brewery District Revitalization Corp. learned that an emergency demolition order had been issued early that morning for a large four-story building that sits near the corner where McMicken meets Main Street, north of Liberty. Abandoned for several years, 142 East McMicken was purchased by Cincinnati Public Schools along with two adjoining structures two years ago with the specific intent to demolish all three buildings to make way for parking and egress for a new school at Rothenberg Elementary. In an earlier battle, the historic school was saved from the wrecking ball and current bids are out for its complete restoration, an important win-win for the neighborhood and CPS. As part of the approval process necessary for work in a historic district, CPS had conceded to transfer the remaining buildings to developers as part of its initial application approved by the Historic Conservation Board. As you can imagine, the call for demolition of one of those structures last week caught many by surprise.
142 is what architects and preservationists consider a 'contributing' property in our historic neighborhood. No one famous was born or died there, no scientific process invented there, and there's nothing extraordinary about its design - it is simply a contributing member of the contiguous historic streetscape of the neighborhood, albeit one of the largest on the block. It's absence would leave a gaping hole in a street that has remained largely unchanged since this area north of Liberty was better known as the home for Cincinnati's
thriving brewing industry. The fact that it probably housed brewery workers and families who attended the school adjacent to their home makes it no less important than say, the Gamble House in Westwood, originally owned by the son of P&G's co-founder and the recipient of a recent victory in an ongoing battle to prevent its owner's calls for demolition.
When Over-the-Rhine was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, it included 943 buildings similar to 142 East McMicken. Spread out over 362.5 acres, Over-the-Rhine is one of the largest historic districts in the United States, equivalent to Charleston, Savannah, and similar in size to New Orleans' French Quarter. Since it's designation, which is routinely used to protect and preserve these structures, OTR has lost a number of these contributing buildings. Since OTR's heyday in the early 20th century, we've lost close to half, 49%, of the neighborhood's building stock. In fact, the National Trust for Historic Preservation tried to put us on notice of this precarious position in 2006 when it listed the neighborhood as
one of eleven of the most endangered historic places in the world. Now, we're dangerously close to losing our historic designation, an important protective barrier from infill development and wholesale demolition. Don't believe me? Mt. Auburn's
historic district, running the length of Auburn Avenue and once home to dozens of mansions housing Cincinnati's 19th century 'millionaires', has been dangerously close to losing its status due to excessive demolitions and faces the prospect of losing more in the coming years.
But what I found inspiring in the midst of the news last week that demolition was beginning on another building in OTR was how a community came together in opposition. In year's past, some of the neighborhood's more notorious slumlords would dispose of a building a week and the public rarely objected. But this time, Facebook and social media sites were agog with the news, bringing white-haired preservationists who had been through this before, arm and arm with new business owners and many of the young professional supporters who have made our most historic neighborhood their new home. In addition to objecting to a demolition process that circumvents historical review and approval, what they argued was that much has changed in the two years the building has been in CPS's possession. Just steps from these buildings were new apartments, art galleries, a yoga studio, and more - all rehabbed historic structures similiar in scope and size to 142 East McMicken. Why couldn't this building be converted into housing for young families attending the new school, or perhaps a pottery studio on the first floor that provided arts outreach to the students of Rothenberg?
So, in an effort to stave off the loss of another important 'contributor,' calls were made, letters and emails written, and even a buyer came forward willing to purchase and stabilize the building to preserve it for development. However, only court action could halt the demolition, prompting two nonprofits, the OTR Foundation and Brewery District, to use their limited funds to mount a short-lived legal challenge to prevent the building from coming down completely. ( Full disclosure, I'm a trustee with the OTR Foundation.) The challenge, which was also supported by the Over-the-Rhine Community Council, ended with a decision by a Common Pleas judge that allowed demolition to proceed in the interest of public safety. Another building lost.
If there's any good news to be gleened from last week's heartbreaking loss it's that legislation is currently before City Council designed to cure some of the administrative ills that permitted the demolition and make the historic review process more transparent. However, even with these significant changes, county and city leaders can no longer accept demolition of historic structures simply by virtue of the owner's negligence. Commitment to historic preservation must come from top down leadership. The City and County must recognize and prioritize historic preservation for all the right reasons, and here's an added selling point: it's an economic driver that expands the tax base. In the midst of budget shortfalls and predicted layoffs, imagine the added tax base created by just 100 rehabbed structures in OTR? Partnerships such as the recent
rescue of an abandoned church on Race Street between the city and uber-developer 3CDC should be encouraged and applauded. They should also be the norm, not the exception. And let's not forget our School Board, custodians now of one of the largest vacant buildings in OTR, the former School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Pendleton. The opportunity for our elected officials to lead by example starts with this important building and it's highly prized green space next door.
And each of us can't forget what the loss of another building like 142 East McMicken means - in fact, the city itself acknowledges as much on its own
site, quoted below:
"Historic preservation is the sustenance of the historic built environment. It is one of the primary ways that we can maintain physical reminders of our past. Historic preservation gives us a sense of continuity in our daily lives, and helps us understand where to go from here."
So where do we go from here? There are more buildings in OTR that are currently in condemnation proceedings. At risk is a loss of our sense of history, but equally important, the future of an urban neighborhood that makes us unique, defines us, and serves as an economic catalyist for revival.
I challenge each of you who have read the stories we published this year about OTR and embraced the victories taking place in the neighborhood with each new rehab, added business or new neighbor, to take a moment next time you're walking along Main Street on a Final Friday, or down Vine Street in the recently transformed Gateway Quarter, or around
Washington Park - and be inspired by the impressive stretch of buildings that run the length of Over-the-Rhine. Then look into the windows of your favorite store, restaurant, or theater, and imagine them gone.
To paraphrase our friends at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 'can a city lose its memory?'
Let's hope not.
Photography by Scott Beseler.