STATE BOARD RECOMMENDS SEVEN OHIO NOMINATIONS TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Members of the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board have voted to recommend to State Historic Preservation Officer Rachel M. Tooker that nominations for the following properties and historic districts in Ohio be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places for her consideration:

Cincinnati / Hamilton County
Clifton United Methodist Church
3416 Clifton Ave.

Cleveland / Cuyahoga County
Baker Motor Vehicle Company Building
7100-7122 Euclid Ave.

Cleveland / Cuyahoga County
Superior Avenue Historic District
1700-2553 Superior Ave.

Columbus / Franklin County
Green Lawn Abbey
700 Greenlawn Ave.

Marion / Marion County
Marion County Telephone Company Building
197 S. Main St.

Pedro vicinity / Lawrence County
Olive Furnace
State Route 93 at Township Road 239 (Olive Branch Rd.)

Wapakoneta / Auglaize County
Charles Wintzer Building
202 W. Auglaize St.

The board’s recommendations were made on Friday, December 1, 2006, during a meeting held at the State Library of Ohio in Columbus. As a result, nominations for each of the properties and districts will be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register, who directs the program for the U.S. Department of the Interior.

If the Keeper agrees that the properties and districts meet the criteria for listing, they will be added to the National Register of Historic Places. A decision from the Keeper is expected in about 90 days.

About the National Register

The National Register lists places that should be preserved because of their significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture. It includes buildings, sites, structures, objects, and historic districts of national, state, and local importance.

To be eligible for listing on the National Register a property or district must:

• be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history, or
• be associated with the lives of people significant in our past, or
• embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values, or represent a significant, distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction (e.g. a historic district), or
• have yielded, or be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history

National Register listing often raises community awareness of a property. However, listing does not obligate owners to repair or improve their properties and does not prevent them from remodeling, altering, selling, or even demolishing them if they choose to do so.

Owners or long-term tenants who rehabilitate income-producing properties listed on the National Register can qualify for a 20 percent federal income tax credit if the work they do follows the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, guidelines used nationwide for repairs and alterations to historic buildings.

In Ohio anyone may prepare a National Register nomination. Nominations are made through the Ohio Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio Historical Society. Proposed nominations are reviewed by the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board, a governor-appointed panel of citizens and professionals in history, architecture, archaeology, and related fields. The board reviews each nomination to see whether it appears to be eligible for listing on the National Register, then makes a recommendation to the State Historic Preservation Officer. The final decision to add a property to the register is made by the National Park Service, which administers the program nationwide.

The Ohio Historic Preservation Office is Ohio’s official historic preservation agency. A part of the Ohio Historical Society, it identifies historic places in Ohio, nominates properties to the National Register of Historic Places, reviews federally-assisted projects for effects on historic, architectural, and archaeological resources in Ohio, consults on the conservation of older buildings and sites, and offers educational programs and publications.

Background

At its December 1, 2006, meeting, the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board voted to recommend that the following properties in Ohio be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. Additional background on the properties is available to be faxed or e-mailed on request. Contact Tom Wolf, (614) 298-2000, (614) 297-2346, or twolf@ohiohistory.org.

Cincinnati / Hamilton CountyClifton United Methodist Church, 3416 Clifton Ave.
Clifton United Methodist Church was recommended for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for its local architectural significance. The 1895 building is of rock-faced stone with Gothic details. It was designed by the Cincinnati architectural firm of Crapsey and Brown, and the stained glass windows are the work of Maitland Armstrong, his daughter Helen Maitland Armstrong, and John LaFarge. The auditorium-style sanctuary opens to an Akron Plan Sunday School, making Clifton United Methodist Church an example of what has come to be known as a 'combination plan' church. The Akron Plan originated in Ohio in the 1860s and was widely popular from the 1870s to the 1920s. Sunday School rooms opened onto a common area via folding doors or other movable partitions, allowing the superintendent to observe all classes at once, and letting students take part in joint opening or closing exercises without leaving their seats.

Cleveland / Cuyahoga County
Baker Motor Vehicle Company Building, 7100-7122 Euclid Ave.
The 1910 Baker Motor Vehicle Company Building was recommended for nomination to the National Register for its association with the history of Cleveland’s automotive industry and the electric automobile. Baker developed Cleveland’s first practical electric car and one of the first in the nation, introduced in 1898. In the days before the self-starter became widely available, many people, especially women, preferred electric cars because they could be started without cranking and were easier to drive. During the heyday of the electric automobile, Baker’s principal Cleveland showroom and service facility was at Euclid Ave. and E. 71st St., in the heart of the neighborhood where many of the customers to whom the Baker Electric was marketed lived. Cleveland architect Frank B. Meade designed the two-story building, which features ornamental brick and tile work with a back-to-back ‘BE’ insignia. Second floor apartments with a common living and dining area are said to have housed chauffeurs. The building was expanded in 1931 for A.L. Englander Motor Co., a dealership that occupied it from 1921-1941.

Cleveland / Cuyahoga County
Superior Avenue Historic District, 1700-2553 Superior Ave.
The Superior Avenue Historic District was recommended for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for its history as the center of Cleveland’s garment industry in the early 20th century, a time when Cleveland ranked second only to New York City in manufacture of women's clothing. Also proposed for nomination to the National Register for its architectural significance, the district comprises industrial loft buildings designed by some of Cleveland’s most important early 20th century architects.

Columbus / Franklin County
Green Lawn Abbey, 700 Greenlawn Ave.
Recommended for nomination to the National Register for its local architectural signficance, Green Lawn Abbey is a two-story neoclassical style mausoleum with 654 crypts. It was built by Columbus Mausoleum Company, which designed and built community mausoleums in central Ohio from 1923 to 1959. The temple-front building has a Doric portico and flanking wings, reflecting the early 20th century interest in Italian Renaissance styles, especially the work of 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, who was in turn inspired by ancient Roman architecture. When it was completed in 1927, Green Lawn Abbey was central Ohio’s largest and finest privately-owned community mausoleum. It featured thick granite walls, a marble interior, stained glass windows, decorative fireplaces, marble statuary, and fine wood furniture. It is the final resting place of many central Ohio notables, including magician Howard Thurston; county police commissioner and two-time mayor of Columbus George Karb; Charles Foster Johnson, one of the area’s first real estate titans; members of the Sells family, owners of the second largest traveling circus in America; James K. Polk Barber, the county’s oldest Civil War veteran at the time he passed away; and Herbert Rice Penney, brother of J.C. Penney.

Marion / Marion County
Marion County Telephone Company Building, 197 S. Main St.
The 1916 Marion County Telephone Company Building was recommended for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for its association with the history of communications in Marion. The first building in Marion built to house telephone operating equipment and telephone company offices, it served the community and later the county, region, and state for about 60 years. Originally two stories, it was enlarged with addition of a third story in 1949. Marion County Telephone Company was acquired by Ohio Associated Telephone Company in 1927. Ohio Associated was part of Associated Telephone Utilities, a holding company based in Chicago. In 1952 Ohio Associated was renamed General Telephone Company of Ohio. To reflect the company’s broader business enterprises, General Telephone became General Telephone & Electronics in 1958. The Marion County Telephone Company building housed the Ohio headquarters of GTE until 1964, when GTE moved to a new building on the south side of Marion, and continued to house GTE division offices into the late 1970s.

Pedro vicinity / Lawrence County
Olive Furnace, State Route 93 at Township Road 239 (Olive Branch Rd.)
With 83 iron furnaces once in operation, the Hanging Rock Iron Region of southern Ohio and northern Kentucky was the center of an iron industry that peaked in the 1850s. The sandstone remains of Olive Furnace, located about 20 miles north of Ironton, were recommended for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for their tie to the history of ironmaking in the region, and for their association with original owner John Campbell, who owned a number of iron furnaces in the region and who is known as “Father of Ironton” for his role in founding the city as a center for shipping iron products. At its peak, Olive Furnace produced about 16 tons of iron daily. It remained in use until 1910.

Wapakoneta / Auglaize County
Charles Wintzer Building, 202 W. Auglaize St.
The Charles Wintzer Building was recommended for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for its local historic and architectural signficance. Completed in 1872, it is associated with Auglaize County’s oldest business, G. A. Wintzer & Son Co. Dating to the 1840s when it was founded as a tannery, the Wintzer Co. is now the largest rendering company in Ohio, and is the oldest member of the National Renderers’ Association by more than 30 years. The Wintzer Building, a well-preserved Italianate-style commercial and residential building associated with the history of canals and German settlement in the area, has remained in the same family for six generations

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