Author: Beth Johnson

Lobby inside Hoffman School with intricate tile and woodwork details.

The Evanston Community is facing an attack on their history and their collective community identity. This time it involves the potential demolition of the Hoffman School located at 3060 Durrell Avenue to be replaced by a 155 unit multi-family new construction complex rather than reusing the school for residential which has happened with almost a dozen other former schools in the region. Please refer to the end of this post for information on how to get involved in preventing the demolition. The Hoffman  School was built in 1922 and is a     Jacobethan Revival design by the city’s most prominent architectural legacy, Hannaford and Sons. This was the firm that brought us icons like Music Hall, City Hall, and the Cincinnati Observatory. This was the firm that changed the landscape of Cincinnati. The building, while breathtakingly beautiful, is not just significant for its architecture, it is also representative of the Progressive Era Design for schools: with schools taking on a more holistic approach to the welfare of the students through physical education, access to light and air, and providing school lunches.

Further, the building has been a central nexus for the larger community for over 100 years. This is the school where the neighborhood children went to a Cincinnati public school until it closed in 2012. Since then, it has continued to operate in various community capacities, most recently as a non-profit school and church. The Evanston community is a diverse neighborhood with a rich history, especially associated with the Black experience. Hoffman School’s population, over its life, has reflected the demographics of the community. The demolition of the school will erase a site associated with the history of Cincinnati’s Black community.

Original detailed iron stair railing in Hoffman School.

Cincinnati Preservation Association is working with the Cincinnati community and developers to find creative reuses for our historic buildings. We want to work by partnering with neighborhoods to identify and protect the buildings, that if lost, would irrevocably change the fabric of the neighborhood. With early identification of significant buildings, developers won’t be surprised when demolition is met with community opposition.

Luckily Hoffman School has already been identified numerous times as a building that is significant.

• February 16, 2023 – Evanston community council voted against the demolition of Hoffman School
• 2019 – The Evanston Work Plan specifically listed the Hoffman School as an important site where Historic Landmark Status should be considered
• 2019 -National Register Questionnaire response from the State Historic Preservation Offices determined it was eligible for the National Register
• 1998 – Cincinnati Public Schools Historic Inventory list it as eligible for the National Register
• 1978 – Cincinnati Historic Resource Survey list is as a property that greatly contributes to the historic and/or architectural quality of the City of Cincinnati.
• 1977 – Ohio Historic Inventory Form list it is as National Register Eligible

So, why wasn’t landmark designation sought before this. Unfortunately, this is often how the story goes in preservation and it is why, going forward, we need to continue to support neighborhood and city-wide efforts to identify the historic and cultural resources that matter in each neighborhood. Cincinnati Preservation Association needs your support so we can continue to offer the ability to help write historic designations for Evanston and our other neighborhoods. These historic designations will protect our historic buildings from demolition. 

We are asking you to support the historic designation of Hoffman School and Site by writing letters to the City in support of the designation and by coming to public meetings and hearings to verbally show your support.

• To can write a letter of support to the Historic Conservation Board email urban.conservator@cincinnati-oh.gov by April 28^th for the letter to be included into the record.
• To write a letter of support to the City Planning Commission email Caroline.Kellam@cincinnati-oh.gov. A date for the hearing has not been set and we will update this post with due dates for letters of support.
• To write a letter of support to the Mayor and Council in support of the designation contact the City Council by emails CityCouncil@cincinnati-oh.gov

You can also find their individual information here. (https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/council/contact-us/)  

A date for the hearing has not been set and we will update this post with due dates for letters of support.

The first 2 meetings for the Historic Designation Process have been scheduled and we need your support at these meetings. If you are able to attend please be there to show your support for saving the Hoffman School and Site. We will continue to update you when the City Planning Commission and City Council meeting dates are scheduled.

Wednesday April 12, 2023 at 4:30– Staff Conference via zoom. Email Caroline.Kellam@cincinnati-oh.gov to attend by April 11, 2023.

Monday May 8, 2023 at 3pm– Historic Conservation Board via Zoom. Register by May 5th at

https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/buildings/hearings-appeals/registration-for-zoom-video-conferencing-participation-form/

Finally, please consider giving to Cincinnati Preservation Association so we can continue to support our neighborhoods as they work to save our shared resources. It’s our collective history, culture and places that make each of our neighborhoods unique and special for visitors and residents alike.

Since the mid-nineteenth century, women have been an important part of the historic preservation movement in the United States. As individuals and groups, as amateurs and professionals, women have worked to protect the country’s historic properties. Most credit the foundation of America’s preservation movement to Ann Pamela Cunningham who was appalled at the state of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Starting in 1853, she began advocating for its preservation. Through a campaign answered by women from across the country the Mt. Version Ladies Association was born and paved the way to the preservation of Washington’s home.

However, before Cunningham, women were integral in many other instances of grassroots efforts for saving buildings, documenting history or creating memorials. Notably the creation of a monument in the 1820s for the Battle of Bunker Hill was championed by Sarah Josepha Hale through organized fundraising events. Even before Hale, cultural preservation in both African American and Native American traditions of storytelling has primarily been the role of women. Amachee Ochinee Prowers was an example of a Native cultural mediator who helped to preserve the cultural heritage of her people in what is now the state of Colorado. Mary B. Talbert is just one example of the many African American women who have been integral in the preservation of African American heritage and worked to champion black history as a part of our collective American history.

In the 1920’s, Susan Pringle Frost, founded the first community based historic preservation organization, first known Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings which is now known as Preservation Society of Charleston. This organization was instrumental in persuading the City of Charleston to establish the first local zoning ordinance to protect historic resources.

At the Federal Level there were several individual acts dating back to the 1906 Antiquities Act that established focused avenues of preservation; however, in 1966 the establishment of the National Historic Preservation Act was established. This act was a national network and standard of preservation that created professional jobs at both the federal and state level to administer historic preservation initiatives nationwide. One of the early professional preservationists was Nancy Schamu who worked for the Maryland Historical Trust starting in 1969 and is considered a leader in the modern preservation movement.

Locally here in Cincinnati, our preservation foundations were also thanks to three civic-minded women. In 1964, Elizabeth Hobson, Martha Phyllis Rowe, and Margo Tytus founded the Miami Purchase Association with an initial focused on saving Fort Miami and quickly expanded to saving historic buildings. Miami Purchase Association, later renamed Cincinnati Preservation Association, was integral to establishing local historic districts and formal government preservation in Cincinnati.

Throughout the history of the preservation movement women have been integral locally and across the nation. Historic preservation is about more than saving windows in an old house or repairing a plaster molding; it’s about preserving any and all aspects of the history of a culture, where possible. Making sure that we honor the contribution of women to our history as well as to saving our history is one way for us to celebrate Women’s History Month.

Join Cincinnati Preservation Association at the Porch in Washington Park to hear about the stories that the historic buildings of Cincinnati tell in our new series called Preservation in the Park.

Grab a drink from the bar, sit back and let us tell you a story. 

First Tuesday of the month at 7pm on the Porch at 1230 Elm Street 

à     August 2, 2022- “The Little Theater That Saved Memorial Hall” by William Bauman

à     September 6, 2022- “Cincinnati Music Hall: Why Details Matter” by Thea Tjepkema

à     October 4, 2022- “Findlay Market: 170 Years” by Corporation for Findlay Market

             Presented by Cincinnati Preservation Association

              Sponsored by 3CDC

Thanks to all the groups and individuals who helped make the Revolving Fund Site Visit a success.  We are working on the report and will have more about this new preservation tool soon.

Since its founding in 1964 the Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) has been active in the areas of education, advocacy and technical support for the public.  Throughout that time there have been a number of occasions where CPA has provided funding or taken direct action to saved historic structures, neighborhoods and sites.  The organization is seeking to expand its impact by making direct support of rehabilitation an ongoing component of CPA’s work.   The objective of this Revolving Fund Site Visit and Assessment is to provide advice on the most effective operational structure and focus for a revolving fund.

This opportunity to expand the scope of CPA activities is possible because of the preservation successes Cincinnati has experienced in recent years.  Rehabilitation work by many organizations and individuals has transformed the city and in the process transformed the public’s attitude toward our historic buildings.   Over-the-Rhine, a 360 acre National Register Historic District is undergoing revitalization on an unprecedented scale, two National Historic Landmark icons, Union Terminal and Music Hall, are being renovated with strong public support, and historic neighborhoods are now an attractive choice for residents and newcomers.

As extensive as the rehabilitation has been, it has only touched a small proportion of Cincinnati’s historic fabric.  CPA seeks to build upon the public’s emerging enthusiasm for historic buildings and neighborhoods to create a fund that will extend the benefits of revitalization to more locations within the city.

CPA was awarded a grant from The 1772 Foundation to fund an assessment of the current opportunities for RF program and make recommendations for project types or target neighborhoods the RF could most effectively address.  Our visiting team included

 Kathy Kottaridis of Historic Boston, Inc., Clark Schoettle of the Providence Revolving Fund and J. Myrick Howard of Preservation North Carolina.

Cincinnati Preservation Collective shared their Focus Buildings list and OTR Adopt outlined their work to take on the buildings in need of new owners.

Community Development Corporations identified the type of projects which might benefit from a preservation revolving fund.

Interviews with partner organizations such as the Landbank, Model Group and OTR Community Housing

The visiting team at work on their recommendations

Public presentation of the recommendations at Memorial Hall

Update:  The demolition of of the Dennison began in March of 2017.  It is a tradgy to lose this important building at a time when so many of our historic buildings are being renovated.  Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) and Cincinnati Preservation Collective CPC) are grateful for the widespread support for our efforts to save the Dennison.    Councilmember Seelbach’s landmark application was a welcome attempt to bring a higher level of protection.

CPA and CPC worked together to save the Dennison by supporting the city regulatory process and by bringing highly qualified developers to the owners for purchase or land lease of the property.  The project was reviewed by many experienced developers.  Their overwhelming opinion was that the building could have been successfully redeveloped as apartments.  The parking lot site is already large enough to construct any development that might be possible.   Preserving important historic buildings has been very good for Cincinnati.  The Dennison can add to the revitalization that is underway.

We urged the owners to delay demolition for three months.  During this time we would request access to the buildings for developers to create development plans and offers to purchase the building or enter into a ground lease.  We believe this approach provides the most benefit to the owners and to the community at large.  Unfortunately this request was not accepted.

The Dennison was a key part of an intact Main Street District

​Cincinnati Preservation Association           Cincinnati Preservation Collective

posted:  January 1/13/2017