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Aug 3, 2023 ADVOCACY UPDATE 

On August 1st, 2023 Cincinnati City Council voted 5 to 4 not to approve CPA’s application for the historic landmark designation of the former Hoffman School located at 3060 Durrell Ave.

Thank you to everyone who took action, volunteering time, energy and resources trying to landmark this architecturally significant and culturally important site of Black History in Evanston.

Thank you to the residents of Evanston, Walnut Hills, East Walnut Hills and the community at large who rallied to have their voices heard so they could have a say in what their own community looks and feels like.

Thank you to the following council members who voted in support of the community’s voice and for historic designation at this meeting: Vice-Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney, Meeka Owens, Mark Jeffreys and Equitable Growth and Zoning committee chair Jeff Cramerding.

Together, your advocacy of our city’s historic structures helps to further educate and stand up for the many benefits historic preservation provides our residents including affordable housing, environmental sustainability, cultural heritage and architectural importance.

Your activism in saving places that matter also makes Cincinnati an attractive and distinct place to live, work, play and stay which contributes to our local economy as well as contributing to the shared past, present and future story of what it means to be in the Queen City.

CPA remains steadfast in our mission, and we are eager to share our strategic plan later in the year that outlines new, proactive approaches toward saving sites and structures in collaboration and partnership with all our neighborhoods in Greater Cincinnati.

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Hoffman School
The Evanston Community is facing an attack on their history and their collective community identity. TA developer is planning to demolish the Hoffman School building located at 3060 Durrell Avenue and replace it with a 155 unit multi-family new construction complex rather than reusing the school for new housing, a reuse that 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.

Cincinnati Preservation Association works 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 historic 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. 

TAKE ACTION

We are asking you to support the historic landmark 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 write a letter of support for the historic landmark designation to the Mayor and Council contact the City Council by email:  CityCouncil@cincinnati-oh.gov and  clerkofcouncil@cincinnati-oh.gov. 
• You can also find their individual information here. (https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/council/contact-us/) 

UPDATE: The Historic Conservation Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the historic designation for the Hoffman School and Site on May 8th, 2023  

UPDATE: The City Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend denial of the historic designation for the Hoffman School and Site on June 2nd, 2023. 

As a result of the Planning Commission’s recommended denial. A super majority at City Council (6 out of the 9 council members) will need to vote for the Historic Landmark Designation on Tuesday August 1, 2023 at 1:00 pm– Equitable Housing and Growth Committee of City Council at City Hall Chambers on the on the 3rd floor of City Hall, 801 Plum Street. Attend in person or and via Zoom. 

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.

 

Media Inquiries
Contact Lindsey Armor 513.246.2043

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.

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.

Local Women in Leadership Today

Greater Cincinnati can boast about a large number of female led cultural heritage institutions housed in historic buildings! CPA is proud to be among the many organizations who value preservation in their missions and currently have women at the helm. See some of them listed below:

Friends of Music Hall | Executive Director Mindy Rosen

American Sign Museum | Director Cynthia Kearns

Behringer-Crawford Museum | Executive Director Laurie Risch

Cincinnati Memorial Hall Society | Executive Director of the Cincinnati Memorial Hall Society and Longworth-Anderson Series Cori Wolff

Cincinnati Museum Center | President & CEO Elizabeth Pierce

Cincinnati Observatory | Executive Director Anna Hehman

Cincinnati Preservation Association | Executive Director Beth Johnson

Findlay Market | CEO Cordelia Heaney

Harriet Beecher Stowe House | Executive Director Christina Hartlieb

Over-the-Rhine Museum | Director of Museum Administration Donna Harris

Skirball Museum Cincinnati | Director Abby Schwartz

Taft Museum of Art | Louise Taft Semple President and CEO Rebekah Beaulieu

Greater Milford Area Historical Society | Executive Director Maria J. Keri

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.

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.

​Cincinnati Preservation Association           Cincinnati Preservation Collective

posted:  January 1/13/2017