Our New On-Line Newsletter:
Over 20 years ago, in the fall of 1989, this newsletter for Steven McQuillin & Associates, was first launched. That first issue, highlighting a preservation plan at Nela Park, the re-opening of the Forest City Bank Building, the Broadway Building, and a district in Gates Mills, also featured the firm’s then-new offices at 3515 Archwood Ave. Appearing twice each year thereafter, this printed version is a compendium of preservation projects in Northeast Ohio. It is hoped this new on-line version can appear more often and feature more articles as well as reach a wider audience. Comments and feedback are welcome. Please feel free to suggest new email addresses for this on-line publication.
Below are links to the twelve articles in the Winter 2010 issue.
1. Near East Side Factory Rehabilitated
The
Sunshine Cloak Company, 2310 Superior Ave in Cleveland, a 3-story historic
industrial facility dating from 1911, reopened last year as a mixed-use office
and lab facility under a project implemented by Developer David Perkowski.
More . . .
2. Oberlin's Apollo Theatre Reopens
A movie
theater dating from the early 20th century reopened October 1, 2009,
following its purchase by Oberlin College and the completion of the first phase
of what is projected as an $8 million rehabilitation project.
3. Parchen Building Rehabilitation Underway
Cleveland
Architect David Ellison
is in the process of transforming a derelict Civil War era building with unique
architecture on Cleveland’s near west side into live/work space.
4. Nela Park Industrial Building to Become Lab, Offices
One of
the larger industrial buildings at General Electric’s Nela Park in East
Cleveland, is undergoing a multi-million dollar transformation into a
technology and laboratory space for a GE operation that is moving back to the
city from its present suburban Cleveland location.
5. VA
Project to Resurrect Historic Apartment Entrances
A
project to construct a new medical office building, a large parking garage and
a veterans’ residential facility (known as a domiciliary) will rise on a block
west of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Administration facility in the
city’s University Circle neighborhood.
6. New House to Rise Next to McQuillin Offices
Ground
is expected to be broken this spring on what is projected to be an innovative
new house project undertaken by Steven McQuillin.
More . . .
7. Canfield Assessment Completed
The
Canfield Historical Society this past summer hired Steven McQuillin to perform
assessments of its two properties, theBond House, an early 19th
century frame Greek Revival style, Side Hallway type former residence, and the
Mahoning Dispatch, a Civil War era frame commercial storefront building that
once housed the local newspaper.
More . . .
8. Dayton Trip Yields Preservation Insights
A few
months ago Steve McQuillin and Ryan Connolly had the opportunity to visit
Dayton at the invitation of the owners of two early 20th century
industrial complexes, who wished to convert them to residential and retail
use.
More . . .
9. Renovated Offices Completed
On
August 7, 2009, the new offices of Steven McQuillin & Associates were
unveiled at a party and ceremony. These
are located on the third level of an addition to the 1838 Thomas Hurst House
that was erected about ten years ago.
More . . .
10. Terminal Tower Exterior Restoration Nears Completion
This
winter owner Forest City will wind up the exterior rehabilitation of the
Terminal Tower, a process that has been ongoing for the past several
years
More . . .
11. Key Bank Cleveland Center Offices Open in Higbee Bldg.
By
February or March, offices of Key Bank that had been housed at the May Company
building will begin moving into the 6th, 8th and 9th
floors of the Higbee Building under a major rehabilitation of the former
department store.
More . . .
12. European Trip Provides Preservation Insights
Ryan
Nagel and Steve McQuillin took a three-week trip to Europe in May and early
June of 2009, their second European tour together.
More . . .
Complete Text
1. Near East Side Factory Rehabilitated
The
Sunshine Cloak Company, 2310 Superior Ave in Cleveland, a 3-story historic
industrial facility dating from 1911, reopened last year as a mixed-use office
and lab facility under a project implemented by Developer David Perkowski.Plans for the project were prepared by
Sandvick Architects. Steven McQuillin
& Associates were preservation consultants for the later phase of the
project.
This
large fireproof industrial building made of reinforced concrete with brick
facing is the western half of an identical two-building complex stretching 283
feet along Superior Ave. and 175 feet along side streets.It has a rectangular open air courtyard in
the rear. Among its features are Arts
and Crafts styling, copper-clad pilasters between its ribbon-like industrial
sashes on the upper two floors, a raised basement, and a dramatic sawtooth roof
and skylight system on its top floor, concealed behind tall parapet walls.
J.
Milton Dyer (1870-1951) http://www.architectureofcleveland.com/html/dyer.html
was the architect of this complex and Hunkin-Conkey Co. http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=HCC4
was its builder. Both were prominent in
early 20th century Cleveland.
Perhaps Dyer’s greatest work was Cleveland City Hall (1916) part of the
city’s Group Plan of public buildings.
He was also architect of First Methodist Church (1905), the Cleveland
Athletic Club (1911) and the U. S. Coast Guard Station (1940), all in the
city. According to Cleveland
architectural historian Eric Johannesen, Dyer’s “brief output was significant
and original. At the same time it was
also characteristic of a period of flux and transition, of high standards and
experimentation, and of the clash of the old and new.”
The
Hunkin-Conkey Co. was an engineering and contracting firm that specialized in
larger scale projects. It existed from
1900-1972. It erected bridges, docks,
roads, breakwaters, factories and hospitals.
Among its works were the old Municipal Stadium (1930) and the early
buildings at GE’s Nela Park in East Cleveland (1912-21).The firm had a reputation for competence,
speed and a creative approach to engineering.
Charles
K. Sunshine (1858-1947) had a successful career in the city’s growing clothing
industry at the turn of the 20th century. His firm was founded in 1893 and made cloaks and suits.Five years later he and partner Louis black
acquired the Bailey Company and developed it into one of the city’s leading
department stores. He was also a
founder and trustee of Mr. Sinai Hospital.
Cleveland’s
garment industry had its origins in the neighborhood northwest of Public Square
now known as the Warehouse District.
Sunshine was located at 1242 West 3rd Street.In the early 20th century, these
expanding industries moved out of their wood and masonry structures to spacious
state-of-the art fireproof facilities in an emerging industrial area along
Superior Avenue east of downtown, whose core has become a National Register
Historic District. By 1920 Cleveland
had become one of the top three garment producing cities in the United
States.
Around
the time of World War II, the building was developed into a multi-tenant
facility, principally clothing manufacturers.
By the 1970s, the facility was largely vacant, but gradually increased
its tenant base prior to the initiation of this project.
The
building houses a laboratory and offices in its front section.These spaces were once the former offices
for the clothing firm and have rich oak paneling and tall ceilings that have
been carefully preserved. An old
shipping desk near the rear entrance has been carefully restored.An antique and on-line auction house is also
on this floor and makes use of the spacious loading dock at the southwest
corner. A variety of tenants is on the
second floor and consists of tech firms and other small businesses.Each has full-height ceilings and lots of
window space. The south end,
particularly, has abundant natural lighting.
The
third floor remains vacant for now, but building services have been brought up
to this area. Its impressive
sawtooth-like skylight system has been covered over my previous roofing
applications. Previously the third
floor had been intended to be developed as live-work space, but it may instead
be used for office and tech forms, as are the lower floors.The raised basement will have a tenant in
its front section and indoor parking throughout the remainder.
Much
work has gone into restoring the exterior, including rebuilding and repairing
sections of the parapets, repairing or replacing damaged or missing copper
pilasters and cleaning the exterior brick and stone, showing off its wonderful
Arts and Crafts detailing.
Developer
David Perkowski has rehabilitated buildings throughout the city, particularly
in the Tremont neighborhood and in this industrial historic district.One of his most innovative projects was the
recent transformation of the nearby Tower Press complex into galleries,
offices, retail and living units.
The
project received funding from a variety of sources, including state of Ohio and
federal preservation tax incentives.
Perkowski
intends to proceed with the rehabilitation of the eastern half of this complex,
an additional approximately 40,000 square feet of space, sometime this
year.
(historical
information from text by Drew Rolik, 4-27-06)
2. Oberlin's Apollo Theatre Reopens
A movie
theater dating from the early 20th century reopened October 1, 2009,
following its purchase by Oberlin College and the completion of the first phase
of what is projected as an $8 million rehabilitation project.This innovative plan will transform this
historic theatre, long an Oberlin institution, into a multi-screened venue with
its main theatre space preserved, http://www.clevelandcinemas.com/cinemadrilldown.asp?intCin=2940
and the
center of the college’s cinema studies department. http://new.oberlin.edu/arts-and-sciences/departments/cinema_studies/
The
dedication ceremony was attended by television producer and Oberlin alumnus
James Burrows, his wife, Debbie; and actors Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, all
major donors to this project. DeVito
and Perlman, who are married, have a child who attends Oberlin College.
Sandra
Hodge, Vice President of Public Relations at Oberlin College, is project
director and Westlake Reed Leskosky is project architects.Steven McQuillin serves as preservation
consultant.
Then
project is being funded by a federal rehabilitation tax credit and was recently
awarded a $2 million State of Ohio preservation tax credit.http://www.development.ohio.gov/UD/OHPTC/
This is an innovative project, as it is among the first or likely the first
project undertaken by an Ohio college that utilizes the tax credits as a major
funding source. Oberlin is the first
higher educational institution in the state to receive an Ohio preservation tax
credit, but it is hoped it will not be the last.
The
original brick façade was carefully cleaned, the Vitrolite storefronts with
their stainless steel trim and bright striping accents were refurbished.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VitroliteThe 1950s era lobby with its padded vinyl
walls retains a good deal of its historic décor but is now significantly
expanded with a new concession area and enlarged handicapped accessible
restrooms. The theater auditorium was
reduced in capacity from 800 to 500, but its historic details were retained.
Phase 2, expected to begin later this year, involves the construction of the college’s cinema studies facilities in the space above the enlarged lobby, the creation of a second screening space in an existing storefront and the rehabilitation of the theater’s auditorium.
3. Parchen Building Rehabilitation Underway
Cleveland
Architect David Ellison http://dhellison.com/
is in the process of transforming a derelict Civil War era building with unique
architecture on Cleveland’s near west side into live/work space.The Parchen Building was built right at the
close of the Civil War and is a tall highly visible presence along Lorain
Avenue. Located within a National
Register historic district, it stands at the southwest corner of Lorain and W.
41st St. It is an interesting
example of Early Italianate style architecture, with its broad overhanging
eaves, simple denticulated cornice and six-over-six windows with arched
tops. David characterizes this as
Rundbogenstil (Round Arch style) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rundbogenstil,
noting the German background of its original owners, Johan and Dorthea
Parchen. They operated a cooperage here
for some years, perhaps serving the city’s near west side brewery industry.
Recognizing
its unusual architecture and visualizing its potential, Ellison, a designer of
traditional buildings, purchased the property from Ohio City Near West
Development Corp. a couple of years ago.
At the time, it was on the verge of demolition after efforts to
rehabilitate it by the nonprofit organization fell through.Ellison removed a fire-damaged frame
building immediately west of it and a condemned small frame building to the
east, enabling him to restore blocked-up window openings.He also removed a plain rear wing that
replaced an earlier one-story brick wing.
The east side has been landscaped and a bus shelter will rise in a
pretty garden. Ellison has parking in
the rear and plans this season to landscape the west lot into a beautiful herb and
flower garden.
The
building has two storefronts, one of which is largely intact and under
restoration, the other will be reconstructed.
It has spacious ceilings, especially on the tall second floor.The unusual massive wood truss ceiling
enables the hipped roof to be supported entirely on its perimeter walls.Three skylights will light the broad
staircase. The intent is to move
Ellison’s architectural offices to this building and have living and additional
work space, all with original ceilings and the historic windows preserved, with
new windows in the restored openings matching exactly the originals.
David
Ellison, who serves as organizer for Cleveland activities for Classical
America, http://www.classicist.org/
has applied for federal preservation subsidies for this project.Steven McQuillin serves as preservation
consultant on this project.
4. Nela Park Industrial Building to Become Lab, Offices
Return to top
One of
the larger industrial buildings at General Electric’s Nela Park in East
Cleveland, is undergoing a multi-million dollar transformation into a
technology and laboratory space for a GE operation that is moving back to the
city from its present suburban Cleveland location. This project will breathe new life into a facility, abandoned for
some years, but which housed for many years, the printing operations of GE’s
lighting division.
Nela
Park, whose historic buildings date from 1912-28, is often hailed as the
nation’s first industrial park. Located
in a beautifully landscaped and maintained park-like setting at 1975 Noble Road
on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie and Nine Mile Creek, the facility has the look
of a college campus, with a quadrangle dominated by a magnificent fountain at
its center. The historic buildings at
Nela Park were designed by the firm of Wallis and Goodwillie of New York
City. Frank Wallis served under Richard
Morris Hunt as supervising architect at Biltmore estate (1895), Asheville, NC http://www.biltmore.com/ , considered by
many to be the nation’s largest private residence. http://www.gelighting.com/na/business_lighting/education_resources/conferences/institute/history.htm
Building
330 is part of a second wave of building at the facility and is located near
its southern end, where more of the industrial buildings were clustered.The headquarters of GE Lighting were in the
northern and central areas and are more elaborate brick buildings with terra
cotta trim. The building dates from
1920 and was expanded by about a third toward its rear in 1928-29 and in 1948
recessed areas near the front section were infilled. A modernization of its interiors took place in 1976.This building is faced with similar brick,
but with cast stone trim. It has a
lower front portion that is an office area with double-hung wood windows and a
taller rear portion with broader openings that were bricked down in more recent
years and infilled with contemporary aluminum sash.
This
one-story industrial building features concrete and wood block floors, painted
brick walls and a wood plank ceiling, supported by a series of massive open web
riveted steel trusses that run from north to south. A monitor roof runs down its center, but its side openings were
removed years ago and replaced by insulated panels.
The
front section has a five-part façade with slightly projecting center and end
bays. The entrance has a low pediment
and pilasters, formed from cast stone.
The end bay windows each receive a richer cast stone treatment.Cast stone forms an entablature at the parapet
but has been capped by painted metal in more recent years.
The
facility served as the printing operation center for GE Lighting until about
ten years ago, when its production as outsourced. It has remained largely vacant since then.Numerous modern partitions and dropped
ceilings used to create smaller spaces throughout the building were all removed
in the early stages of this project. A
surprise was discovering an unpainted dark wood plank ceiling in the office
section at the front of the building.
It will remain exposed as part of this project.
Because
of the need to create a series of lab spaces, each with its own environmental
control requirements, a series of large individual spaces was created.They are linked by a corridor running from
front to rear down the center of the building.
It has a 20 ft. ceiling with the open web trusses exposed and
highlighted with indirect lighting.
Some labs have full-height ceilings, as does the rear production and
storage area. The end result will be a facility
that meets the demanding needs of its high tech tenants while retaining the
building’s original character throughout each major space and preserving its
attractive masonry exterior.
Mr.
Carl M. Hanson, Director of Facilities and Security Services for GE Lighting,
is managing the project for the client and HWH are architects.http://www.hwhaep.com/Steven McQuillin & associates are
preservation consultants. The project,
to be finished in the spring of 2010 has applied for federal rehabilitation tax
credits.
5. VA Project to Resurrect Historic Apartment Entrances
A
project to construct a new medical office building, a large parking garage and
a veterans’ residential facility (known as a domiciliary) will rise on a block
west of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Administration facility in the
city’s University Circle neighborhood.
Working from plans by Kaczmar Architects http://www.kaczarch.com/, Veterans
Development LLC will be erecting these new structures for the VA.The site includes a high-rise Neoclassicabe demolished for this project. But,
prior to demolition salvage was carried out, saving the magnificent sandstone
porches of the Magnolia and the grand pedimented Neoclassical entrances to two
others within t he East Boulevard National Register historic district, a carved
stone tablet from another building. The
stone entry from the Inverness will be salvaged prior to its demolition.Steven McQuillin is serving as preservation
consultant on the project. Ryan Nagel
conducted the historical research and documentation. Ryan Donohue oversaw the salvage undertaken in the fall of 2007
in preparation for this project.
Foundation work on the garage has already started, with remaining
construction set to begin shortly.
The
medical office building has been scaled and detailed to complement its historic
neighbor. The massive parking garage
has been located to the interior of the site and given a brick, cast stone and
decorative screen facing to better harmonize with the neighborhood.The domiciliary is scaled as a two and three
story building fronting onto Rockefeller Park.
The salvaged entries will serve as gateways to landscaped courtyards
between wings of the new structure and face onto East Boulevard in
approximately their original locations.
Coordination
is being carried out with the Cleveland Landmarks Commission and its East
Boulevard Design Review Committee, the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, the
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the VA’s national historic
preservation staff. A series of plaques
will provide descriptive and historical information about these salvaged
elements and the neighborhood’s history.
6. New House to Rise Next to McQuillin Offices
Ground
is expected to be broken this spring on what is projected to be an innovative
new house project undertaken by Steven McQuillin. Located on a vacant lot directly west of the property at 31156
Detroit Rd. in Westlake, the single-family residence will complement the Greek
Revival character of the 1838 McQuillin office and residence.It will also employ energy-saving principles
and demonstrate building with traditional materials and methods.Mainly it will serve as an affordable
alternative to the standard single-family new house being built in this area,
often referred to as the “McMansion” look.
This term refers to the boxy, vinyl sided houses with fake stone or
brick veneer in front but faceless secondary elevations, sprawling plans,
two-story entry halls, gargantuan garages and fake chimneys.
Principles
guiding this project will be use of natural materials such as brick, stone and
wood, a compact plan finished off elegantly on all four sides, a beautiful
simple form, a landscaped setting, reduced emphasis on the garage element, use
of its natural sloped site, a complementary neighbor to the landmark house next
door and a visual landmark along the Detroit Road streetscape.
The
house plan takes the form of a long rectangle with a simple gable roof whose
pitch matches that of its older neighbor, a six-twelve pitch.Inspiration for its striking front, a grand
portico with square pilasters, comes from a book, “The Homes of America” by
Ernest Pickering (1951). It features
side-by-side photographs taken by the Historic American Buildings Survey of the
Hurst House (31156 Detroit Rd.) and the Anderson House, Ann Arbor, Michigan
(ca. 1845). http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/queryhttp://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query
The
proportions and size of the new house are based on that of the Anderson House,
except that then new house would be longer.
Its details are also simplified, but the proportions stay the same.Plans are to form the trim from older growth
white oak, as opposed to the typical vinyl of a McMansion.Brick with real sandstone sills and lintels
would accent all elevations and each elevation would be largely symmetrical
with plenty of windows.
A
striking and perhaps controversial feature of the exterior is the broad
octagonal cupola located over the center of the house.Based on the design of a similar cupola at
Waverly plantation near West Point, MS http://www.wpnet.org/waverley_mansion.htm,
this cupola would be fully usable, reached via an open staircase.It could be an office play space, exercise
room or retreat, with its magnificent views in all directions.It would be slightly larger in size than
Steve McQuillin’s new office, completed this past August (see related
article).
The
sloping site permits a three-car garage in the basement, accessed through a
gently sloping drive. There is also
space for a large recreation room and ample storage. The first floor, reached via a pleasant broad staircase, has two
large major spaces on either side of the stair hall and dining room.To the left is the living room, with
ten-foot ceiling, ornate trim and real masonry wood-burning fireplace.It connects with a spacious portico via tall
double doors. The portico, well
screened from the road, could function has an imposing outdoor room in good
weather. The kitchen and family room
are across the hall to the east, equally spacious with a ten-foot ceiling.Each of these large spaces has the form of a
golden rectangle, formed by scribing a radius through a square and adding that
dimension to the square for a room traditionally considered to have good
proportions. The dining room will have
a semi-octagonal bay to permit plenty of light and air and, on the exterior, to
form a central focal point over the garage doors.
The
second floor has a grand master suite over the kitchen and family room with
great views of the rear yard, plus ample closets and a large bathroom.Across the hall is a three-room suite that
extends over the front portico and features skylights with great views.It can form three separate bedrooms, or a
guest suite, work area and bedroom suite or be flexible for various lifestyles.A stair rising from this hall passes a
finished attic storage space as it ascends to the cupola room with its tall
spacious ceiling and dramatic views. It
will be like a crow’s nest or grand work space. It also provides for light and ventilation for the rest of the
building.
This
project is being undertaken with the goal of providing a complementary
development to the historic house next door and also to design and build a
house with all the features of a McMansion but with a similar price-point and
more compact plan, and attractive exterior, a house designed to last for
generations, not just until the vinyl siding starts to sag and the glued-on
fake stone begins to pop off, sometimes before ten years.
Periodic
updates will be featured in this newsletter, with a goal of completing the
project and selling it this year, depending on market conditions and the cash
flow situation.
7. Canfield Assessment Completed
The
Canfield Historical Society this past summer hired Steven McQuillin to perform
assessments of its two properties, the Bond House, an early 19th century
frame Greek Revival style, Side Hallway type former residence, and the Mahoning
Dispatch, a Civil War era frame commercial storefront building that once housed
the local newspaper.
Canfield
is a small town in central Mahoning County that served as seat of government
from the county’s formation in 1846 until 1876, when county government moved to
Youngstown. The old brick courthouse
still stands at the south end of the square and the dispatch is at the center
of its east side. http://mahoninghistory.blogspot.com/2007/11/mahoning-county-courthouse.html
Restored
in the 1960s, the Mahoning Dispatch celebrates the printing industry in the 19th
century and has several operable presses and folding machines of that era that
the society displays and occasionally operates for school groups, etc.It survives as an intact newspaper operation
and interesting insight into an important aspect of our nation’s history and
technological development.
The
Bond House is an imposing yet typical early 19th century residence,
expanded in the early 20th century and featuring period displays in
various rooms, plus a spacious meeting space toward its rear, combined from a
few old smaller rooms.
The
Mahoning County Historical Society is engaged in improvements to the Bond House
and in maintaining the Dispatch facility.
Possible future plans include acquiring the old town hall next door to
the Dispatch, once the local government vacates it for new facilities under
construction.
8. Dayton Trip Yields Preservation Insights
A few
months ago Steve McQuillin and Ryan Connolly had the opportunity to visit
Dayton at the invitation of the owners of two early 20th century
industrial complexes, who wished to convert them to residential and retail
use. Although the owners were unable to
complete necessary documentation in order to apply for a state preservation tax
credit on the Ludlow building in time, it is hoped that this well-crafted solidly
built industrial building will someday be rehabilitated to serve the
community.
The
trip provided the opportunity for two days in Dayton, including a visit to the
city’s impressive Art Institute http://www.daytonartinstitute.org/,
housed in a wonderful Classical Revival building across the river from
downtown, a brief look at the city’s famed Arcade, a stroll down one of the city’s rehabilitated neighborhoods on
the near east side and walks throughout the downtown. Dayton has some wonderful
early 20th century terra cotta buildings plus some interesting late
19th century residences that still survive downtown.Howard Daniel’s magnificent 1850 Greek
Revival courthouse was closed during our visit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_County_Historical_Society
A side trip to Kettering included a tour of
their Early Modern city hall, an interesting landmark.
9. Renovated Offices Completed
On
August 7, 2009, the new offices of Steven McQuillin & Associates were
unveiled at a party and ceremony. These
are located on the third level of an addition to the 1838 Thomas Hurst House
that was erected about ten years ago. The
new work consists of opening up the ceiling of this octagonal tower-like space
to create magnificent views to the north and west, the installation of
additional file cabinets and drawers, all in maple, and a new built-in desk
with marble countertops in Brazilian Forest Web Brown.
The
structure was begun by Wayne Wright and finished by Ryan Donohue, who also did
the interior finish carpentry, including built-in book shelves, cork flooring
and a curved ceiling that leads up to an octagonal central skylight.Kate Dupuis designed stained glass windows
for the skylights plus panels for each of the upper sash of the five windows
and panels for the two sets of double doors that serve the space.John Rivero Resto painted a fine sky mural
on the ceiling.
The new
office is a pleasant, better organized, and efficient work space that is
wonderful to work in. People are
invited to come to see the space anytime, just call first.
10. Terminal Tower Exterior Restoration Nears Completion
This
winter owner Forest City will wind up the exterior rehabilitation of the
Terminal Tower, a process that has been ongoing for the past several
years. Late last year exterior
scaffolding was removed and most of the new LED exterior lighting was operating
in time for the holidays. Expediting
the work through to early completion instead of the five or more years that had
been planned was thought to save on costs over the long run.
The
building, one of the most elaborate skyscrapers ever constructed, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyscraper
required an extremely complex exterior rehabilitation program that targeted its
terra cotta elements, as well as metal and limestone units.The main shaft of the Terminal tower is
faced with Indiana oolitic limestone while the crown is cast metal, but the
ornamental elements of the lower floors and the entire upper portion are made
of a glazed fired clay product known as architectural terra cotta.Using terra cotta spared the expense of
laboriously carving each block from stone.
Terra cotta is also a lighter, more easily attached and, in many
respects, more durable material than stone.
However,
the Terminal Tower, which opened at the onset of the Great Depression, then
went through a series of owners, never had the maintenance its exterior
needed. It also went through years when
the city had severe air pollution, before the Environmental Protection
Act. Additionally, its terra cotta
units were fastened to the steel structure with metal straps that corroded when
joints opened to admit moisture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TerracottaIn 1952 an elaborate bracketed balcony at
the base of the great arches on each side, was stripped away and replaced by a
plain band of masonry. Similar tall
buildings in other cities underwent more wholesale “simplification” of their
details. Fortunately, here, patchwork
instead of removal was the course of action, until the situation deteriorated
to the point where numerous upper floor offices and other spaces became
unusable.
Forest
City Enterprises, one of the nation’s largest urban development firms, has its
headquarters in Cleveland. http://www.forestcity.net/Pages/default.aspxIt purchased the Terminal Tower 20 years ago
and utilizes much of it for offices, developing a retail center from the long
abandoned rail station at its base. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_Tower
The
Terminal Tower has some great interior spaces which have been, or in the
process or are planned for rehabilitation.
The main lobby or portico was restored not that long ago.The Greenbrier Suite, or former Van
Sweringen city residence on the 10th-13th floors, has
been freshened up and redecorated to some extent, with a more thorough
rehabilitation planned. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/sets/72157594284095193/The 36th floor Executive Offices
need a tenant before rehabilitation of their grand and largely intact interiors
can be undertaken. Work is now underway
on returning the 42nd floor Observation Deck back to its original
character. Soon it will be open for
private tours and for use by civic groups and perhaps opened to the general
public on occasion.
The
federal and state preservation tax credits helped fund a significant portion of
this multi-million dollar project.
Steven McQuillin serves as preservation consultant and Barber and
Hoffman were engineers for the project.
The
entire 15th floor and 36th floor cornices were replaced
with an identically cast but much lighter weight and more durable stone-like
material as part of this project. New
fasteners are now rustproof stainless steel.
Many upper level ornaments, which had disintegrated or had been removed,
are now duplicated, using cast stone, architectural fiberglass and terra cotta.Existing sound facings were coated with a
new membrane that gives the appearance of stone but which, with periodic
renewals, is warranted to last for many years.
With a diligent management program, the Terminal Tower’s magnificent and
dramatic, highly elegant exterior has been safeguarded for generations.
11. Key Bank Cleveland Center Offices Open in Higbee Bldg.
By
February or March, offices of Key Bank that had been housed at the May Company
building will begin moving into the 6th, 8th and 9th
floors of the Higbee Building under a major rehabilitation of the former
department store. Founded in 1860, the
Higbee Company moved to this location in 1932 as a major component in the
then-new Cleveland Union Terminal development.
It grew to become one of the region’s largest department stores, before
it was purchased by Dillard’s and consolidated into their retail empire about
20 years ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higbee'sDillard’s closed this flagship location ten
years ago but maintains the former Higbee suburban branches under their
name. The first floor reopened a couple
of years ago, housing the greater Cleveland Partnership and Positively
Cleveland and preserving the major features of this grand former retail
space. Previously, the upper floors of
the Higbee Building had been projected to be developed for telecom usage, but
only portions of those floors were ever devoted to that use.
Key
Corp. required a vast amount of space for its operations and it gets that at
the Higbee Building. The elevator
lobbies on each floor were carefully rehabilitated and areas of full height
ceilings and columns with their volutes were exposed. The perimeter area of each floor avoids dropped ceilings and spacious
windows provide dramatic views of the city to its users.The office of Asa Shiverick, president of
the Higbee co. at the times of its move to Public Square, has been restored as
a 9th floor conference room overlooking the square.Most dramatically, large new public passage
has been opened, leading from Public Square to the new multi-tenant lobby on
the mezzanine level. It is planed to be
accented with memorabilia of the old department store.
This
project retains hundreds of jobs in downtown Cleveland and stabilizes one of
the downtown’s largest buildings at nearly 1 million square feet.State and federal tax incentives played
important roles in financing the project.
Vocon served as architects for Key Corp. http://www.vocon.com/portfolio/financial/KeyBank_Client_Service_Center
and Steven McQuillin was the preservation consultant.
12. European Trip Provides Preservation Insights
Ryan Nagel and Steve McQuillin took a three-week trip to Europe in May and early June of 2009, their second European tour together. They visited Paris for a week, staying in a city apartment and visiting many of the typical attractions, but also Fontainebleau http://www.pbase.com/adventuresofstar/fountainebleau, Vaux le Vicomte, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaux-le-Vicomte (although it was closed that day after a long walk down a frighteningly narrow two-le tree-lined rural road) and Chantilly, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Chantilly.Barcelona was the next stop, after one of the super-cheap flights on Ryan Air. The works of Antonio Gaudi were simply amazing and it was a marvel to see people lined up and so excited about a tour of an early 20th century apartment, Casa Mila http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Mil%C3%A0, which had incredibly sophisticated displays and was a true wonder to view, especially its great rooftop. Barcelona is a diverse and highly interesting city with many wonderful architectural landmarks.
Next on
the itinerary was Venice, where Steve has visited more than several times
previously. It is great to just wander
around the city’s many passages and side streets. I failed to obtain reservations, so our stay was outside the city
and a city bus ride away each day, but not too bad. From there, it was Prague.
This was Steve’s second visit and Ryan said he enjoyed this city the
most on the trip. It had a real
vitality as well as distinctive architecture including some mid 20th
century cubist buildings http://lava.ds.arch.tue.nl/gallery/praha/tcubism.html
and some great public spaces. We stayed
at a newly renovated apartment in an area a little walk from downtown, but
which was still nice. The last stop was
Vienna, where we met up with Steve’s longtime friend Lukas and stayed with him http://www.moment-home.com/.It is a truly great city and although I have
been there several times now, I still enjoy the long walks and seeing its many
attractions. We both agreed not to like
the not too numerous contemporary buildings, which lack the vitality and
durability of their neighbors and instead seem like low-budget idiosyncratic
conceits of contemporary designers. I
suppose a major exception was the Hundertwasser complex of apartments in
Vienna, built over 20 years ago from designs of an artist, not an architect,
brilliantly colored and with fantastic engaging forms.That’s my concept of what innovative new
architecture should be. Not cold glass and steel, especially in a great city
with traditional masonry structures. http://images.google.com/imageshl=en&source=hp&q=hundertwasser&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=NbpQS96AM4PL8QbM5JWZCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQsAQwAA