From Norm Roulet: I've been observing from afar a neighborhood-centric battle over historic preservation and character. Many activists - responsible neighborhood citizens - in one of our struggling Cleveland neighborhoods - Brooklyn Village - are very upset about Art House [1] vs. Our House. This is a battle of a powerful arts non-profit acting either against or for the community they claim to serve. The question is, are they against or for... or even of this neighborhood?
Art House wants to demolish a valuable historic structure - The Wirth House - to add parking and "green space", as I understand. Above is the front and side of Art House, which is in a Quonset Hut (above) [2], on a very poorly conceived property full of parking, without any real "green space".
The Quonset Hut is next to a poorly updated and somewhat butchered historic mansion called The Wiirth House, for the original owner. I understand Art House owns this structure, and it is a shame it is not better respected, as it is an excellent "ornate Queen Anne". The history of the structure is detailed here, on "Save Our Land [3]."
The Wirth House has one of the most beautiful slate roofs I can imagine. In the picture above you see that on all that roof space there is only one slate missing - this is a perfect roof... at 130 years old. Replacement value would probably be like $100,000. The wood trim is wonderful and the siding even looks good - most is beneath other siding placed on top of the original. The newer siding should be removed and the older siding should be restored. The trim should be restored.
The windows have been replaced with some nasty modern windows - high efficiency replicas of the originals should be milled. Photos should be consulted to replicate the front porch and balcony, if it had one. The side porch is very nice, as you can see, although modified and unkempt. But the structure seems very solid and easy to restore.
While I can see where Art House may not want to invest in renovating this fine historic property, to demolish it is inexcusable. Either Art House should get aggressive about rallying support to help them renovate Wirth House, or Art House should find someone to do something complimentary with the property - say a B&B. Even if the insides are gutted, the property will fix up into a showplace... the showplace of the community.
To say the property needs better greenspace is an understatement. But Art House seems to be the ones who didn't plan for that on their current site. Every inch of the active property is paved. Next door is a big paved lot for an apartment building. Across the street is a big school lot. I don't know if there are times when people are fighting for spaces but it seems with all those parking spaces some compromise could be found to share.
While I can't say I'm blown away by Quonset Huts, the current Art House building does have some charm. It should probably be preserved - I'd suggest they treat the property as a campus, or find a complimentary resident or busines who can share it with them. The Wirth House is worth saving.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| WirthHouse650.JPG [4] | 64.35 KB |
| Quonset650.JPG [5] | 62.93 KB |
| WirthArtHouseRoofs650.jpg [6] | 87.28 KB |
| WirthProfile.JPG [7] | 72.52 KB |
| Wirth Back Porch 650.JPG [8] | 74.08 KB |
| Wirth Side 450.JPG [9] | 56.65 KB |
| Wirth Lot School.JPG [10] | 74.9 KB |
| Wirth Trash.JPG [11] | 67.65 KB |
