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Talk a little more about
the architecture of the
Moreland neighborhood.
What makes it distinctive?
The old houses in South
Moreland, south of Chagrin
Boulevard, are typically
two-and-a-half stories or
one-and-a-half stories, with
architectural styles such as
Arts and Craft, Cape Cod,
Bungalow, Tudor Revival, and
more. There is actually an
architectural style known as
the Cleveland Double, because
it’s ubiquitous in Cleveland. It’s
a two-family home, with one
unit up and one down, with a
front porch and a gable roof.
There is a well-kept row of
them on Chelton Road.
The older homes in
Moreland were built before
World War II when the average
family could employ daily
domestic help. The houses
were designed so that the help
could perform their duties without overlapping with the
family and had separate entrances to come and go from
the home. My house also has some unique features, like a
built-in icebox, as well as the milk chute and laundry chute
that are more commonly found in Shaker homes.
You now work as a consultant for NASA Glenn as a
historic preservationist. What does that involve?
Initially, I landed a temporary position working with Civil
Engineers and Surveyors at Glenn. Then I transitioned to
a permanent position as support for Cultural Resource
Management. CRM administers protection for assets
above ground, such as the historic preservation of
buildings, and assets below ground, which can include
relics from Native American cultures. As an agency of
the federal government, Glenn must administer CRM in
consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office.
Essentially, I help them to be good stewards of their assets
and abide by the National Historic Preservation Act.
In 2016, we received designation as an Ohio historic
district. That designation means that we need to protect
the architectural style of the campus, which was built in
the 1940s and is most closely related to the International
Style – flat roofs, unornamented planes, lack of details,
and ribbon windows.
You’re also a board
member at Cleveland
Restoration Society.
What is their mission?
The Cleveland Restoration
Society’s mission is to use
the powerful tool of historic
preservation to revitalize
our diverse communities,
strengthen the regional
economy, and enhance the
quality of life in northeastern
Ohio. I use my knowledge
to help facilitate and make
decisions on how best to
rehabilitate Cleveland’s historic
building stock.
They have a fantastic
program that more Shaker
homeowners should utilize,
the Heritage Home Program,
which helps homeowners
complete repairs while
preserving the historic features
of their home. It is a lowinterest
loan program that
offers technical assistance and
expertise to help homeowners through the process of
getting their house in good condition. Rehabilitating an
old Shaker home can involve some sticker shock, and it
can be hard for the average homeowner to get the right
balance of quality vs. cost when assessing what’s needed.
You can find plenty of success stories on their website:
clevelandrestoration.org. Look for the Homeowners tab.
Sustainability has become a buzzword in building
and renovation. How does that overlap with
historic preservation?
Historic preservation and sustainability are synonymous.
They both involve protection of what is existing and offer
methods for keeping buildings, waterways, and air clean
for human usage.
Sustainability largely focuses on environmental and
energy issues, like using less fossil fuel by purchasing
more efficient heating and cooling equipment.
Historic preservation focuses on conservation of the
material used to construct our old building stock so they
will last for generations to come. The goal is to keep the
character-defining features intact whenever possible.
Windows are a good example; you should try to fix first,
before replacing. It’s important to make informed decisions,
because typically it costs less to repair than replace.
/clevelandrestoration.org