John S.

These folks have left no detail incomplete. When its all said and done the Steele Mansion will be as important a landmark in Painesville as it was when built. Perhaps even more so than originally because at the time it was built there were far more impressive homes of this kind in the neighborhood but now its one of a couple of rare survivors. They deserve all the praise the community can muster because I can count on one hand the number of successful restorations on this scale and scope. (anywhere in the U.S.) While I doubt others will try to repeat this near miraculous transformation, perhaps it will at least make others pause and see their own faded homes in a different light. Demolition has always been the default solution for old faded mansions in most cases. BTW, we will be in Ohio next week but Galion-Mansfield is the farthest north in our travels. A more ambitious trip to Warren and Youngstown was scaled back and will have to wait for another time. Maybe Painesville will be included then. Thanks for the photo.

Thanks JRC. I've been following your restoration on other fora and you deserve hefty praise for all the work you've done with limited time and a limited budget. As mentioned, I may swing by to look in the area about a month from now.

That looks pretty bad. Braces would have to be set up from the basement to the top floor and the structure looks too fragile to do that safely. One might be able to work from a lift but again it doesn't look like it would take too much for a lot more to come down. A structural engineer familiar with historic buildings needs to evaluate the structure-if cracks are forming on the sides, the building is toast; however, I don't see that from looking at the side. My gut feeling looking at this one is not very good but if the owner was cooperative and the city was willing, it could probably be stabilized. (but given the recent history of the property, that's not likely to happen) I suspect the cause is more a failing roof than a leaky gutter.

A brick structure of similar age and style on Mulberry street had a corner section collapse a couple of years ago. (same issue-damaged gutters that allowed water to erode the mortar and weaken the wall) The city actually kicked in some funds to help get the collapsed section rebuilt. Maybe that precedent could be replicated here? This building was probably once in a solid row of similar buildings and the loss of it will further erode the historical context. But given the code violation history the city will probably be glad to get rid of it. There always seems to be an unlimited supply of "emergency" demolition funds and eager lines of contractors ready to power up their heavy demo equipment. Stabilization funds seem much harder to come by.

JRC, That's encouraging news. The aforementioned porch restoration project in St. Joe included replacing the rotted column bases with new items fabricated from PT wood in a local millwork firm's shop, as well as my repair and restoration of the 21 columns using epoxies for treating damaged areas. In two cases I had piles of staves to reglue and assemble back into columns but I was proud that ALL the original columns were saved, repaired, and put back to use. I was able to identify the original yellowish cream white column color and they were repainted in that color. I posted photos of the project on my Flickr album: The younger fellow was my helper Chris, (I'm in the background in another photo) who was delighted to go from a minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant to one paying almost double that amount. The box gutters were also rebuilt. The project won a local preservation award for the property owner in 2006. Sounds like the current residents appreciate what they have so will hopefully triumph in their efforts to own the house free and clear and restore it. That old glass is getting harder to find as not much of it gets salvaged when houses are demo'ed. Replica old style imperfect glass is available but when you see the prices, finding salvage items becomes much more attractive.

JRC, it would have had to be one of the Wick Park houses I was most interested in. Because I've built a replica c. 1860 Gothic Revival porch for a landmark house in Vallejo, CA as well as restored a massive Colonial Revival porch on a St. Joseph, MO, mansion, this would not be too great of a challenge. I have old planbooks and illustrations showing box beam framing construction for Colonial Revival porches and assuming they meet current code, they could be used to rebuild this porch. Probably it would be best under the circumstances to clean off the debris, (save that long strip of dentil molding!) square off the remaining porch roof to align it with the entry bay and re-deck the now exposed porch decking with with pressure treated materials. (1 x 6 PT bullnose would probably be the least expensive if historic district regs allow it for temporary repairs) Slap some paint over the ghost of the old framing plus replacement decking and make sure the 4 x 4 posts are allowed by the city as temporary supports. Since I understand this to be a rental, the approach I outlined would be the least expensive. Above all you don't want to risk a condemnation order from the City. The long term solution is to get this house in the hands of someone who has the motivation and resources to reconstruct the porch to its original dimensions and replace the square posts with proper classical order columns and capitals. (Sometimes salvage versions are sound enough for the purpose but finding the right length and number needed is a matter of luck) This was a mansion-grade home when built and was undoubtedly architect designed; it would be a shame to lose it because of a damaged porch. As for owner involvement, most rental landlords are solely motivated by rental income; if the stream of rents ceases, they could care less what happens to the house. I salvaged (dismantled) a two-story rental house about a dozen years ago because its was old (1909) and had experienced a kitchen fire that damaged the attic and a portion of the roof. Since the renters were mainly Sec. 8, the landlord chose to relocate the renters to other properties he owned rather than pay for repairs. He also saved demolition costs via my salvaging work so I suppose it was a win-win situation. I still have thousands of quality bricks from the foundation walls of that house. If the owner faces expensive repairs or is told the property cannot be rented unless they are done, a better alternative is to sell the property to someone who can bring the house back. The interior sounds impressive. I hope this story has a happy ending.

Nice set of photos showing downtown Wichita Falls. As you mention, WF is a regional center of culture; my spouse and I are both graduates of Midwestern State University which despite its name, most would argue it is not in the Midwest. Wichita Falls had a vibrant downtown when I was a kid with locally owned department stores, and lots of mom & pop businesses. But beginning with the Parker Square Shopping Center development in the late 1950's (a precursor to the later large Sikes Center Mall) the lifeblood of downtown was slowly drained. Downtown has changed very little since the 1960's as these photos reveal. There's a high level of vacancies downtown but the busy "shopping district" along Kemp Blvd and Southwest Parkway (which intersects Kemp on the south side of town) has replaced the downtown. Population growth has been slow in WF and seems tied to the fortunes of energy exploration and production businesses. During the 1920's the population of Wichita Falls expanded exponentially as local oil field discoveries poured millions of dollars into the sleepy town established by the railroad in 1881. A building boom ensued downtown as the old postcard shows. My late grandmother came to Wichita Falls in 1919 near the peak of the oil boom and housing was so scarce she rented a converted city mule barn hastily converted to a rental house off Kemp Blvd. Wichita Falls sits by itself near the Oklahoma border and is helped by its long standing Sheppard, AFB (a NATO pilot training facility) and the aforementioned Midwestern State U.. On the negative side, fresh water is so scarce (north Texas is in the midst of a multi-year drought and Lake Arrowhead, Wichita Falls's water supply, is at 25% of capacity) that local water authorities recently made the controversial decision to recycle sewer water to add to the city's very tight fresh water supplies. (hope you didn't drink the water, Ink!) No outdoor watering is allowed and all but two car washes have been mothballed and those two car washes are only open 2 days a week because they recycle most of their water. I toured lake Arrowhead a month ago and believe its entirely possible it could dry up in another year or two. Obviously, a city facing such dire water shortages is not going to experience any rapid growth. Texas shares with California a severe fresh water shortage which is one more reason the Midwest is appealing for its abundant water resources. Ohio could make a ton of money selling its surplus water to drought stricken parts of the country but the logistics and infrastructure required to transport water to those areas boggles the mind. Nice set of photos, Ink.

Thanks JRC. I did an extensive streetview neighborhood tour and on those streets with an isolated house or two remaining, the only hope for them is infill housing at some point or maybe moving them together to create a cohesive block of houses. (a topic of discussion in the Dayton demolition thread on another forum-and since they will not allow mention of other fora there, I will not mention them here) Good housing stock overall from what I could see with some real gems here and there. I think I need to see it in person and will try to combine a Youngstown-Warren- and New Castle, PA tour for a day or two. Yes, Warren has two areas with concentrations of historic homes but the one with the towered houses is very spotty with some faded mansions in deplorable condition. Mansfield's Park Avenue is the same...at one time it was a grand residential boulevard now with isolated survivors competing with numerous commercial intrusions. How to save faded neighborhoods is a continuing problem nationwide. How to save isolated survivors standing alone and no longer in a residential context is an even more difficult problem. Zoning restrictions could have helped some of these places out decades ago but would be of little help now. I'm glad to see caring people coming into Wick Park and bringing it back one house at a time. Nice article and I noticed you received mention so you are recognized as part of the neighborhood effort. If you see some folks with Texas plates driving around looking at houses in mid to late September, it might be us. :wave:

JRC, good to see you're still hanging in there. Compared to the photos you took a couple of years ago, I can see visible signs of improvement. We may be visiting the region in Mid-September and my neighbor who just sold his Queen Anne Victorian house (and is looking for another old house to call home) will probably be coming with us. If there were some decent prospects, I'd consider taking a side trip to the Youngstown-Warren area. In photo No.2 there's a towered Queen Anne style house; what is the story on that one? Any other houses with towers available in the neighborhood? Also, the late Victorian house in photo number 6 (porch supported by 4x4 wood posts) you said is for sale? Any idea about what remains inside? (PM me if you wish) I think you lucked out with your house as it was so unspoiled and had never experienced the cheap remodels so many old houses receive. Your neighborhood certainly has potential and looks more welcoming now than in years past. Reminds me of some of the neighborhoods in Toledo and the Daytonview historic district in Dayton. These big old houses were built to last generations but as long as water hasn't gotten inside and caused major damage or they haven't been abused/vandalized extensively, they can become high quality homes again. Thanks for sharing.

In the 1860's "coachlight" gas lamps were the common type of street lighting. Cluster globe electric lamps of this type were common in the teens and twenties of the 20th century. They still look cool, IMO. so I'm glad they will be repurposed in the back. A fellow calling himself "Gas-Wizard" has assembled an amazing collection of archival gas light fixture images (exterior and interior) online: https://www.flickr.com/photos/21918300@N04/ Useful should anyone wish to add authentic to the period gas lighting on the grounds. The Steele Mansion looks almost ready to open. I'm still in awe over the owners taking what locals surely deemed an "eyesore" and transforming it back into the landmark it originally was; makes one wonder about the potential of other faded landmark homes across Ohio. Many will probably never get a chance to shine again but thankfully, this one did.

urbanforever, Of course you are correct in your statement as I did say "historic" rather than Victorian era which was what I was thinking. There is some of that left as you noted in San Antonio's King William district and a bit of it left in Houston around Heights Blvd. Dallas-Fort Worth only has isolated examples (I live in one) Galveston is really the only large repository of 19th century architecture remaining in Texas and is consists of what the Great Hurricane of September 1900 spared; the city went from being the largest in Texas to a sleepy seaport in the wake of the storm. Maybe Mansfield was not a good example in absolute numbers but perhaps in percentages...I hope you'll agree Cincinnati eclipses every city in Texas with its 19th century architecture. The popular beverage, Dr. Pepper, was concocted in Waco in the 1880's and its Baylor University (established in the late 1840's but moved to Waco in 1886) was a contemporary but the city of that era has almost been obliterated. I admire that Ohio has done a better job at preserving its architectural heritage and hope it continues to do so. There may be a faded Victorian there awaiting our arrival. I have a California friend who also believes the Buckeye State is his future.

As a long time Texas resident (Fort Worth) I concur that New Braunfels probably has more charm than Waco or Victoria. If you are looking for great historic architecture Texas has lost most of it to "progress". There are probably more historic homes and buildings in Mansfield, Ohio than in the three largest Texas cities combined. It's ironic that places where economic progress has been limited and slow are the very places most likely to have surviving historic architecture-such is the American obsession to tear down old homes and buildings deemed "obsolete" only to be replaced by modern structures built with a 30-40 year life expectancy with no expectation of permanence. With that in mind, we should enjoy these streetscapes because the ones of the future may be even more ugly and cheap. Nice photos in any case whatever the subject matter and location.

Hard as I try, I cannot wrap my mind around the kind of mentality that believed covering up a beautiful delicately designed façade like that with corrugated tin panels was an "improvement"? It's as though "ugly" was accepted as the new beautiful esthetic. Homer Laughlin was a major ceramics maker in the East Liverpool area. They made Jewel Tea, Fiesta Ware, and many other well known ceramic product lines. I'm wondering if this building had any connection with the Homer Laughlin firm? Some of the highest quality ceramic and glass products ever made in the United States came from this region. Nearly all of the makers have gone out of business but their products are still highly prized by collectors nationwide. The Pottery Museum in East Liverpool nicely narrates the industry's story. Nice to see this fine old terra cotta clad building displayed again. I wish they had taken a light colored mortar to fill up the rather unattractive holes where the metal frames for the tin panels were mounted.

Although such luxuries as yards and extra green-spaces are now feasible, I believe OTR's renaissance is just underway. (even though its been on-going for about a decade) I think its conceivable once the streetcar is operational and OTR becomes one of the primary tourist destinations (as it was for us a couple of years ago) these sporadic yarded vacant lots will zoom in value. A property owner offered a quarter million or more for half of their yard may find the temptation to sell difficult to resist. In the photos there's evidence everywhere of fresh paint, building renovation and restoration, landscaping improvements, and of course, the now reborn and wonderful Washington Park. The streetcar only adds to the allure. (wish there could be a more vintage looking streetcar used as in San Francisco's cable cars but then I'm a nostalgic fool) We may yet see OTR return to the density it once had which from an urban friendly point of view is a good thing. Thanks for the excellent photos. I'm hoping once OTR becomes high value the renaissance will spread to what remains of the historic West End. A streetcar extension to take workers into downtown would help there too. So too would a connection across the river to Covington-Newport for a true metropolitan rail system.

These photos vividly demonstrate that Cincinnati has the architecture of a world-class city. Now if it can only return to being one...

Lovely photos, thanks. I used to think it was a dead zone on the other side of the River but over the past year I have really come to appreciate Covington. Cincinnati is still my favorite city in Ohio but I'm increasingly warming up to Covington. I'm not as familiar with Newport but since both cities are connected in many ways with the Ohio side, I could see us living on the KY side someday. (now in Texas) South of the Roebling Bridge seems a little slower paced as well but it still has a fair share of historic architecture. Downtown Cincinnati would arguably be closer to Covington and Newport than many of its suburbs like Blue Ash or Norwood, or Sayler Park.

The loss of jobs due to manufacturing sector decline dates much farther back than the 2007-8 Recession, but to decline in population from 20,000 to 2,000 puts Braddock in an unfortunate league with larger cities like Detroit, Gary, and Newark. It's of great concern to see once vibrant commercial districts as in Wilkinsburg and Braddock now faded and in such decline. Like Braddock's mayor, it makes me wonder what policy or strategy changes could produce a better outcome and improve future prospects? These towns are not isolated examples in the Pittsburgh area; McKeesport is arguably in a more advanced state of decline than the aforementioned communities. Something just doesn't seem right for a whole region to be on a path towards oblivion and obsolescence-surely some type of governmental policy needs to be created to provide a path to economic recovery. Perhaps enterprise zones, a favorable tax policy to entice new business to come into the region, or some other type of creative ideas to foster recovery need to be implemented and soon. There are billions of dollar of improvements being wasted in these communities and the on-going demolition efforts do not hide the problems. If anything, the increasing green spaces created from demolitions only reinforce evidence of the decline. It saddens me to see this process slowly unfolding and taking away what was once a vibrant economic sector of the American economy. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Ink, nice photos, thanks for sharing. Marshall, Longview, and Tyler are all in East Texas east od Dallas. It is among the slowest growing parts of the Lone Star state and also among the most traditional and Southern in culture. Did you happen to take these photos on a Sunday? (when churches are full and downtowns are deserted) For history-architectural buffs, I'd recommend smaller towns like Honey Grove, the old river-port town of Jefferson, and tiny Ladonia. They have barely changed from the late 19th century. Too bad you didn't let me know you were this close to DFW, I'd have invited and taken you out to a decent place to eat and given you a tour of local historic architecture. (including our 1889 home on the edge of downtown Fort Worth) We plan to visit eastern Indiana and specific Ohio locations in May so I'd like to pick your brains about some of these places in the near future. BTW, the Texas State Capitol building was designed by Elijah Myers who designed the ill-fated Seneca County Courthouse in Tiffin as well as the Michigan State Capitol building. I eagerly await seeing the replacement Courthouse building design in Seneca County which undoubtedly will far surpass the Myers design. (Not!)

Indeed. Thanks Preservation Ohio for the great photos. To think such a top to bottom restoration has taken place in a community where projects of this kind are almost unheard of boggles the mind. As for the fireplaces, in the old photos they look sooty and discolored but now almost like new and pristine. In the future, when I want to show what is possible (in Ohio) I'll point to this project. The only downside is the realization of how many other great 19th century homes and buildings in even better condition have sadly been taken away by demolitions never again to grace the communities they stood in. I hope every city planner in Ohio takes note of this transformation and gives more thought before signing off on the next demolition of an 19th century gem.

Room rates are a bit pricey but are comparable to a historic hotel or upscale B&B. When you consider how much the owners have invested in the project it will be years before they can begin to recover their costs. I hope the community rallies around the Steele Mansion and it will be well patronized. If it does well, it might encourage others to invest in saving faded landmarks but examples of this kind of extreme "before and after" are few and far between. Hence the lavish praise I believe they truly deserve. I wish them the very best and thank them for caring about Painesville and Ohio's history.

I'm amazed at the meticulous steps the owners are taking to bring this back. It should be a required study for planners in communities with a significant number of faded historic homes. The default position in many cases is to pay the demo contractors and clear the lots. While that step is unavoidable in some cases, I have seen restorable (in far better condition than the Steele Mansion) fine period homes razed for no justifiable reason except that the city had the demo funds and wanted to use them. Hats off again to this family for showing what is possible. They deserve a plaque commemorating their efforts to save this local landmark. I only wish others would be inspired to do the same. This is a remarkable story in preservation with state-wide, even national ramifications for promoting more restorations and fewer demolitions.

Oh my! Doubtful anyone would be imaginative enough to concoct a story like this. It proves that truth IS often stranger than fiction. I think the parent of the minor should have reined in her daughter's bizarre behavior long before such a strange relationship developed. But parents sometimes neglect their parental responsibilities. Makes me think there are some strange things in the neighborhood. I've always liked the old houses along South Fountain and along High Street in Springfield; we plan to make the May antiques market extravaganza again this year as well as the mandatory visit to the Heart of Ohio antiques mall. My spouse and I will now be on the lookout for strange creatures in the shadows feasting on fresh road-kill. Then again, Ohio is alleged to have a bona fide Bigfoot lurking deep inside the Wayne National Forest. Reports of UFO sightings also proliferate...how could anyone think Ohio is boring?

This is like a "story" one would read on THE ONION as political satire...unreal.

The listing says it all: "developer's dream". I don't think the modest price would be any obstacle to a developer tear-down and redevelopment; however, this group of Victorian Italianate townhomes has long been a strong visual component going up to the Mt. Auburn neighborhood. (which itself is being carved away and redeveloped by Christ Hospital) Too bad a visionary developer couldn't rehab the existing townhomes and build compatible in-fill so the Victorian era flavor is not lost. Given how far the old character of Corryville has been degraded and obliterated, I don't have much hope for preservation of these structures despite abundant examples of older architecture having significant value after rehabilitation. Gotta' love the page ads...below I'm seeing a "Quotes on Demolition" ad from demolition homeadvisor-all you have to do is enter your zip code and a list of "demolition experts" will appear. Too bad a list of preservation/rehab contractors isn't found. The house and building wrecking business has been very good in recent years.

While I always appreciate new development incorporating existing historic structures when possible, its less discouraging when new construction is going to go up when demolition occurs. The worst is demolition of structurally sound buildings just because the owner hasn't complied with a VBML order or other bureaucratic issues that should have never resulted in a taxpayer-paid demolition. The city nor its taxpayers do not gain when a taxable improvement (building) is demolished. The demo automatically decreases the taxable property value. (and adds the costs of the demo to the property which are hardly ever recovered) I'd also argue demolition visually depreciates the appearance of the neighborhood. In extreme cases, the neighborhood disappears and blight soon returns via weedy lots, illegal dumping, and trash-strewn surroundings. Far too often neglected but restorable historic buildings are seen as a liability instead of the unique assets they really are. Every time a significant structure is lost a sense of place is lost with it. Only buildings deteriorated to the point of imminent collapse should be razed and far too often perfectly restorable structures are demolished with the hope that development will quickly follow. That concept was proven as a failure in urban revitalization over 50 years ago yet some contemporary urban planners still believe it has validity. A city cannot demolish its way to prosperity although some appear to believe that it can.