Here are a couple of books worth checking out and if you live in or around Columbus and they are available at the Columbus public library.

 

Building Ohio: A Traveler's Guide to Ohio's Urban Architecture

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1882203747/qid=1139179776/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-8236541-2975355?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

 

Building Ohio: A Traveler's Guide to Ohio's Rural Architecture

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1882203828/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/102-8236541-2975355?%5Fencoding=UTF8

I want to buy those books, but I've been waiting until Amazon stops saying there's only one left of the urban one, because I get the feeling that if I ordered it they'd tell me it's out of stock, and waiting for it after I'd placed the order would just make me more impatient.  So instead I'll wait in the way that allows me to be patient.

^I checked both out from the local library and thought they were well done. Pics are only in B&W and they were in perfect condition; guess there's not many people interested in this sort of thing. I am though.  :-)

PigBoy, I saw these books at, of all places, Mendelsons. I was just coming in for some audio parts so I didn't buy them :-(, but you might want to try over spring vacation.

Hey, whaddayaknow, one of the UW libraries has them!  I'll have to check them out.  I thought I had searched before and not found them... guess I was wrong.  University libraries rule!  Columbusite, as little use as the books have apparently seen at the Columbus library, I'll bet they've seen even less usage at the Wisconsin Historical Society library. :wink:

 

I'll probably still want to buy them, though, so thanks for that tip, ink.  I thought of buying elsewhere online but didn't notice a cheaper price than Amazon.

yea i think im gonna buy the urban architecture one.  Thanks for the post.

You can thank those books for the creation of UrbanOhio.  They were a rather large help.

Thanks, books.

 

How's about I sticky this thread?

You can thank those books for the creation of UrbanOhio.  They were a rather large help.

Excellent, I'd much rather thank the books than thank you. :-D

 

I now anxiously wait for you to fill in the blank: "Back off, ______"

You can wait, PigIron.

Jane Ware did an amazing job with those books. I had the privilege of meeting her when she had a book signing in Cleveland, and she really sets a high standard for architectural historians.

 

Fyi, you can also order the books directly from Orange Frazer:

http://www.orangefrazer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=OFPI&Product_Code=1882203747

 

http://www.orangefrazer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=OFPI&Product_Code=1882203828

 

 

Speaking of book signing, I checked the books out from the library the other day, and I just noticed that the urban one is a signed copy.  I wonder how that ended up in the Wisconsin Historical Society stacks.

In some cases, people will buy a book and have it signed and later decide to give it to charity. That happens a lot with estate settlements (aka someone passes away and donates their book collection to a library or historical society).

In some cases, people will buy a book and have it signed and later decide to give it to charity. That happens a lot with estate settlements (aka someone passes away and donates their book collection to a library or historical society).

 

You'd be amazed at the signed books you can find at the bi-annual OSU book sale (though, those signed books cost $10-20 each, vs the unsigned masses which can be bought at $2 a bag full.)

Orange Frazier also put out a series of travel guides to Ohio, but I think they are out of print.

 

These guides...the ones in the thread header.... are pretty good.  I used them in conjunction with the WPA Ohio Guide for my road trip explortions of the state.

 

 

I just picked them up from King, only the Urban book is autographed.

i ran across the rural one a B&N, almost bought it, but bought weird ohio instead.

The more I read them, the less excited I get. The writing is generally vague and simplistic and the tall, narrow format is just stupid and hard to deal with. I can't see myself buying them.

I agree on the size of the books; it's kind of annoying.  As for getting "excited" about them, remember that they really are written as traveler's guides, where ideally you're looking at the actual building as you're reading.  As I believe she wrote in the introduction, it's not an architectural history.  So it is a little less than thrilling to sit and read the books without actually going to look at the buildings.  (Even worse when you don't even have the option because you're out of state! :wink:)

 

I only wish there were pictures or drawings of all the buildings.  A lot of the entries are meaningless to me because I don't have any idea what the building looks like except what little I can guess from the text.

That building on the cover of the Rural book looked awfully familiar to me.  It is on the Milan town square :)

 

Just in case anybody cared :)

The more I read them, the less excited I get. The writing is generally vague and simplistic and the tall, narrow format is just stupid and hard to deal with. I can't see myself buying them.

 

I too thought about purchasing the guide, but I am particular about my books (weird I know).  I don't like books that are odd sizes...too hard to store and keep nice.  Like I said, I'm particular (some say obsessive compulsive).

 

If I happen to take a road trip I'll probably check out a copy from the library...if I can get a copy.

^I'm the same way. It drives me nuts when books arn't in the same proportion (in length x width), so you can pile them up without any overlap. I also hate books that have a thickness > 1/4 the width, that is just wrong!

I also hate books that have a thickness > 1/4 the width, that is just wrong!

 

Man...you whimp!  :laugh:

Jane Ware did an amazing job with those books. I had the privilege of meeting her when she had a book signing in Cleveland, and she really sets a high standard for architectural historians.

 

Jane did a great job.  And, if you read the books, she references an OSU architecture prof as a source or mentor. This is Douglas, or Doug Graf.  I know old Doug from my days at the University of Kentucky, where he was my sophmore studio professor.  He was pretty good .

 

Back then we also had the UofK landscape architecture students in our studio, as a joint studio.  LA was part of the College of Agriculture, and we had our own college, the College of Architcture.  But the LAs and the architects, in the sophmore year, had a joint design studio and a joint architectural history studio.  So it was pretty interesting.  In our case, Graf had a good feel for LA history and design, and ensured there was these components in the studio problems.

 

When we had our jurys Doug Graf also made a point of inviting the LA faculty and dean to be members, so we were being critiqued by both the architectural faculty and the LA faculty.

 

Graf had quite an impact at UofK.  In fact the alum of that studio where tagged as the Graf-ites (a pun on graphite, for drafting pencis).

 

In any case, it was quite a trip to see Doug Graf being referenced in the text of those books. Who would have known he was such an afficionado of old fashioned and vernacular architecture?

 

 

 

 

 

I also had Doug Graf as a professor (fyi).

I've paged through these books briefly... absolutely fascinating stuff... perhaps I'll get my own copies some day.

I love these books! If you can't find them on Amazon, buy directly from the publisher in Wilmington. They have the coolest building mural in town too!

 

http://www.orangefrazer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?

Does any city in Ohio have a Division of Historic Preservation like Lexington's?

 

http://www.lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx?page=496

 

Responsibilities include:

 

The staff reviews all requests for demolition permits in Lexington-Fayette County and issues a thirty-day hold relative to structures determined to be historically and/or architecturally significant.  During this thirty-day period, staff documents the structure prior to the issuance of a demolition permit.