Community asked to help preserve Heights High heritage

The stately Heights High Cedar Road entrance, shown here in 1938, will again be visible from the street after renovations are complete. (Photo courtesy Cleveland Heights High School Alumni Foundation)

A group of Heights residents is asking school personnel and community members to help preserve the past as the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District moves forward with its Create the Future plans to modernize buildings for the 21st century.

“It is important to honor, appreciate and learn from the past,” said Mazie Adams, a Heights alumna and parent, and member of the CH-UH Archive and Preservation Committee.

“With a building whose core dates to the 1920s, we know there are hidden treasures in nooks and crannies that we hope to spare from the wrecking ball,” said Adams, former executive director of the Lakewood Historical Society.

The committee grew out of community meetings the school district held in spring 2014 during phase 1 of the high school renovation project. Residents were invited to create working groups to offer input on aspects of the Master Facilities Plan.

One group was concerned about the fate of historical and archival material. “I knew some booster groups and the Instrumental Music Department, for example, had important material that would be a shame to lose,” said Ditte Wolin, former president of Band and Orchestra Parent Organization, and a Heights parent and alumna. 

Wolin, Adams and other committee members have met with and received support for the project from Alexis Abramson, a member of the Facilities Accountability Committee of the CH-UH School Board; Zoraba Q. Ross, CHHS administrative principal; and Steve Shergalis, CH-UH director of business services. 

The committee’s work furthers the goals of the $159 million schools renovation project funded by Bond Issue 81, which 59 percent of voters approved in November 2013. The project calls for preserving the core architecture of historic buildings and ensuring that new construction is consistent with the historic design. 

The committee is looking beyond the building’s walls to also identify other objects that have historical significance. It is asking school personnel and community members to identify for preservation visual artifacts, such as photos; printed items, such as yearbooks; physical artifacts, such as architectural features; documents and recognitions from academic or extracurricular support groups; teaching materials; branded clothing; and other items that might offer historic perspective on Heights schools. 

Items to be saved will be stored in secure quarters at the former Coventry Elementary School while the renovation is under way. As volunteer support becomes available, some material may be scanned and digitized. 

The school district may decide to reinstall some items in the renovated high school. All collected items will be under the control of and remain property of the district. 

The project must be completed before spring break 2015 to ensure material can be retrieved before construction begins. The committee hopes to duplicate the process at Roxboro and Monticello middle schools before those buildings close for renovations. Due to time constraints, an abbreviated process was implemented at Wiley Middle School. 

In addition to Adams and Wolin, the committee includes Michael E. Bennett, Heights parent; Kathy Lawrence, CHHS librarian; Nancy Levin, director, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library; Kara O’Donnell, Heights parent and City of Cleveland Heights planner/historical preservation specialist; and Eric Silverman, member, CH-UH Board of Education. 

The committee is encouraging community members and faculty and staff to record information about potential archival material on a form at http://tinyurl.com/CHHSarchive. Teachers have been asked to box the material for committee members to review at the high school. 

For more information, contact Adams at mazie.adams@gmail.com.

Michael Bennett

Michael E. Bennett is the parent of two Heights students and a member of the CH-UH Archive and Preservation Committee.

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Volume 8, Issue 1, Posted 11:51 AM, 01.03.2015