May is preservation month in CH

This quarry, photographed in 1938, was located in what is now Forest Hill Park. Photo courtesy city of Cleveland Heights.

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May is National Preservation Month and, for the 15th year, the Cleveland Heights Landmark Commission, Cleveland Heights Historical Society and Heights Libraries will be celebrating the rich history and architecture of the Heights through a series of lectures, workshops and tours.

Cleveland Heights’ preservation month activites kicked off on May 1 with a Cleveland Heights House History Workshop that taught particlpants how to research their home's history.

Those who missed the event but are interested in learning how to research their house’s history can find information and links on the Cleveland Heights city website: www.clevelandheights.com/ index.aspx?page=492.

Upcoming programs are listed below. [Note that reservations are required for the May 20 walking tour—an event that tends to fill up early.]

Saturday, May 6, 10 a.m., Guided Tour of East Cleveland Township Cemetery
Speaker: Nancy L. West (Adams), vice president and secretary of East Cleveland Township Cemetery Foundation.

East Cleveland Township Cemetery was founded in 1859. As part of that township’s breakup, the section where the cemetery is located was annexed to Cleveland in 1892. The cemetery is closely connected with Cleveland Heights history, as many of the earliest settlers in what is now Cleveland Heights are buried there. The cemetery foundation’s mission is to provide education and patriotic events for the community pertaining to its historic heritage in an urban park setting. [1621 East 118th Street, Cleveland, just north of Euclid Avenue. Parking is available at the cemetery's entrance, and the group will meet in the chapel—the restored Spanish-style building nearby.]

Monday, May 8, 7 p.m., The South Overlook Gang: A Book Talk
Speaker: Richard Karges, author.

Karges will discuss his book, The South Overlook Gang, and share stories of growing up in Cleveland Heights’ South Overlook neighborhood in the 1950s and '60s—“when neighbors knew neighbors, kids played outdoors and milk trucks delivered fresh dairy to your door." A book signing will follow the talk. [Noble Neighborhood Library, 2800 Noble Road, Cleveland Heights.]

Monday, May 15, 7 p.m., Interior Painting in an Older Home
Speakers:  Margaret Lann and Trudy Andrzejewski, Cleveland Restoration Society.

Have you ever imagined what the interior of your house looked like originally? Maybe you would like to redecorate and be “sensitive” to your home’s architectural style. This program will explore various trends of historic painting and take a look at different types of paint and finishes. It will also cover proper techniques for prepping surfaces, repairing plaster, stripping woodwork and analyzing paint samples. [Lee Road Library, 2345 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights.]

Saturday, May 20, 10 a.m., Cleveland Heights Rocks & Waters 2017: Compton Creek
Tour leaders: Roy Larick, Korbi Roberts and Jim Miller.

This guided walking tour will explore the geology, history and ecology of Compton Creek, the Dugway tributary that flows through the Park Synagogue site and reappears in Forest Hill Park, where it tumbles over bluestone to join Dugway Brook. Reservations are required for this tour, which will take place rain or shine. Space is limited, and this tour always fills up. To register, call 216-291-4878. [Registered participants will meet at the north end of the CH Community Center’s parking lot, at 1 Monticello Blvd.]

Thursday, May 25, 7 p.m., The Noble Neighborhood and Nearby, 1874-2017
Speaker: Marian Morton, John Carroll University professor emeritus of history.

The history of the Noble neighborhood, and its environs, is familiar: from farms and quarries to suburban homes, distinctive shops, and distinguished public buildings. This program will explore what makes Noble’s past and present unique, encompassing an unsuccessful effort to secede from Cleveland Heights in 1916; graceful murals by Works Progress Administration artists at Oxford Elementary School; an abandoned dump that became Denison Park and pool, and then a soccer field; Protestant churches that reflect the neighborhood’s racial and ethnic diversity; and architecture that ranges from simple 19th-century farmhouses to architect-designed homes in the Inglewood Historic District. [Lee Road Library, 2345 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights.]