Saving the Gamble House (Cincinnati, Green: neighborhood, buy, contractor)

[jersey_too_expensive]

Help save the historic Gamble House -- download this flyer: http://bit.ly/anVjmh (broken link) and distribute to your neighbors!

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by restorationconsultant

Keep up the good work, the Gamble House may be the "poster chiild' of why Historic Preservation is important. Cities like Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans and San Franciso bring in millions of dollars a year in tourist revenues and employ tens of thousands because people come to see the architecture.

We have the architecture but continue to tear it down and we wonder why we have the unemployment problem we do. It takes two people to tear down a house. One guy runs the bulldozer the other holds the water hose.

Restoration employes people, from the HVAC and electricians to the painters and landscapers. People moving BACK IN to our historic neighborhoods pay taxes and patronize local business. A single old house restoration generates over a half million dollars in growth through employemnt, durable goods purchases and taxes in two years

The city is having a demolition hearing February 26th , they have 2 a month now. The assessed value of those 20 properties is 2.6 million and those properties generate 91,738.98 in annual taxes. Few if any of these properties NEED to be demoed, they all could be restored. The city will spend over 300,000.00 to demo them and once they are gone they generate NO tax revenue. The list:
Victorian Antiquities and Design: Nuisance/DEMO Board Hearing Feb 26 Several OTR properties on list!!

When houses are torn down the taxpayers ultimately suffer through higher taxes and the cost of maintaining vacant lots. Not to mention the loss of our history!

I believe I may know where you are coming from by your handle. I am not against preserving historic architecture. But I also feel it has to either fit into the surrounding neighborhood or be singled out as a museum, etc. And your claim that once demolished they will generate no tax revenue is wrong. While it may take time, whatever replaces them will generate tax revenue. The only argument which will eventually win out is evidence you can buy old, and due to its inherent better construction renovate the property and end up with more livable than buying new designed to fall apart in less then your lifetime.

[restorationconsultant]

kjbrill, In most urban cities vacant lots sit for 15-20 or more years before they are redeveloped, during tah time a typical city spends thousands of dollars in maintenance, cleanup from illegal dumping etc.

Assuming new construction is built wityhin say 10 yrs (very unlikely in cincy we have urban lots that have sat vacant since the 1960's) you have still lost 10 yrs of tax revenue that an existing restored hosue would have generated.

Unless we stop the 'blight=bulldozer" mentality of the city inspectiosn and vacant Building task force, we are on our way to becoming the next Detroit. A deteriorating downtown surrounded by a ring of vacant neighborhoods over the next decade.

[jersey_too_expensive]

From the "Save the Gamble Estate NOW!" group on Facebook (Save the Historic Gamble Estate NOW! | Facebook): 'The Origins of Ivorydale': Photos from Save the Historic Gamble Estate NOW! | Facebook

[jersey_too_expensive]

From the "Save the Gamble Estate NOW!" Facebook group: This story will break your heart

[jersey_too_expensive]

When James N. Gamble inherited the property at 2918 Werk Road in Cincinnati, OH, he chose to name it “Ratonagh” after the town in Ireland where his great grandfather, David Gamble, was born.

This is Ratonagh today

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by restorationconsultant

kjbrill, In most urban cities vacant lots sit for 15-20 or more years before they are redeveloped, during tah time a typical city spends thousands of dollars in maintenance, cleanup from illegal dumping etc.

Assuming new construction is built wityhin say 10 yrs (very unlikely in cincy we have urban lots that have sat vacant since the 1960's) you have still lost 10 yrs of tax revenue that an existing restored hosue would have generated.

Unless we stop the 'blight=bulldozer" mentality of the city inspectiosn and vacant Building task force, we are on our way to becoming the next Detroit. A deteriorating downtown surrounded by a ring of vacant neighborhoods over the next decade.

Your very argument is counter-productive in the statements. If there is inherent value in the property, surroundings, etc. why would it take 10 yrs or more to redevelop? This indicates investment in restoration of a property is a big gamble. Will, or will not, the investment help to restore the surrounding neighborhood? Again, I am not agasinst the preservation of significant historic property. But to say we will become a designation city for tourists due to our architectural heritage seems to me to be a little farfetched. Sounds to me a little like the argument why the public has to fund multi-million dollar sports stadiums for private businesses.

[restorationconsultant]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

. But to say we will become a designation city for tourists due to our architectural heritage seems to me to be a little farfetched. .

Not really, the Victorian Society of America had its convention here in 2009. Last year I gave tours of our neighborhood to several out of state preservationists who came to Cincinnati just to see the architecture. These are people who stayed for several days, stayed in local hotels ate in local restaurants. I know of at least a dozen people who bought property in Cincinanti and moved here last year from other states BECAUSE of the architecure.

We have one of the largest historic districts in the country in Over the Rhine. We have the one of, if not the largest collection of Second Empire architecture in the United States. We have mansions in Westwood, Walnut Hills and Avondale that rival any East Coast Mansions.

When Savannah GA for example decided to concentrate on Heritage Tourism, restore their Historic Districts and promote their city as a tourist destination they created over 15000 sustaining jobs in the hospitality industry. Property values went up and the tax base was increased.

Charleston SC most stable industry is its tourism and their historic districts are a fraction the size of just OTR. New Orleans is coming back in a big way and a huge part of the success of their convention business is their heritage tourism.

What kind of ads does Cincy run to promote its Historic Architecture? NONE! We are known for the Zoo and Kings Island. Heritage toursim is a multi billion dollar industry. While other cities are preserving their historic architecture we tear ours down.

People would travel to and people would pay to see the Gamble House, they woudlnt pay to see vacant lot or a tract home.

[lovesoldhomes]

Originally Posted by restorationconsultant

This property is critically important not from just an architectural standpoint but from a historical one as well.

While I would expect "demoltion by neglect' from a slumlord it is unacceptable from a charity or trust regardless of how well intentioned many of its other projects are.

The preservation of this building is a responsibility and if they are unwilling to do so then a modification of the covenants can be arranged to faciliate its restoration by someone else or allow it to be moved to another site.

There is no 'logical' reason to demolish one of the more important homes in Cincinnati and Westwood History owned by one of its most prominent families.

If this home was given by Mrs. Nippert to a foundation, why can't they be required to maintain the home? I would think that the company Mr. Gamble founded, P&G would have the funds and desire to save this home as part of Cincinnati history. Is there surviving children of the Nipperts that may be interested?

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by restorationconsultant

Not really, the Victorian Society of America had its convention here in 2009. Last year I gave tours of our neighborhood to several out of state preservationists who came to Cincinnati just to see the architecture. These are people who stayed for several days, stayed in local hotels ate in local restaurants. I know of at least a dozen people who bought property in Cincinanti and moved here last year from other states BECAUSE of the architecure.

We have one of the largest historic districts in the country in Over the Rhine. We have the one of, if not the largest collection of Second Empire architecture in the United States. We have mansions in Westwood, Walnut Hills and Avondale that rival any East Coast Mansions.

When Savannah GA for example decided to concentrate on Heritage Tourism, restore their Historic Districts and promote their city as a tourist destination they created over 15000 sustaining jobs in the hospitality industry. Property values went up and the tax base was increased.

Charleston SC most stable industry is its tourism and their historic districts are a fraction the size of just OTR. New Orleans is coming back in a big way and a huge part of the success of their convention business is their heritage tourism.

What kind of ads does Cincy run to promote its Historic Architecture? NONE! We are known for the Zoo and Kings Island. Heritage toursim is a multi billion dollar industry. While other cities are preserving their historic architecture we tear ours down.

People would travel to and people would pay to see the Gamble House, they woudlnt pay to see vacant lot or a tract home.

Great post!

I like your knowledge on the topic, but you will turn off specific individuals with negative closing statements.

I've read your blog, enjoy your post on UrbanOhio.com and understand where you're coming from (if you saw where I lived, you'd see why).

What you are doing, whether you realize it or not, is you are trying to sell and idea. I'm not suggesting that you avoid the harsh repercussions of tearing down historic architecture ... I'm saying, point out the negatives and then follow up with a positive by avoiding the negative.

"if we tear down ____, then then statistically ____ would occur. If we can avoid __-__, wouldn't you like to see __+__ happen."


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BTW, Jersey ... the petition link doesn't work?