Historic Preservation Month continues with Heights Home Preservation Lecture Series

The celebration of Historic Preservation Month in Cleveland Heights continues with a series of four lectures on historic homes at 7 p.m. on Thursday evenings at the Lee Road Library. Learn how to research the history of your home, how to make an older home more energy efficient, how to incorporate historic interior design ideas into your decorating scheme, and more.

Registration is requested and begins two weeks prior to each event. To register, visit www.heightslibrary.org or call 216-932-3600.

The events are sponsored by the Heights Libraries, Cleveland Heights Landmark Commission, Cleveland Heights Historical Society, Home Repair Resource Center and FutureHeights.

Thursday, May 24, 7 p.m. Cleveland Heights House History Workshop. Speaker: Kara Hamley O'Donnell, city planner, City of Cleveland Heights.

Using local research tools and online sites, this workshop will teach participants how to research their home’s history, including when it was built and by whom, past owners and historic photos. Learn how to use Plain Dealer indexes to find out what may have happened at a property—home sales, lost pets, society events and more. Participants who preregister and provide a mailing address will receive advance information to start a search on a property. Others can receive the information at a later date.

Thursday, June 7, 7 p.m. Maintenance and Energy Efficiency. Speaker: Mary Ogle, Cleveland Restoration Society program assistant.

All houses need continual maintenance to stay at their best. Take a top-to-bottom look at the typical maintenance issues of an older home. Learn how to spot problems before they become worse and how to make an older home more energy efficient without breaking the bank. Get information about the Heritage Home Program, which provides preservation-based technical assistance, and low-interest loans for rehabilitation projects.

Thursday, June 21, 7 p.m. American Home Interiors: 1850–1950. Speaker: Michael Fleenor, Cleveland Restoration Society director of preservation services.

Explore the ever-evolving American home interior over a 100-year period, beginning in the 1850s. Major emphasis on stylistic trends from Classical Revival, Victorian Aesthetic Period, Arts & Crafts, Colonial Revival and Mid-Century Modern will be showcased. If you own an old house, come and find inspiration for the appropriate period treatments and furnishings.

Thursday, July 12, 7 p.m. Your Roof: Bottom/Up, Top/Down Sustainability. Speaker: Chuck Miller, Principal, Doty & Miller Architects.

When major roof repair or asphalt shingle replacement is being planned, it's a perfect time to consider what else can be done to improve a home’s energy performance. The most effective results occur when the entire building shell undergoes a Deep Energy Retrofit (aggressive energy-improving upgrades), but this is beyond the budget of most homeowners. This presentation will identify effective options for attic and roof improvements. Are vented or unvented roofs better? Should insulation be added at the attic floor or at the roof line? These questions and more will be discussed and illustrated for varying roof conditions found in older homes.

Deanna Bremer Fisher

Deanna Bremer Fisher is executive director of FutureHeights and publisher of the Heights Observer.

Read More on Heights History
Volume 5, Issue 6, Posted 8:52 AM, 05.17.2012