Article published September 18, 2007
SENECA COUNTY LANDMARK
Expert tours courthouse, calls it 'remarkably good'
Seneca County asset valued at up to $50M
Preservation expert Stan Graves said the Seneca County Courthouse is better than the state Capitol building in Texas.
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By JENNIFER FEEHAN and JOSHUA BOAK
BLADE STAFF WRITERS
TIFFIN — Stan Graves swallowed his Texas pride after walking into Seneca County’s 1884 courthouse yesterday.
He expected to find mold, shifting walls, water damage, and cracked plaster. After all, the neoclassical building has been vacant since 2004 and is scheduled for demolition later this year.
What Mr. Graves, director of the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, discovered was a stunning example of a noted American architect’s work in “remarkably good” condition.
Mr. Graves declared himself envious that the architect, Elijah Myers, exhibited superior craftsmanship in the Seneca County Courthouse compared to another one of his buildings, the Texas statehouse.
“This is better than our state Capitol building, higher quality woodwork,” Mr. Graves said during a presentation last night at the Tiffin-Seneca Public Library to an audience of roughly 100 people.
Stan Graves, an architect, and members of the Tiffin Historic Trust group tour the courthouse.
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But Seneca County Commissioner Dave Sauber, the one person Mr. Graves needed to convince, left the presentation unswayed by the arguments about Texas’ success in providing more than $145 million in grants to renovate 64 of its county courthouses. Ohio does not have a similar program.
“I was disappointed that I was told he had these mechanisms for funding,” Mr. Sauber said. “I didn’t hear that.”
He said he will make more phone calls to explore preservation opportunities, but as of now, he stands by his vote to demolish the courthouse because of concerns about a restoration price in excess of $8.9 million.
Mr. Sauber ruled out holding off on the demolition because “this is an issue that needs to be addressed now,” adding that he was offended that Mr. Graves referred to the courthouse as beautiful — a matter of opinion — and said that a new courthouse would provide less of an economic stimulus than its predecessor could.
Although Mr. Graves was not permitted to make a presentation to county commissioners, he addressed the board briefly after a tour he took of the courthouse yesterday morning, telling them they had a very sound courthouse on their hands.
| ALSO |
A Zobgy International poll of 426 registered voters in Seneca County commissioned by The Blade shows strong support for delaying the proposed demolition of the county's historic courthouse. The poll also shows overwhelming support for allowing a vote of the people before the courthouse is destroyed, and overwhelming opposition to a local tax increase to pay for renovation of the courthouse. The poll was conducted Aug. 1 and Aug. 2 and has a margin of error of 4.8 percent.
 See the Seneca County courthouse Zogby poll 1
See the Seneca County courthouse Zogby poll 2
See the survey methodology
 PHOTO GALLERY: View the Seneca County courthouse photo gallery |
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Mr. Graves told commissioners that preserving the courthouse would be an economic asset for the county as it has been for numerous Texas communities that have seen their downtowns come back to life after their courthouses were restored.
“That’s your asset,” he said. “That’s a $30 million to $50 million asset that you would be, I think, very shortsighted to get rid of.”
As he reviewed courthouses preserved in Texas, Mr. Graves noted that the courthouses are a centerpiece for heritage tourism in a community, possibly offsetting the costs of restoration through new jobs and tax revenue.
The courthouse’s fate has divided Seneca County with lawsuits and deeper questions about the cost and value of a community’s heritage. The county commissioners, by a 2-1 majority, are currently proceeding with plans to raze the courthouse and replace it with a new, smaller one.
State aides attend
The controversy has reached Columbus with preservationists appealing to Gov. Ted Strickland in letters. Wade Rakes, the governor’s public liaison, addressed the citizens’ concerns once Mr. Graves finished answering questions from the crowd at the Tiffin presentation.
“We’re here to listen, learn, and see what options we have after your local government makes its decision,” Mr. Rakes said to loud applause.
Mr. Graves talked with Wade Rakes, Gov. Ted Strickland’s public liaison, who said he was present to listen to the citizens’ concerns.
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Abbey Mortemore, a regional outreach director for Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray, also attended the presentation, explaining that the treasurer is dedicated to saving the state’s historic buildings.
Rayella Engle, a member of the Tiffin Historic Trust, which brought Mr. Graves to town, thanked commissioners for allowing about 20 members of the group to tour the courthouse. Several photographed and videotaped the building’s interior.
“More than anything else it reaffirmed my feelings that this is a very viable building. It’s a beautiful building. It’s solid as a rock,” she said. “It’s not falling down. It’s not crumbling. It did not smell like mold.”
Lenora Livingston, president of the Tiffin Historic Trust, said afterward that Commissioners Ben Nutter and Mr. Sauber, who want to tear down the building, have been perpetuating the myth that the building is beyond repair.
Stan Graves, director of the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, said during his presentation that the Seneca County courthouse is structurally sound and restorable.
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Mr. Graves’ assessment of the courthouse as structurally sound and definitely restorable backs up what local preservationists have been saying all along, Ms. Livingston said.
Mr. Graves, an architect, said courthouses in considerably worse condition have been restored in Texas. He walked through the building inspecting architectural details, snapping pictures, and taking notes.
He marveled at the double-acid-edged glass doors “just like in our Capitol,” examined the original wooden shutters still covering some windows, and emerged from the clocktower declaring, “It’s good. It’s all there.”
‘Throwing away $50,000’
While one Texas community spent $30,000 to purchase the same type of clockworks that are tucked away in the tower’s interior and $20,000 to restore them, Seneca County’s appeared to be intact inside the tower that was rebuilt in an Art Deco style in the 1940s.
“Throwing that one piece away is like throwing away $50,000,” Mr. Graves said.
Abbey Mortemore, a regional official for Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray’s office, attended the presentation. She said Mr. Cordray is dedicated to saving the state’s historic buildings.
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He noted the intricately carved cherry and oak doors, transoms, and wainscoting throughout the building, impressed that even the ornate brass hardware was still there and in working condition.
In the third floor courtroom, he looked beyond the dropped ceiling, covered-over windows, and paneled walls and said the room was the most magnificent space in the courthouse. He beamed a flashlight above the false ceiling of the law library stuffed overhead to reveal nine skylights covered from view.
“I see an incredible courtroom waiting to be uncovered,” he said. “It’s mostly a matter of uncovering it and taking away the insensitive alterations.”
Supporters of the commissioners’ plans to demolish the courthouse often point to its less-than-impressive features, including the stark clocktower that does not match the rest of the building, the fourth floor that was built over the main courtroom to create the law library, and the elevator shaft that was plunked into the center of the building’s rotunda.
“I can see why people think it’s ugly, but if you look behind these walls, these false walls, you see the beauty of what these spaces will be,” Mr. Graves said.
The main area of water damage in the building was visible on the second floor where it appeared an internal gutter had not been maintained.
Seneca County Commissioner Mike Bridinger, left, voices his concerns during a presentation about the courthouse.
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“It’s so minor. It’s so minor compared to what I’ve seen,” said Mr. Graves, who has worked on more than 100 courthouse restoration projects in Texas.
Cost reasonable
He said estimates from MKC Associates of Mansfield, which showed the 33,000-square-foot courthouse could be renovated at a cost of about $225 per square foot seemed reasonable, particularly because so few features were missing and would need to be replicated.
Doug Collar, one of six county residents who went to court to challenge the commissioners’ decision to raze the courthouse, also was surprised by the condition of the building.
“I think that they’ve been sold a myth that this is a disaster area,” he said. “Basically it’s just cosmetic. We’re talking simple maintenance and upkeep.”
Yesterday, county commissioners voted 3-0 to allocate $50,000 in additional funds to cover legal fees stemming from the citizens’ lawsuit and appeal as well as a suit filed last week by The Blade over public records — including records concerning the courthouse — that were allegedly concealed or destroyed by commissioners.
Contact Jennifer Feehan at:jfeehan@theblade.comor 419-353-5972.
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