Toledo council to honor restoration work

5/30/2001
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    The Commodore Perry was renovated into apartments with two first-floor clubs.

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  • `It's a grand old building with a fantastic history, and we were able to breathe new life into it,' says Oliver Hirt, inside the Commodore Perry apartments, which his firm restored.
    `It's a grand old building with a fantastic history, and we were able to breathe new life into it,' says Oliver Hirt, inside the Commodore Perry apartments, which his firm restored.

    The work done on the Commodore Perry and Hillcrest apartments, two former hotels that have been restored to help lead a renaissance in the downtown area, will be honored tonight by the Landmarks Preservation Council.

    The council will hold its Excellence in Preservation Awards from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Corinthian Room at the Toledo Club, at Madison and 14th streets.

    Irene Martin, the council's chairwoman, said the awards are given for structures that have been restored or rehabilitated in the last 10 years.

    Along with the Commodore Perry and Hillcrest, renovation efforts to be cited are the former Wright-Harvey House, which is now St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center headquarters, and Doermann Theater at the University of Toledo.

    The Commodore Perry was renovated into apartments with two first-floor clubs.
    The Commodore Perry was renovated into apartments with two first-floor clubs.

    Ms. Martin said four individuals, the city of Maumee, and the Downtown Kiwanis Club of Toledo will be honored for their efforts to preserve the area's architectural heritage.

    The individual awards will go to:

  • Betty Amison, executive director of the Toledo Olde Town Community Organization.

  • William Dennler, executive director of the Toledo Zoo.

  • Frank Gilbert, senior field representative for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

  • Realtor Judy Stone.

    Ms. Martin said Maumee will be honored for its efforts to renovate the Maumee Indoor Theater. She said the Downtown Kiwanis Club will be honored for its past support of the preservation awards.

    “We really appreciate being recognized,” said Oliver Hirt, who with his father, Bill Hirt, converted the Commodore Perry into an apartment complex with two first-floor clubs. “It's a grand old building with a fantastic history, and we were able to breathe new life into it.”

    Fred Peltier, manager of capital projects at the University of Toledo, said the Doermann Theater, located in University Hall, had not been renovated since it was built in 1930, and by the early 1990s it was used sparingly.

    The university restored the theater in 1995 and the stage in 1997 at a cost of $2 million, and it is now widely used for public events.

    “University Hall is the original building of the university, so the renovation [of Doermann Theater] was very important,” Mr. Peltier said. “We're very honored to receive the award.”