TIFFIN, OHIO – November21, 2024 Downtown Tiffin, under the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership, hosted a two-day Heritage Ohio “Preservation Assessment Workshop” on November 18 and 19. This event brought together community members and experts to focus on maintaining and preserving Tiffin’s historic buildings.
The first day featured an evening lecture at The Empire 138, delivered by David Mertz, a preservation specialist and former director of Belmont College’s renowned Building Preservation/Restoration Program. Mertz provided valuable insights into maintaining historic structures, followed by a Q&A session. The lecture was attended by more than 20 community members, including representatives from the Tiffin Historic Trust, Tiffin City Council, Mayor Wilkinson, local contractors, architects, and property owners. The Reineke/Reinbolt Family and the Tiffin Historic Trust generously sponsored the workshop.
On the second day, a team toured five historic properties in Tiffin to provide detailed preservation assessments. The group included David Mertz, Frank Quinn (Heritage Ohio Director of Preservation), Devin Miles (Heritage Ohio), Donna Gross (Downtown Tiffin Main Street Manager), Noah Paris (Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership), and building owners. The properties included:
- 297 E. Perry Street (Heidelberg University Octagon House)
- 52 E. Perry Street (Kildow Building)
- 95 S. Monroe Street
- 33 S. Washington Street
- 131 S. Washington Street
The building owners will receive comprehensive assessment reports from Heritage Ohio with recommendations for addressing maintenance needs.
"It was an honor to host the Heritage Ohio Historic Preservation workshop here in Tiffin," said Mayor Wilkinson. "This event highlights the rich history and architectural treasures of our community, offering an opportunity to learn from preservation experts while showcasing the incredible work being done to maintain and celebrate our historic buildings."
The Preservation Assessment Workshops are made possible through the support of the State of Ohio. For more information about Heritage Ohio’s historic preservation programs, contact Frank Quinn at fquinn@heritageohio.org.
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About Downtown Tiffin
The revitalization of downtown Tiffin began in 2011, when a group of community members came together to form “Tiffin Tomorrow”, with the goal of promoting and encouraging economic development in Downtown Tiffin, and creating plans, programs, and actions to ensure long-term vitality and prosperity. In 2014, the City of Tiffin contracted with SIEDC to act as the downtown organization and “Tiffin Tomorrow” came under the SIEDC (now TSEP) umbrella as the “Downtown Development Board,” which serves as the governing board of the downtown organization. In 2015, Tiffin joined Heritage Ohio’s Main Street Program. For more information, click here.
About Heritage Ohio
Heritage Ohio promotes economic growth through the preservation and revitalization of downtowns and neighborhoods across Ohio. Heritage Ohio is the coordinating agency for the Ohio Main Street Program and is the designated statewide Ohio preservation partner with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Through saving the places that matter we can all build a community and live better. Learn more about how to become involved by visiting www.heritageohio.org.
About Main Street America
Main Street America leads a movement committed to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. For more than 40 years, Main Street America has provided a practical, adaptable, and impactful framework for community-driven, comprehensive revitalization through the Main Street Approach™. Our network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have generated more than $101.58 billion in new public and private investment, generated 168,693 net new businesses and 746,897 net new jobs, rehabilitated more than 325,119 buildings, and levered over 33.7 million volunteer hours. Main Street America is a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit mainstreet.org.
