Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact Information:

Thomas Palmer, Executive Director

Preservation Ohio
31 East High Street, Suite 400 – Springfield, Ohio 45502
Phone: 614.437.8393 – E-Mail: tpalmer@preservationohio.org

Preservation Ohio Urges Preservation of Downtown Hamilton Building

Springfield, Ohio (September 29, 2009). Preservation Ohio, Ohio’s oldest statewide
preservation organization, is asking the owner of the landmark Hamilton Center buildings in
downtown Hamilton, as well as city officials, to work for preservation of a resource which is not
only an importance piece of local history, but also a key element of any future downtown
revitalization initiative.

The Hamilton Center, originally known as the Mehrum and Lindley Blocks, dates for the most
part from the first decade of the 20th century, with the metal front added in the 1970s. The
original façade still exists and the buildings represent an important and unique piece of local
architectural and civic history. Perhaps more importantly, the Center complex is one of the
largest and most character-defining buildings remaining on High Street, and loss of the Hamilton
Center buildings would deal a severe blow to downtown retaining a sense of character so vital
to successful revitalization efforts.

It is interesting to note that reports of the current situation with the building point only to pieces
of the façade coming loose; there is nothing reported to indicate that the structure itself is in any
danger of collapse. Demolishing an entire historic building is irreversible; doing so without taking
the time to fully assess the issue involved, which may well be minor, would be an unfortunate
and potentially catastrophic step. Hamilton’s downtown overlay district ordinance would be
rendered largely moot if buildings can be demolished quickly without documenting their actual
condition.

Preservation Ohio is well acquainted with downtown Hamilton. In the 1990s, our organization,
then operating under our corporate name of Ohio Preservation Alliance, Inc., took ownership of
and guided the Anthony Wayne Hotel building into safe hands. We also currently hold historic
conservation easements in the Rossville neighborhood, immediately adjacent to downtown. We
visited Hamilton earlier this year, and spent some time looking over the Hamilton Center
buildings.

Because of the importance of the Hamilton Center not only to Hamilton but also the region, the
buildings were placed on the list of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites in 2007, and have
remained on the list in both the 2008 and 2009 editions. Preservation Ohio has issued the list of
Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites since 1993 as a means of highlighting properties which
are both historically important and substantially threatened – by actual demolition, demolition by
neglect, or other means.

Preservation Ohio was founded in 1982 as Ohio’s statewide preservation organization. Original
trustees of the organization included the current Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court,
Thomas Moyer, as well as Franklin Conaway, lead of the renovation team for the Seneca
County Courthouse in Tiffin. Through education, advocacy and partnership, Preservation Ohio
promotes a future for Ohio’s rich collection of historic resources, believing them to be a means
for economic development and also for maintaining a high quality of life.

END.