It will soon be May and that must mean that it is time for the annual Ohio City Home Tour. We say that this year marks the 24th anniversary of this traditional Ohio City event, but is that true? Some reflections upon history tell the story of how this signature event has helped to catalyze and promote the redevelopment of our neighborhood.

Since the 1970s there have been home tours in Ohio City. Originally, the Ohio City House & Garden Tours were private enterprises conceived and con-ducted by Bruce Heddersen and Carol Lieblinger-Heddersen to demonstrate the progress made by the early urban pioneers in Ohio City. Just as with the modern tour, it was a means of show-ing off Ohio City to hundreds of visitors who came from out of town and from the suburbs to see living Cleveland history and the positive changes wrought in an inner-city neighborhood. In 1982, these Ohio City House & Garden Tours donated to the neighborhood the plaque on the side of Heck’s Café, which tells the history of Ohio City.

Some years the Tour was held and some years it was not. Sometime in the mid-80’s a group of Ohio City “mov-ers and shakers” were meeting to plan another event and the conversation turned to resurrecting the home tour. Paula Slimak became the chair of the event and a new incarnation of the Ohio City Home Tour was off and running.

The Ohio City Home and Art Show officially became an annual event in 1989 (although there were Tours in 1987 and 1988) with all profits going to Ohio City Incorporated and its precursor
organizations: Ohio City Redevelop-ment Association, Ohio City Develop-ment Corporation and Ohio City Near West Development Corporation.

Starting in 1989, the Tour took on features that will be familiar to tour-goers today. Chief among them are the third weekend in May date, Lolly the Trolley providing transportation, and both a garden and commercial stop. In addition to these now famil-iar attributes, there have also been art shows and antique fairs as a part of the Home Tour.

Frequently the Tour has featured an “in-progress” stop showing what it takes to bring back a long neglected or muddled structure. One such “in-progress” house is located at 3900 Bridge Avenue. In 1993, Doug and Judy Kohout showed off both finished and in-progress work on their home, and then in 1996 they displayed the com-pleted work. This wonderful Victorian, now owned by Greg Walland and John Peterson, was again featured in 2009.

The commercial stops also reflect the continuing evolution of Ohio City. In 1990, two commercial structures were on the Tour. They were the old Firehouse #4 at 1455 W. 29th St., then an artist studio, and Ron Dewey’s sculp-ture studio at 1460 W. 29th St. The sculpture studio was in itself symbolic of the rebirth of Ohio City, as it began life as a transformer station for the old Cleveland Railroad Company.

Both of these structures are again in the news as the old transformer station is set to become new gallery space for the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the old firehouse is now the home of North Water Partners, Kloud9, and CoWork Cleveland, a virtual office space, and the future home of Rising Star Coffee Roasters. The Firehouse will again be featured during this year’s Weekend in Ohio City. The changes in use of these two historic structures reflect the continuing transformation of Ohio City.

Just as the commercial spaces are changing to modern uses, the homes on the Tour have changed from being old and historic to also being newly constructed and new interpretations of historic homes. Today, the featured properties reflect the greater variety of styles and sizes now available in Ohio City.

In 1994, the Ohio City Home Tour added Evening in Ohio City to the Home Tour weekend and Weekend in Ohio City was born. When first con-ceived, one committee member com-plained that “no one will pay $25 to see six houses!” Today, 19 years later, a ticket to Evening in Ohio City is a much sought after prize.

In time, the Tour has introduced thousands of people to Ohio City, including many who have decided that Ohio City is where they want to live. A fair number have packed up and moved here, becoming ingrained in the community. The original goal of showing off Ohio City and demonstrating commitment to the neighborhood continues to this day.

Over the years hundreds of people have helped plan and run the Ohio City Home Tour. Even at the risk of leaving people out and offending someone, a few of these people are: Hap Gray, Elaine Murphy, Linda Malik, Jim Malik, Anita Woodward, Jim Woodward, Roy Pogalis, Mark Lastition, Paula Slimak,Thom Geist, Christopher Leo, Greg Walland, John Peterson, Rae Ann Fowler, Anne Bloomberg, Keith Konaje-ski, Doug Kohout, Judy Kohout, Bernie Thiel, Angela Hummel, Ed Small, Dave Dennis, Gus LoPresti, Jim Mahon, Alan Fodor, Lesa Hess, Bob Shores, Charles Davis, Cristine Hoffmann, Ben Hoff-mann, Cris Filmer, Julie Kurtock, and many, many more. This year’s committee includes Becky Astrop, Amanda Wilden, Luis Hernandez, Virginia Houston, Susan Muglich, Rick Advey, Andrew Blank, Troy Piper, James Barnes, and Margaret Latch.

This year Weekend in Ohio City is again the third weekend in May (May 19th and 20th), and again will feature Lolly the Trolley, garden and commer-cial stops, and perhaps an in-progress
stop. An important tradition that will continue is the sponsorship and sup-port of Lutheran Hospital, Dave’s Mar-ket, and Great Lakes Brewing Com-pany (and more to come!). Weekend in Ohio City would not be possible with-out the support of our wonderful and generous homeowners, volunteers, restaurants, and businesses that all work together to make the weekend successful and to make Ohio City the dynamic place it is today.

This spirit has been reflected in the Tour from the beginning and continues to this day, whether the Tour is in its 24th year or its 40th.