Thursday, March 30, 2006

Cozad-Bates House, in University Circle

I was pleased to note that a citizens group, Restore Cleveland Hope, has stepped forward to champion the preservation of the historic Cozad-Bates House, on Mayfield Road, just off Euclid, in University Circle. The house has been empty for years and looking more and more vulnerable to being torn down for some future University Hospital expansion. In a Plain Dealer article on Sunday, March 26th (see also this earlier article), Councilman Kevin Conwell is quoted as saying that the Landmarks Commission will hold a hearing about the building on Friday, April 7th, at Cleveland City Hall. It is the only pre-Civil War house standing in the University Circle area and is thought to have served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

But that aside, the preservation of the Cozad-Bates House would provide an important link back to the early days of the city's important Doan's Corners settlement. Before the universities, the hospitals, the art museum, the symphony and even before the Lake View Cemetery and Little Italy, pioneer families like the Cozads, Fords, Dutys and others made this the economic hub and transportation gateway from Cleveland's east side and some monument to that era should be preserved.

I note that the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission blog posted some informtation about this too, on March 30th. Also addressing this story is an article on the WCPN website.

posted by Bill Barrow @ 5:54:00 PM