Progress Through Preservation of Greater Akron

06/14/2026

🌿🏛️ Explore Akron’s canal-era past with Progress Through Preservation!

Join us on **Sunday, July 12** for a guided tour of the historic Mustill Store and Cascade Locks. Choose between our **4 PM Store + Hiking Tour** or **5 PM Store Only Tour** and discover the stories, people, and preservation efforts that saved this remarkable landmark.

RSVP required. Scan the QR code on the flyer or visit the “Tickets” link in our Facebook event.

06/11/2026

A rare preservation opportunity has emerged in Akron.

The historic Leonora Hall, a landmark at the corner of North Portage Path and Edgerton Road in Highland Square, is now being offered for sale. Originally constructed in 1918 as the elegant Kerch Mansion, the stately residence has stood watch over one of Akron's most beloved neighborhoods for more than a century.

In 1946, the property began a new chapter when the Daughters of Divine Charity transformed the mansion into Leonora Hall, providing a safe and welcoming home for generations of women and students. For nearly 80 years, the building has served not only as an architectural landmark but also as a place of compassion, community, and purpose.

As Leonora Hall seeks its next steward, we are reminded that preservation is about more than saving bricks and mortar. It is about carrying forward the stories, craftsmanship, and community connections that give a place meaning. From boutique lodging and event space to educational, cultural, residential, or institutional uses, the possibilities for thoughtful adaptive reuse are numerous.

At a time when communities across Ohio are grappling with the future of their historic places, Leonora Hall presents a compelling opportunity to show how preservation and reinvestment can work together. With vision and stewardship, this Akron landmark can continue serving the community while honoring the generations who came before us.

Who will write the next chapter of this Akron treasure?

The site was originally a mansion built in 1918 for a prominent Akron businessman, but was added to over the following decades.

06/06/2026

🍸From Stagecoaches to Speakeasies

Step inside one of Richfield’s most remarkable historic landmarks and discover the story behind Olesia’s Taverne.

Built in 1886 as a stagecoach stop and tavern along the Cleveland-Akron route, this beautifully restored building has welcomed travelers and locals for nearly 140 years.

Join us for a guided tour exploring its history, architecture, and transformation into one of Summit County’s most unique gathering places.

After the tour, stay and enjoy drinks and appetizers available for purchase on the patio.

📅 June 9th at 5:00 PM

RSVP via the “Tickets” link in our Facebook event or scan the QR code on the flyer by Sunday, June 7th to reserve your spot!

05/30/2026

Two Hudson treasures. Two powerful preservation stories.

Congratulations to the Baldwin Buss Merino House and the Colonel S.D. and Marion Harris House, recipients of 2026 Architectural Heritage Awards.

The Baldwin Buss Merino House tells a story nearly two centuries in the making. Built in 1825 and stewarded by generations of Hudson families, its future was uncertain only a few years ago. Thanks to the dedication of local preservation advocates, the Baldwin-Buss House Foundation, and the partnership of Peg's Foundation this remarkable landmark was restored and given new life as a vibrant space for art, gatherings, and community engagement.

The Colonel S.D. and Marion Harris House preserves another important chapter of Hudson’s architectural and civic history. Built in the 1870s, the Folk Victorian Gothic home reflects the character and craftsmanship that help define the community’s historic landscape.

Congratulations to all of this year’s Architectural Heritage Award recipients for demonstrating what is possible when stewardship, vision, and community come together.

Summit County Historical Society

The Baldwin Buss Merino House and Colonel S.D. and Marion Harris House were among the 12 properties honored this year.

05/28/2026

Recently recognized with the 2026 Architectural Heritage Award from the Summit County Historical Society & Progress Through Preservation, the Colonel S.D. and Marion Harris House in Hudson stands as a remarkable example of preservation done right.

Built in 1876 by Col. Sullivan D. Harris, a Mexican War veteran and editor of the “Ohio Farmer” newspaper, the Folk-Gothic Victorian home at 374 N. Main Street has remained a striking part of Hudson’s historic landscape for nearly 150 years.

Current homeowners Mica Campbell and David Morris undertook a thoughtful restoration that carefully balanced historic character with modern livability, preserving original features like wide-plank hardwood floors, gothic-arched doorways, leaded glass windows, ornate trimwork, and the home’s distinctive clipped gable roofline. Their stewardship and vision were recently honored through this year’s Architectural Heritage Award recognition.

Now listed for sale, the home enters a new chapter - offering an opportunity not only to own a beautiful historic property, but to become part of its continuing story.

🏡 An open house is scheduled for Sunday from 12–2 PM.

Preservation keeps our local legacy alive. Homes like this remind us that historic places are not simply relics of the past - they are living connections to the people, craftsmanship, and stories that continue to shape our communities today.

Keller Williams Living Katie Madio - Realtor - Northeast, Ohio

The Folk-Gothic Victorian on North Main Street recently won an Architectural Heritage Award from the Summit County Historical Society.

05/16/2026

Projects like the reimagining of Quaker Square show what can happen when communities fully explore the tools available for complex historic sites.

Ohio’s Brownfield Remediation Program is helping unlock redevelopment across the region — supporting environmental cleanup, assessments, phased remediation strategies, and adaptive reuse planning for historic and industrial properties in places like Akron, Ravenna, Canton, Medina, and beyond.

At Quaker Square, state brownfield funding is being used not simply to clear land, but to prepare a historic complex for a new future: housing, hotel space, offices, retail, and public gathering spaces.

That broader approach matters.

For legacy cities like Akron, these kinds of programs can create pathways to address environmental challenges while still preserving opportunities for reinvestment, adaptive reuse, job creation, and long-term community value.

As conversations continue around sites like Firestone Plant 1, examples like this highlight the importance of fully exploring available environmental remediation resources, phased cleanup strategies, and redevelopment tools before irreversible decisions are made.

Historic industrial sites are complicated — but complexity can also create opportunity when paired with vision, partnership, and a willingness to explore every possible pathway forward.

The state of Ohio has announced brownfield remediation grants for projects in and around Akron – including to help the redevelopment of Quaker Square. See link below ⬇️

📸 Lisa Scalfaro, Akron Beacon Journal

05/15/2026

Partnerships like these are helping communities reimagine the future of historic downtowns across Ohio.

Through collaboration, strategic planning, and investment, underutilized historic buildings can become catalysts for new housing, new businesses, and renewed community energy. That’s especially important for legacy cities like Akron and communities throughout the region, where historic building stock remains one of our greatest assets.

Adaptive reuse succeeds when organizations, municipalities, developers, preservation advocates, and community partners work together to create pathways forward — not just for individual buildings, but for long-term revitalization.

Ohio’s historic places still hold tremendous potential. Posts like this are an encouraging reminder of what thoughtful partnerships and shared vision can make possible.

05/15/2026

We’re proud to partner with the Summit County Historical Society in celebrating this year’s Architectural Heritage Award recipients this Sunday at the Akron Woman’s City Club.

This year’s honorees reflect the many ways preservation carries history forward—from the restored “Transfiguration” Tiffany stained-glass window and Akron History Center to historic homes, farmhouses, and barns across Summit County.

Congratulations to all of this year’s recipients and stewards of place:

✨ Akron History Center
✨ Restoration of the “Transfiguration” Tiffany Window
✨ Strawberry Fields
✨ Baldwin Buss Merino House
✨ Oviatt House
✨ Tim Franklin Farmhouse
✨ Michael Ackermann Farmhouse
✨ Merrill (Taylor) House
✨ Keyser-Swain House
✨ Colonel S.D. & Marion Harris House
✨ 1890 Smith Family Barn

Tickets are still available for Sunday’s 1:00 PM brunch & awards program.

Reserve your seat: bit.ly/AHA26Tix

05/07/2026

From Tiffany stained glass to historic farmhouses, storefronts to Victorian homes—this year’s Architectural Heritage Awards celebrate the many ways preservation carries history forward.

Join us as we honor an exceptional group of projects and stewards helping shape Summit County’s architectural legacy, including the restored St. Paul’s “Transfiguration” Tiffany window, the Akron History Center, PEG’S Gallery / Baldwin-Buss-Merino House, the Keyser-Swain farmhouse and more.

📍 The Akron Woman’s City Club
📅 Sunday, May 17
🕐 1:00 PM

Tickets are $40 per person and include brunch & presentation.

Reserve your seat by clicking the tickets link on our Facebook event, using the QR code on the flyer, or, if you would like to pay at the door, call 330-535-1120.

Summit County Historical Society

05/04/2026

Barberton is doing something important here - starting with what’s possible.
Early, strategic investment.

Positioning a historic building for what comes next.

Creating the conditions for redevelopment - not waiting for it to appear.

This is how momentum is built.

Projects like the Tracy Building show that revitalization doesn’t begin at the finish line - it begins with thoughtful, phased steps that make future use achievable.

It’s a reminder that legacy buildings aren’t barriers.

With the right approach, they’re foundations for what’s next.