Commissioners OK funding for Westinghouse memorial project

Al Lawrence
·5 min read
This is the doorframe of the former Westinghouse "A" building that historic preservation groups want to save as a monument to Westinghouse, manufacturing history, and women in the workforce. The building at 200 E. Fifth St. is slated to be demolished.
This is the doorframe of the former Westinghouse "A" building that historic preservation groups want to save as a monument to Westinghouse, manufacturing history, and women in the workforce. The building at 200 E. Fifth St. is slated to be demolished.

A proposal to turn the entranceway of the soon-to-be demolished former Westinghouse “A” building on East Fifth Street in Mansfield into a monument now has financial backing to carry out the project.

The Richland County commissioners voted Thursday to allocate financial resources of up to the full $125,000 estimated cost to deconstruct the entrance and reconstruct it on the site after the demolition work is complete.

The project was proposed as a way to mitigate the demolition of the building, which has been determined by the state to have historical significance because of its association with Westinghouse, Mansfield’s manufacturing history and the history of women in the work force.

The review was required because the Richland County Land Bank has received state funds to demolish the building and remove the concrete and remediate the 14 acre site where the rest of the Westinghouse plant once stood.

Downtown Mansfield Inc. CEO Jennifer Kime repeated a PowerPoint presentation that was made to the Land Bank on May 3 showing the history of the building, including pictures of the women who made “Cozy Glow” space heaters on the first floor, served as company ambassadors and were community leaders. She pointed out although the doorway is not a fancy design, it was a prominent feature of the building that even was used in a company newsletter.

The historic doorframe at the Westinghouse ''A" Building is being proposed as a monument at the site to honor Westinghouse, manufacturing in Mansfield and the "Westinghouse Girls" who worked in the "A" Building.
The historic doorframe at the Westinghouse ''A" Building is being proposed as a monument at the site to honor Westinghouse, manufacturing in Mansfield and the "Westinghouse Girls" who worked in the "A" Building.

Concept is to reconstruct stone doorway frame, brick facade

Richland County Historical Society representative Alan Wigton said the concept for the project is to reconstruct the stone doorway frame with its brick façade on a supporting wall on a small section of the shop floor somewhere on the “A” building site in order for the monument to maintain more of an historical significance.

“The original idea was to not tear this down and to leave this much of it, supported somehow, in place but nobody has bought into that being possible,” he said. “All advise that it needs to be taken apart before demolition and then reconstructed.”

Wigton said officials are not sure if the project will be able to use the current bricks around the entrance arch because they have been told the cost of cleaning them up for reuse could be 10 times the cost per brick compared to new brick that would closely match the original.

Commissioners’ Chairman Tony Vero said he does not believe having the monument on the site would hinder future development plans because the parcel on which the “A” building sits is three-tenths of an acre while the rest of the former Westinghouse redevelopment area is 14 acres. He suggested a developer could even incorporate it into a project design as a park or gathering area.

Opportunity for unions to get involved

Kime said Land Bank officials have been working with local unions to identify contractors and preservation consultants for quotes and estimates. She said there are “lots” of opportunities for local unions to be involved in the project moving forward if they want to have other pieces in it, noting there were many unions involved with the Westinghouse operation in Mansfield.

The City of Mansfield Historic Preservation Commission, the Mansfield Memorial Museum and Mansfield Industrial Museum also have consulted on the project.

Kime said the City of Mansfield has been open to discussing future ownership of the property and project funding but needs to discuss the issues with city council. Deconstruction needs to be done before demolition starts, which is expected to be in October.

The $125,000 cost figure is for engineering, deconstruction, reconstruction and history research for the plaque. County Business Manager Andrew Keller said that while it is not likely that the project can be funded with American Rescue Plan Act funds, the county is allowed by law to appropriate general fund money to the Land Bank, which currently owns the property.

“We have a lot of industrial properties in town that are all really important but Westinghouse, undoubtedly, was a real cornerstone of our community for a long time,” Kime said. “The community feels a deep connection to Westinghouse and we lost so much of this already, so it’s almost like one of the last chances to really do something generational for the people to reflect on.”

Courthouse lights restoration supported

A photo of the Richland County Courthouse from the late 1960s that show the original globe lights.
A photo of the Richland County Courthouse from the late 1960s that show the original globe lights.

On a separate historic preservation issue, Wigton and Kime were asked their thoughts on a suggestion from a local resident to restore globe lights that hung from the portico of the Richland County Courthouse when it was built but were taken down a number of years ago because they were cheap plastic and very weathered.

The resident pointed out that building is the only courthouse or county office building in Ohio that was built in that time period and that the community should embrace the building’s history while improvements abeing made to it.

Kime said the courthouse is unique with really interesting architectural details and features and that restoring the globe lights would be a “huge” aesthetic help to the building. Wigton noted while the building has received “flack” for its design, its “new formalism” style was “a product of its time” and is similar to the former United Telephone headquarters building on Lexington Avenue.

Other business: Roof replacement at fairgrounds

In other business, commissioners opened bids for a roof replacement program at the Richland County Fairgrounds that includes Fairhaven Hall and the Arts and Crafts and Youth buildings. The apparent low bid of $596,060 came from R.J. Kirkland of Willoughby while the highest of the six submitted was $1,074,000 from Kalkreuth Roofing of Wheeling, West Virginia.

The engineer’s estimate was $699,000. The cost will be paid with ARPA funds designated for revenue recovery.

Commissioners also opened bids for installation of an emergency generator at a sewage lift station near the intersection of Ohio 39 and South Stewart Road. Lake Erie Electric of Mansfield submitted the only bid of $101,145. The engineer’s estimate for the second time the project was bid was $110,000.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Commissioners agree to fund Westinghouse entryway memorial project