Developments over the past year concerning The Ridges, the former Athens Lunatic Asylum, have hinted that Ohio University might be interested in preserving the historic site and not tearing it down, at least entirely.
The Ridges, about 665 acres of buildings, forest, fields and trails the university has owned since 1988, sits on hills south of OU across the Hocking River. In 2013, the future of the site became a flashpoint between the university and Athens locals as OU proceeded to demolish an abandoned building up a hill from The Ridges' main complex of buildings.
University officials said that structure, Building 26, also known as the former TB ward and Beacon School, was an aging menace to the community that needed to be removed.
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Those concerned with the building's destruction, including local politicians, historic preservationists and former OU employees, said the community should have a role in deciding The Ridges' future. Further, some said they felt the university was openly ignoring their input. The situation led to a fear among some that the university might be planning to tear down more buildings.
Since the demolition in March 2013 — which cost OU $450,000 — the university seems to have changed direction.
The university has created an advisory committee to seek local input, hired a firm specializing in historic preservation to assist in creation of The Ridges Master Plan and is pushing the words “historic preservation” through its public relations efforts. In the meantime, the administrator who spearheaded the demolition of Building 26 has left OU.
That’s a significant reversal, given that Preservation Ohio, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of Ohio’s historic resources, deemed The Ridges one of the state’s most endangered historic places in 2013 with a “risky future due to demolition, disinvestment or indifference.”
?Seeking local input
Last July, OU President Roderick McDavis announced the creation of The Ridges Master Planning Committee, with various subcommittees, to create The Ridges Master Plan to spell out the site’s future. At the same time, McDavis announced he was creating The Ridges Advisory Committee, currently made up of Athens’ city planner, a county commissioner, a retired architect and the former vice-president of the Athens County Historical Society. It’s chaired by OU’s Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Golding.
The advisory committee’s creation stemmed from more than sympathy to local concerns — the advisory committee, a group of local and OU representatives who met between 1988 and 1991, was tasked with recommending ways the university could use The Ridges. Though it ceased meeting in 1991, the committee was never dissolved. A newer version of the committee was set in stone in the state budget last summer and started meeting last fall.
?Hiring a firm that loves old buildings
Now, the university has announced a meet and greet with Schooley Caldwell Associates, a Columbus-based architectural and engineering firm with a deep background in historic preservation. The university recently announced SCA will be aiding OU in creating The Ridges Master Plan.
SCA has a clear commitment to historic preservation — the firm has restored four state capital buildings, including Ohio’s, along with libraries, museums, schools and a federal courthouse. The biography of the firm’s president and CEO highlights his commitment to keeping old buildings standing.
Hiring a firm that specializes in historic preservation to plan The Ridges future does not guarantee more buildings will not be torn down. But it could be sending a signal about the university’s intentions.
The meet and greet is Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Building 21 at The Ridges.
Other developments
Last Friday, the university published an article in Compass making a case for how historically important buildings at The Ridges are. It focuses on The Ridges Kirkbride buildings, which house the Kennedy Art Museum, and their 19th century uses for treating mentally ill patients.
The article also states that “the (Ridges) master plan will highlight strategies the university could take to preserve, sustain and renovate The Ridges in a way that benefits both the community and university.” It makes no mention of demolishing any more buildings at the site and is just one example of university communications that support the idea of preserving The Ridges.
Also recently, Harry Wyatt, OU’s former associate vice president for Facilities, left the university for a similar job at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Last winter, Wyatt, an architect, lost some control over the Facilities department he ran since 2008 when he was appointed associate vice president for architecture, design and construction. Joseph Lalley, senior associate vice president for information technologies and administrative services, took direct oversight over all Facilities departments not related to design and construction.
When The Ridges Master Planning Committee was created, McDavis named Wyatt, the university administrator who took the lead in justifying destroying Building 26, as its chair.
Now, Joseph Shields, vice president for research and creative activity and dean of the Graduate College, and Shawna Bolin, director of university planning and space management, will lead the committee.
Lalley will be the city of Athens' point of contact.
dd195710@ohiou.edu
