THE MASONIC BLOCK ARTS + CULTURE HUB

Reactivating a caledonia icon for a new generation

Caledonia’s Masonic Block Building was built in 1897 —following the catastrophic 1896 fire that took out the original three-story wood-frame building that occupied the Southeastern corner of the Public Square. Funded through a joint effort between the downtown merchants who would occupy the building’s three storefronts, & the Oliver Lodge #447 of the Free & Accepted Masons, who would occupy the upstairs, the new Masonic Block Building — like the earlier 1884 Union Block building across E. Marion Street — was a defining mixed-use building of the Village of Caledonia’s glory days: combining the regional commerce the Village became known for, & meeting & ritual spaces for one of the community’s anchoring fraternal organizations, which played a key role in mutual aide & community care in a time before widespread health insurance or pensions.

A brief history of the masonic block building

Throughout the years, the Masonic Block held a variety of businesses: with Kelley (then Trout) Drugstore anchoring the building’s western storefront for much of its first century. Greengrocer Warren Reece opened the original Reece’s Market in the middle storefront in the 1930s; faint lettering spelling out “Reece’s Cash Grocery” is still visible on the building’s distinctive metal lintel. The easternmost storefront was home to an ever-changing number of merchants: most recently, in the 1980s & 1990s, the Noggle’s Family Florist, & Linda’s Cards.

Vacant in large part since 1996, when the Oliver Lodge #447 of Mason’s 99-year lease on the property’s upstairs was over — prompting the Masons to move across the Square to consolidate with the I.O.O.F, in their lodge in the Union Block, the Masonic Block Building is a cornerstone of Caledonia’s Public Square: flanking its sister Temple Block (Reece’s Market) Building with distinctive vernacular Italianate architecture, with 1890s storefront façades adapted to 1950s sensibility. It has a rich past: and an important role to play in the future revitalization of Caledonia.

Historic preservation & adaptive reuse of vacant structures — reimagining them for new purposes — is a cornerstone of downtown revitalization & economic development. Commercial & civic spaces are critical for healthy downtowns: providing distinctive places to shop, eat, learn, & engage. Through a distinctive mix of commercial, retail, food/drink, & experience — all centered around the theme of art, culture, & local history — the Masonic Block’s new purpose will anchor a revitalized, vibrant Caledonia: offering “something for everyone,” & programs & opportunities for the young & old alike: right here on the Public Square.

the masonic block building: preservation planning

Plans for the Masonic Block Building’s restoration & reopening began over a decade ago, & have been gathering steam behind the scenes until construction officially started in 2023! In 2020-2021, Caledonia Northern Folk Studios successful listed the Masonic Block Building to the National Register of Historic Places, along with its sister building, the Temple Block. Together, the buildings were the first village commercial building in all of Marion County to ever be listed to the Register. The Masonic Block made history again when, in December 2022, it was only the second building in all of Marion County awarded over $200,000 in historic tax credits in Round 29 of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, operated by the Ohio Department of Development. This process itself took over a year: with enormous effort by architects, engineers, & contractors, led by the able team at Caledonia Northern Folk Studios. Through the tax credit application process, a comprehensive restoration plan for the Masonic Block Building was outlined for all major building systems — to exacting Secretary of the Interior Standards — & approved by both the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) of Ohio, as well as by the National Park Service: developed in collaboration with Midstate Contractors, Inc. out of Marion, Snider Architects out of Dayton/Memphis, NRG Consulting structural engineering out of Delaware, & Hill Engineering (MEP Engineering) out of Delaware. Outlining the rehabilitation narrative step-by-step, system-by-system with corresponding drawings & plans to SHPO & NPS standards, was an enormous effort; & has set the project up with a blueprint for a transformative two-to-three year restoration: taking the building from shuttered & dormant to fully occupied & open.

the masonic block building restoration: timeline

The Masonic Block Restoration Plan is an almost million-dollar, three-phase effort: scheduled to take place over 2023-2025, & to restore all major building systems to contemporary code for occupancy, while preserving the building’s unique historic character. The project’s major phases & schedule of completion are:

• Phase 1: Masonry Hole Repair — Fall 2023 [Cost: $58,000 || Status: Completed!]

• Phase 2: Roof Replacement, Exterior Masonry Repair, & Parapet Wall Rebuild — Spring + Summer 2024 [Estimated Cost: $250,000 || Status: Architectural // Bidding]

• Phase 3: Façade Restoration + Interior Whiteboxing (including MEP Engineering: Heating, Plumbing, Electric) — Fall 2024 [Estimated Cost: $400,000+ || Status: Post-Phase 2]

• Anticipated Grand Opening: Spring 2025

the masonic block building restoration: FUNDING

Full restoration costs to get the Masonic Block Building to occupancy have been estimated between $800,000-$1,200,000, depending on costs of labor, materials, & contingencies in each restoration phase. The restoration is being funded through a combination of public & private investments: including through the support of a Community Development Block Grant (Phase 1), & a Capital Budget One-Time Strategic Community Investments Fund campaign in the Statehouse, which will be critical for raising the final $400,000 (finishing funds) to launch Phase 3 in July of 2023. Over $400,000 in historic tax credits are available to the project; but must be converted into useable project capital through either syndication or bridge loans, since tax credits only become available after successful completion of a restoration project. The Masonic Block Project is seeking additional donors, investors, & community sponsors who see the value & understand the enormous cost of this transformative project, to help close the financing stack for project Phases 2 + 3. If you or your business is interested in supporting this effort, reach out below.

the masonic block arts + culture hub

The building’s program (end use) is as a community arts & culture hub for the region, providing teaching & workshop space, performance space via an all-ages intimate music performance venue, an artists’ aggregator marketplace (co-operative gift shop for local artists + craftspeople), & a certified commercial kitchen + community café open to the public, & for rental use by community foodways artisans & practitioners in need of a commercial kitchen space to be able to sell their goods, with an attached exhibition & museum space for rotating community history & heritage exhibits. Regional folk & cultural arts non-profit Marion Voices Folklife + Oral History is the intended end-user of the building, which will be placed in a long-term lease to Marion Voices upon completion of restoration, to ensure a viable community arts & culture center for Caledonia & for the region for decades to come.

The future Masonic Block Arts + Culture Hub will serve not just downtown Caledonia from its prominent location on the Public Square, but all of North-Central Ohio. The Masonic Block location is within 15-minutes driving distance of Marion, Mt. Gilead, Galion, & Bucyrus; & is between 20-40 minutes away from several other major cities in the region. The new facility will fulfill a critical need for transformative, accessible arts, culture, & public history programming in Eastern Marion, Western Morrow, & Southern Crawford County, while providing the seven-year old, award-winning Marion Voices with a home base for their transformative regional folk arts organizing efforts.

Community programs the reopened Masonic Block Arts + Culture Hub will offer include:

• Youth arts classes with experienced master folk, traditional, & cultural artists

• Adult folk arts workshops & apprenticeships in genres like sewing, songwriting, crochet, woodcarving, & foodways

• Summer camp experiences for young people K-12: including in folk/traditional arts, local history, & historic preservation

• Shopping for one-of-a-kind, regionally distinctive, handmade art objects

• Performances by regional musicians, songwriters, poets, & spoken word artists, in an intimate community venue

• A rentable certified community foodways kitchen, available to local foodways artists, bakers, & value-added producers

• A co-operative coffeeshop // café featuring distinctive regional North-Central Ohio foodways across cultural traditions

• An exhibit, gallery, & museum space highlighting the work of local artisans & culture keepers, with rotating themed history & heritage exhibits, & space for a Village of Caledonia archives & museum, if the Village of Caledonia is interested in displaying objects & artifacts locally

• Upstairs artists’ & small business co-working space, with offices for Marion Voices; & rentable artists’ studio spaces

The project team will hold public meetings in Spring + Summer 2024, coinciding with the launch of Phase 2 construction, to help brainstorm community needs & interest in the space, & to make sure Phase 3 interior build-out reflects community need, at the intersection of Marion Voices’ regional arts, culture, & history organizing vision.

Ample parking will be available next door at the Reece’s Market Parking Lot.

the masonic block arts + culture hub: Transformative impact

While Marion Voices Folklife + Oral History is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in structure, the Masonic Block Arts + Culture Hub will have transformative economic impact on the Public Square, for the Village of Caledonia, & for the region. Workshops, classes, activity, & sales in the building’s three public storefronts will be a significant revenue generator for the area: creating new jobs & opportunities for local artists, craftspeople, tradition-bearers, culture-keepers, & historians through teaching, performance, workshop, sales, & the community commercial kitchen, while transforming Caledonia’s cultural landscape with year-round, world-class programming. Once the Masonic Block Arts + Culture Hub is up & running in 2025, predicted economic impact to the community & region include:

• $150-$250,000 a year in new jobs & economic opportunity for Caledonia & the region

• 50-70 public shows, performances, workshops, classes, exhibits, & special events per year, activating our downtown & sparking revitalization

• Boosts in tourism, reputation, pride-in-place, & tax base for the Village of Caledonia, the Whetstone River Recreation Corridor, & River Valley Local Schools

why restore the masonic block? community impact

As a transformative, first-of-its-kind downtown commercial building with three distinct storefronts & an upstairs space, the Masonic Block is a catalytic project for the revitalization of downtown Caledonia. Its restoration promises to take downtown Caledonia’s Public Square & North Water Street Historic District from majority vacant to majority occupied. To date, almost $160,000 has been invested in the comprehensive renovation of the Masonic Block, with another major phase of structural work slated to begin once the weather clears in Spring 2024. Community support & contribution is necessary to get this transformative project to the finish line!

get involved & help fund the effort!

Historic preservation is a major effort. The costs, time, & expertise required for a comprehensive restoration project are enormous, & are often prohibitive in small communities like Caledonia. The Masonic Block project has baseline funding for Phase 2: Roof Replacement secured; but is currently seeking sponsors, investors, & donors to secure finishing funds to get the project over the hump & through Phase 3: Façade Restoration & Interior Finishing Work. Marion Voices is currently lobbying to have the Masonic Block Arts + Culture Hub included in the FY2025 Biennum Capital Budget. The project has until July to secure financing thru Phase 3. Community sponsors, investors, & support is very welcome!

Masonic block restoration project progress: Phase zero (Spring 2022) — completed!

Masonic Block Restoration work formally kicked off with a SHPO-approved, before-tax-credit proactive effort to temporarily remove the building’s Western-facing parapet wall. The dentiling of the building’s wall was precisely documented, & the parapetwall was removed to roof level to avoid susceptibility to the strong “walls of wind” that frequently buffet downtown Caledonia during summer storm season due to the unique historic prairie geography of the surrounding Sandusky Plains region. The building’s original chimney stacks along Main Street were also taken down & stored during this pre-restoration phase of work. Bricks from the parapet wall & chimneys are in storage. The structures will be rebuilt as a part of the building’s Phase 2 scheduled for Spring/Summer 2024.

Masonic block restoration project progress: Phase 1 (fall 2023) — completed!

The Masonic Block Restoration Project Phase 1 kicked off in March 2023, & was completed in November 2023. This project phase included urgent structural rehabilitation of a section of exterior masonry work at the rear corner of the building, above the original historic stairway entrance at Main Street. With support of a Community Development Block Grant, three local contractors bid on the work; & Midstate Contractors, Inc — expert restoration contractors — out of Marion, Ohio won the bid. A 9’ x 6” by 14’ 11 3/4” section of original 1890s masonry was deconstructed & rebuilt with new period-appropriate lime mortar; & a custom-welded steel lintel was placed along the wall to hold the new brickwork into place. Phase 1 of the Masonic Block restoration was necessary to support subsequent structural engineering work: namely, a major roof replacement effort that will install a new truss system & 2-ply EDM roof, as a part of the project’s Phase 2, in Summer 2024.

PHASe 2: roof replacement

Phase 2 (Roof Replacement & Parapet Wall Rebuild) will commence in Spring & Summer 2024 once the weather clears, & per available contractors’ construction schedules. This phase of work is expected to complete major structural work required for the building: leave only Phase 3 (Façade Restoration & Interiors) to get the building to full occupancy as the future Masonic Block Arts + Culture Hub … coming to the Public Square in early 2025!

PHASe 3: Façade + Interiors

Phase 3 (Façade Restoration, Mechanicals // Electrical // Plumbing, & Interior Finishes) will commence in Summer 2024, or following the completion of Phase 2 (Roof Replacement). This phase will restore the building’s current patchwork façade (with 1950s elements & a variety of 1970s-2008 vinyl coverings) to period original, 1890s design: restoring the floor-to-ceiling Italianate storefront design that is still found today on some storefronts in the Union Block, & in the Hanley Hotel Building on N. Water Street.

Phase 3 will also cover critical interior improvements necessary to get the building to occupancy for its intended end-use: including a gutting of the building’s three downstairs storefronts (preserving remaining historic fabric, like the middle storefront’s 1930’s shelving) & installation of new, code-compliant plumbing, electrical, & energy-efficient heat pumps. 1890s buildings were not built with centralized force air or furnace systems; & heat pumps are an efficient way to heat these structures.

As a part of Phase 3, bathrooms will be built out in the building’s rear storage area to serve each storefront space; & an ADA-accessible ramp will be designed along the back of the building to allow ease of entry to visitors in wheelchairs and with mobility aides, while preserving the building’s distinctive front limestone step.

Phase 3 will whitebox the building, & ready it for custom build-out & occupancy by Marion Voices Folklife + Oral History in 2025.