By 1812Blockhouse
While streetscape work continues in downtown Shelby as a part of that city’s three-part downtown makeover, another major portion of that effort came closer to reality this week.
On Wednesday, construction bids were opened for the new Black Fork Commons Plaza (conceptual images above). Three qualified bids were received, the lowest submitted by Simonson Construction of Ashland.
The Black Fork Commons Plaza will include a fountain/splash feature for kids, a plaza, and a pergola/outdoor fireplace. The price tag is $1.2 million, which has been fully raised. Engineering is underway. The Plaza’s cost is $1.6 million, and it too has been fully funded with 12 local donors. The fundraising was kicked off by the Shelby Foundation’s gift of $250,000.
More…
By 1812Blockhouse
It is very possible that in 2022, the majority of our readers will not immediately recognize the building built by the former Citizens Bank in Shelby, a pacesetting financial institution in its day.
On the other hand, if the name “The Vault” is mentioned instead, many will immediately realize that they not only know where today’s Landmark of Richland is, but that they have actually been inside to consume or beverage.
When the Board of Citizens Bank decided in 1910 to construct a permanent home for their almost 20-year-old institution, they chose a high profile location for that structure – the northwest corner of Main and Washington Streets in the heart of downtown Shelby.
More…Featured, Landmark of Richland, Richland County History, Shelby
By 1812Blockhouse
The long-awaited Shelby streetscape project gets underway this coming week along Main Street.
Phase One of the project begins on Monday and the City is getting the word out about the timeline, street closures, parking, and other timely information. A new website has been launched for that purpose.
The work on Main Street will last for 60 days. During this time, northbound and southbound State Route 61 (Gamble St) at State Route 96 (Main Street), and Richland Avenue will be closed.
More…
By 1812Blockhouse
As anyone knows who is involved in construction these days – from house repair projects to large scale building erection – the costs of materials and the availability of labor are anything but certain.
More than once in north central Ohio over the last few months, those types of considerations have delayed or, in some cases, stopped worthwhile projects from starting.
It is not known at this point why it was the case, but when bids were opened today for the large Black Fork Commons project in downtown Shelby, the two bids received exceeded the estimate to such a degree that they must be rejected. Such was the news coming on social media Friday from veteran Shelby Council member Garland Gates.
More…
From the Shelby Police Department
On Tuesday morning at approximately 9:07 AM, an individual entered the PNC Bank Branch at 29 N. Gamble and slipped a note to the teller demanding cash.
The teller complied with her cash drawer, and the suspect fled the bank on a bicycle. No weapon was seen, and there were no threats of harm.
Photos taken on the scene are below. He appears to be between 5’7″ and 6′ tall, and between 150 and 160 lbs..
More…
By 1812Blockhouse
The revitalization of downtown Shelby continues with the arrival of a new business to Main Street.
Actually, that should perhaps be “new businesses.”
This past week, the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development held a ribbon cutting event for The Little Shops of Shelby, the newest addition to the downtown streetscape. The new store, located at 40 West Main Street, is owned by Connie Roub.
The Little Shops of Shelby features multiple vendors in one shopping venue. It’s a great place to find just the right thing for that someone in your life.
More…
By 1812Blockhouse
By 1812Blockhouse
We continue our look here at 1812Blockhouse into schedules for Richland County football squads this fall.
For the Shelby Whippets under Coach Robert Mahaney, the goal is to repeat the success of the 2020 season. Last year, during the COVID-impacted football fall, the team finished 9-1, with a 5-0 MOAC conference record.
This year, Shelby has a typical non-conference slate, facing Mansfield Madison, Lexington, and Bellevue in the first three weeks of the 2021 season.
The complete list of games is as follows:
All games begin at 7 PM.
The Whippets recently announced team captains for the year:
#WhippetFB https://t.co/S8LizPfhut
— Shelby Athletics (@scsathletics1) August 3, 2021
By 1812Blockhouse
It’s hard to imagine getting through a hot, humid Ohio summer without the benefit of a wonderful shade tree — and our state has its fair share of them!
Across the country, and Ohio, some cities make the effort to capitalize on these unique natural assets through the Tree City USA program. According to its website, the initiative has been greening up cities and towns across America since 1976. It is a nationwide movement that provides the framework necessary for communities to manage and expand their public trees.
More than 3,400 communities have become a Tree City USA by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day.
This week, the City of Shelby received news that it had been recognized as a Tree City USA for the 38th consecutive year (see below). More…
Richland County plans to replace a single span bridge on Smiley Avenue within the City of Shelby.
This is an ODOT LPA project located on Smiley Ave (CR57) within the City of Shelby. The location can be found here.
The proposed project consists of replacing a single span steel pony truss bridge with a single span composite prestressed precast concrete box beam bridge on pile supported reinforced concrete integral abutments. The proposed structure will be 87 feet long, 24 feet of vehicle lane width, with 5 foot sidewalks on each side of the bridge More…
By 1812Blockhouse
When the 2021 List of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites was recently announced by Preservation Ohio, Ohio’s original statewide preservation organization, a Richland County building was included.
Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites is unique in that it highlights historic buildings and sites submitted from local citizens and advocates, each hoping to bring attention and to identify ways to give important historic properties a future. Out of the many properties nominated this year, Preservation Ohio’s board was tasked with choosing the most at risk. Eleven properties representing all areas of Ohio are included in this years edition.
This list has been issued since 1993 — first every other year, and then annually. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
We’re doing a bit of a “spin” today on one of our standard series.
Throughout the lasts five years, we have highlighted stories of visits to Mansfield by important figures of literary, academic, artistic, and political history in a series we call “When Mansfield Welcomed.” Through those posts, we have looked back in time to consider all of the well-known individuals who have stopped in the city.
There are, of course, other communities in Richland County, and in fact one was well-positioned on the main railroad line between Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati — basically the “I71” of its day, a line which would come to be called the Big Four Railroad. More…
Featured, Richland County History, Shelby History, When Richland Welcomed
Special to 1812Blockhouse
The Renaissance Theatre will host the first of two outdoor Teddy Bear Concerts on Sunday, May 23 at 2:30 PM in downtown Shelby.
A part of the 2020-2021 Mechanics Bank Education Series, the outdoor concerts mark the return of the popular live concert experiences for young audiences and their families, which were put on hold due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The performance features the story of Aladdin’s Lamp, adapted by Artistic Director Michael Thomas in an engaging musical adaptation which features audience participation, interactive storytelling with local actors, and an array of fun music provided by the String Trio featuring Mansfield Symphony musicians. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
We don’t know about you, but we here at 1812Blockhouse are fond of occasional window-shopping… of houses. One of the favorite ways to do so back in the day was the Haring Realty Home Show, on each Sunday on WMFD-TV.
Richland County is, of course, home to a rich variety of houses of all types, prices, and sizes. From time to time, almost all of them become available on the market for interested buyers.
This post is the latest in a series here on 1812Blockhouse called “Richland Houses.” With each post, we share a sampling of what is now on the market that fit a particular description. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
This church building is testament to faith and resilience.
The present First Presbyterian Church of Shelby, located on North Gamble Street, has occupied this spot for the last 115 years. It stands on the lot to the south of the Post Office Building, the subject of another recent post in this series.
The fact that it exists, however, is rather miraculous.
Presbyterians first met in the Shelby area in the early 1820s. After a couple of initial locations, the congregation built a church on South Broadway in 1851. More…
Featured, Landmarks, Landmarks of Richland, Richland County History
By 1812Blockhouse
In a tweet and Facebook page post on Thursday evening, Shelby City Schools shared an artists view of the planned athletic complex (see below), together with the following:
“After many, many months of research, meetings, discussions and planning, the Shelby City School District (SCSD) is moving forward with the financing of a new, $4 million dollar athletic complex that will be located at the site of the present-day track facility.” – Superintendent Tim Tarvin More…