Walking through the town square of Painesville, a city of just under 20,000 about 30 miles northeast of Cleveland, it’s almost possible to forget when — not where — you are.
From the imposing brick First Church Congregational church built in 1862 to the copper dome-topped City Hall constructed in 1840 to the white-clapboard municipal court that turns 100 next year, it’s obvious that the city thoroughly embraces and protects its past.
“Painesville is noted for its architectural designs, the old structures that have been around for many, many years,” says Painesville city manager Anthony Carson. “People do like the historic aspect of coming to a community that has kept that ambiance and that look over the years.”
Yet even as residents are drawn to that quaint, family-friendly quality, they are demanding the amenities of modern life, including safer roads, better outfitted police and fire departments, larger and more efficient public buildings and fresh park spaces. Looking to the future while ensuring that Painesville’s rich history is preserved is a difficult balancing act.
“If you want people to be able to come to your city, to live here and to visit, you have to make sure your roads are in good shape, your water and sewer lines, your electric,” says Carson.
The city has worked diligently since 2013 to upgrade its infrastructure. For instance, in just the past three years, Painesville has repaved more streets than in “many, many other years” combined, as Carson puts it. It also hasn’t neglected the improvements that people notice most, such as reconfiguring sidewalks, adding brick-paved pedestrian crossings, building new benches and planting trees and flowers. Area business owners also have gotten involved, refreshing building facades while maintaining historical integrity to help make the city’s primary shopping districts more attractive.
In all, between capital investments and economic incentives, the city of Painesville recently invested more than $1.2 million (funded by state grants) toward beautifying downtown, revitalizing a city that has seen its fair share of economic struggles as shoppers turned toward the highly centralized shopping malls that became popular in the 1960s.
Now those same malls are faltering in favor of quainter, more walkable districts that reflect the personality of a town. And Painesville isn’t alone in capitalizing on these types of improvements, says Carson, who previously was involved in the economic revival of a similar historic community in Berlin, Maryland.
“The same thing had occurred there — the merchants got together, and the town provided some incentives, and you saw a rebirth of that community,” he says. “It’s a national trend happening throughout the country, and I think Painesville is poised and ready to capitalize on it.”
Preservation Projects
Get a look at two other projects that are balancing history with modernity in Painesville.
County Administration Building
In addition to the streetscaping and beautification projects recently completed downtown, the county government — seated in Painesville — is getting on board with plans for upgrades that maintain the historical feel of the city.
“In the early 2000s, we renovated our Lake County Courthouse, which was constructed in 1907” at a total cost of about $15 million, says Jason Boyd, county administrator. Now the county is looking to upgrade its administration building, which was originally a bank.
“Due to the era in which it was constructed, there’s pillars every 12 to 16 feet,” says county commissioner Daniel Troy, which makes meeting space hard to come by and has prevented wholesale modernization of the building’s obsolete audiovisual capabilities.
The new administration building will incorporate an existing building (which is being razed into the plan to allow for more seamless expansion of the historical facade) and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2018 for an estimated $20 million.
“It’s more challenging, but I think people respect the [effort] to preserve the existing building,” Boyd says.
Steele Mansion Inn
Half a decade ago, Painesville’s Steele Mansion, built in 1867 for George Steele, had been condemned by the city and sat vacant, fire-damaged and largely without a roof. Most people assumed the structure would eventually be relegated to a footnote in the history of the town.
But Art and Carol Shamakian saw promise in the form of eight marble fireplaces, a grand walnut staircase, a foot-and-a-half-thick sandstone foundation and more than 20,000 square feet of charm. The Shamakians purchased the property for less than $120,000 and reportedly invested several million dollars and four years nursing the shelled home back to life, reopening as a luxury boutique inn last summer.
“It was a structure that was on the brink of demolition, but now it truly is an establishment that people are coming [to] from far and wide,” says city manager Anthony Carson. “It certainly has been a great addition to the city.”