Preservation Champion Virginia Benson to Speak to Hudson Heritage Association

August 22, 2015 – Hudson resident Dr. Virginia O. Benson, recipient of the Cleveland Restoration Society’s prestigious Robert C. Gaede Lifetime Achievement Award in Historic Preservation, will address the September 10 meeting of Hudson Heritage Association on the topic of organizing the preservation community for success. She will touch on the many successes Hudson Heritage has achieved and will challenge the group with a goal for the future.

A 50-year resident of Hudson, Benson was instrumental in transforming the Cleveland Restoration Society into the respected, professional organization it is today and championing its many restoration projects in Cleveland and surrounding communities over the past 30 years.

“The vision really began in the 1980s,” Benson said. “We realized that Cleveland Restoration Society had to be professionalized in order to be successful. We were involved with many preservation projects in the downtown, including Playhouse Square and many of the buildings around Terminal Square.” Today, CRS is recognized across the country for its achievements in historic preservation and renovation.

Benson retired from teaching in 2011 after 31 years at Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, where she taught courses in planning, real estate development and historic preservation. She has served on the boards of North Coast Harbor, Inc., Ohio Historic Sites Preservation Advisory Board and the Cleveland Restoration Society.

She has co-authored two books, “Introduction to Urban Studies” (1995, with Roberta Steinbacher) and “Historic Preservation for Professionals” (2008, with Richard Klein). She also has published in the Appraisal Journal, Growth and Change, and the Gerontologist and Real Estate Issues. She authored the chapter entitled “An Urban Geographer’s Perspective on the Plight of Urban Sacred Landmarks” in the book “Which Future for Which Churches,” published by the University of Quebec in 2006.

The September 10 meeting, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 at the Barlow Community Center. Following the presentation, the meeting will conclude with refreshments. For more information, call 330-342-7996.

Founded in 1962, Hudson Heritage Association works to protect historic buildings, the village streetscape, and the city’s Western Reserve architectural aesthetic. It encourages the preservation of historic buildings by providing research, resources and education to homeowners who wish to maintain their historic homes and co-sponsors the city’s work with the Cleveland Restoration Society. HHA also works with building owners to help them meet historic marker requirements and identifies those buildings with the HHA historic marker. The association shares and celebrates the history of Northeastern Ohio by publishing books and newsletters, conducting workshops and field trips, and hosting monthly meetings that feature local preservationists, historians and craftsmen. For more information, visit hudsonheritage.org.