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To welcome them to our neighborhood and to introduce them to some of our most involved members and residents, we hosted a New Member Reception on November 20. Here are photos, taken by Russ Arledge:

The German Village Society Meeting Haus opened a first-of-its-kind art show, which is open to the public now through December 11. German Village worked with the Central Ohio Watercolor Society are hosting the COWS show called “New Traditions.”

Internationally recognized artist Frank Webb visited central Ohio on November 4-5 to serve as juror and instructor during the COWS workshop at Brent Warner Fest Hall in the Meeting Haus.

Frank Webb presented his watercolor painting “Sugar Shack” as a donation to GVS to be used in a silent auction, now under way at the Meeting Haus. Below, Webb presents “Sugar Shack” to GVS  Operations Manager Russ Arledge. ”Sugar Shack” is painted in the layered method, which allows the paint to dry between layers. Sugar shacks, where maple syrup is processed, may be found anywhere from northern Ohio to Maine.

Prize money from $50-$500 was awarded to chosen artists during the public opening reception on November 13.

The winners are:
German Village Choice Award: Annette Salrin “Shear Me Not”
Best of Show: Betty Thompson “Koi #1”
Place: Sally Ford-Lyles “Whale Boat on the Puget Sound”
Place: Peggy Dlusky “Shadows”
Place: Jeri Ellis Platt “Prince of the Pond”
Honorable Mentions: Peggy Dlusky “Ghost Village”; Sally Ford-Lyles “Foot Loose”; Charles Rowland “English Coastal Low Tide”; Gloria Woods “Wasp Nest”

“New Traditions” is open to the public through its closing on December 11 during the same time the German Village Society Visitors Center is open – Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The show and sale will also be open during Village Lights, 6-10 p.m. Sunday, December 4.

The opening and month-long show are part of an ongoing collaboration between COWS and GVS. There have been several successful workshops in Brent Warner Fest Hall that featured members and instructors. More are planned for next year. The Haus und Garten 2011 Tour paint-out was well received, and the organizations are planning another “Clothesline Sale” for the late summer of 2012.

The show was previewed by This Week News and the German Village Gazette.

The German Village Society Mail Team was in action on Wednesday morning in an effort to get membership renewal letters to the Post Office. Look for your renewal letter later this week.

Members of the Mail Team filled Brent Warner Fest Hall for 90 minutes as they stuffed and sealed envelopes under Membership Committee Chair Erin O’Donnell’s watchful eye. Uber-volunteer Bob Jackson helped coordinate volunteers and then delivered the stack of mail to the mail carrier.

We can’t do it without these Mail Team members, and thank you!

Don’t forget:

It is time to renew memberships and update contact information in anticipation of printing the 2012 Membership Directory!

Renewal letters will go into the mail on Wednesday, thanks to the tirelessly energetic members of our membership committee. There are a few changes this year, and we want to make you aware before you receive the paperwork in the mail:

1)      Membership dues are rising on January 1, 2012, for the Household and Individual level memberships. Household will rise to $75 and Individual to $50, but you can lock in this year’s dues if you renew before December 31 ($60 for Household/$40 for Individual). All memberships are 100 percent tax deductible, which is another reason to renew before year’s end.

2)      This year, you will have the opportunity – but not the obligation – to supply your email address for use in the printed directory.

3)      As of Monday, October 31, we have disabled the login feature at www.germanvillage.com. This decision was implemented to smooth the online renewal process. We had several reports of the login technology making the “renew” process difficult. Also, there are currently only Society financial reports behind the login. You may access Society financial reports by requesting a secure password from briansantin@gmail.com and it will be promptly provided to members. You will no longer need a login for the website going forward.

4)      There’s no need to wait to get the letter in the mail to renew. You can click here and easily renew today online.

These changes and updates have been implemented to make the German Village Society stronger and more user-friendly to members and to serve our nonprofit public mission of historic preservation and education. We know you’ll join us in the mission for another year, and we thank you in advance for renewing!

Visitor Center volunteers had a chance to meet new German Village Society President Bill Case and new Director Shiloh Todorov during an appreciation breakfast on Wednesday, November 2.

There are nearly two dozen volunteers who regularly work the Visitors Center and who are the face much of the public sees when they visit German Village. Many of our volunteers hold some of the dearest oral histories about our neighborhood. Each is invaluable in the amount of time he or she dedicates to making the Visitor Center and German Village one of Ohio’s top tourist destinations.

Thank you Visitors Center volunteers!

German Village Pet Parade was Sunday. Nearly 150 were in Schiller Park to see a great day that included lots of pet owners and friends in attendance. Great costumes included: prisoner, Cookie Monster/cookie chef/cookie, Chia pet and watering can, devils, angels, spiders, dinosaurs and more!

Photos courtesy: John Clark and Erin O’Donnell

The Suburban Newspapers’ German Village Gazette had coverage of the October 22 Monster Bash this week. Check it out here.

American Planning Association Designates

Through Great Places in America, APA recognizes unique and authentic characteristics found in three essential components of all communities – streets, neighborhoods, and public spaces. APA Great Places offer better choices for where and how people work and live and are defined by many things including planning, architectural styles, accessibility and community involvement.

German Village a Top 10 Great Neighborhood for 2011

APA singled out German Village, one of the nation’s earliest and most successfully revitalized neighborhoods, for the air of authenticity that derives from its sensitively restored and carefully maintained working-class structures, integration of commercial uses into residential streetscapes, and the sense of civic pride that pervades the district. Most notable is its preservation of some 1,600 structures, making German Village the largest, privately funded historic district in the U.S.

Since APA began Great Places in America in 2007, 50 neighborhoods, 50 streets and 40 public spaces have been designated in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

“German Village’s success is due, in part, to its ability to strike that intricate balance between contemporary function and historic integrity,” said APA Chief Executive Officer Paul Farmer, FAICP. “The energy in here comes both from the mix of uses one sees and the sense of camaraderie one feels walking these cobblestone streets. This modest neighborhood is defined not by any one iconic structure but by the way in which its unpretentious brick buildings and the spaces between them work together, creating a sense of place that is genuine.”

Just six blocks south of the Ohio State Capitol, unpretentious, renovated houses and shotgun cottages stand shoulder to shoulder. Small, meticulously maintained front yards meet brick sidewalks lined cultivated village planters. The neighborhood is distinguished by its extensive use of brick for buildings, streets, sidewalks and alleyways. The masonry exudes a similar patina. Unique limestone stoops, wrought-iron fences and ubiquitous window boxes enhance the streetscape.

Eye-catching displays and the aroma of culinary delights emanate from shops and small businesses. German Village is home to some of Central Ohio’s most celebrated restaurants and one of the largest independent bookstores in the country. The visitor’s center at the German Village Society Meeting Haus welcomes some 10,000 tourists annually.

Immigrants flocked here beginning in 1830. By 1850, half of all new construction in Columbus was in German Village. Social and political changes sent the neighborhood into decline. World War I stirred anti-German sentiment and, in 1917, the U.S. Congress shut down beer breweries, the source of employment for many village residents. Six years later the city zoned the area for manufacturing and commercial use, hastening residential deterioration. Suburban development following World War II fueled an exodus, made worse by the city’s demolition of a third of the neighborhood in the 1950s to make way for I-70.

Intent on reversing the village’s downward spiral, Frank Fetch defied common wisdom and purchased a house in the village with the goal of rebuilding the entire neighborhood. He founded the German Village Society in 1960 and his efforts led to the establishment of a local architectural review panel as well as local and national historic district designations.

Today, preservation is a priority. Numerous events continue to build camaraderie and raise funds for neighborhood improvements. A plan, now under development, will revitalize Third Street and create a village green.

The American Planning Association is an independent, not-for-profit educational organization that provides leadership in the development of vital communities.APA and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, are dedicated to advancing the art, science and profession of good planning — physical, economic and social — so as to create communities that offer better choices for where and how people work and live. Members of APA help create communities of lasting value and encourage civic leaders, business interests and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people’s lives. APA has offices in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Ill.

TO SEE THE LETTER FROM THE APA CEO W. Paul Farmer CLICK HERE »

The GVS hosted a wonderful breakfast celebration on Thursday, October 6 (German-American Day no less).  Here are a few pictures from the exciting morning

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