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Exterior Tour of Cincinnati Music Hall: High Victorian Gothic Architecture and Historic Preservation

  • Music Hall Front Steps 1241 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH, 45202 United States (map)

CEUs

1.5 LU/HSW

Cost

$15 (includes guided tour, one drink and snacks and supports Friends of Music Hall)

Location

Music Hall Front Steps

Program Overview

Historic preservationist Thea Tjepkema will lead a 1.5-hour outside tour around the recently renovated Cincinnati Music Hall. The tour will: provide an overview of methods, technology, materials, and research used to preserve and restore this National Historic Landmark to meet National Park Service Historic Preservation Standards; describe the historic construction methods, characteristics, benefits, and failings of various traditional building materials, and best practices for exterior alterations, repair, preservation, and restoration to maintain the building’s historic architectural significance and stability; highlight recent cleaning, repair, and restoration of the finials, using modern technologies and materials for their fabrication and safe installation; and explain the importance of this High Victorian Gothic building in its environment while pointing out architectural details reflecting the building’s past and present purpose contributing to the community’s welfare as an event space.

Presented by AIA Cincinnati’s Women in Architecture and Friends of Music Hall. Registration fee goes to support Friends of Music Hall, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

 

Learning Objectives

  • Gain an understanding of the role of a historic preservation consultant and NPS preservation guidelines and standards to evaluate the existing building envelope to develop a preservation and restoration maintenance plan to prevent deterioration which may lead to critically failing and falling materials.

  • Comprehend historic building material vulnerabilities and preservation technology to secure the envelope and protect the interior from adverse health hazards, for example, molding plaster because of water intrusion.

  • Identify modern methods and materials to restore missing features to sustain the building’s intended purpose and preserve its integrity while improving social well-being and beauty in its surrounding environment.

  • Discover the cultural significance of Music Hall, its history, and the many modifications made to the building in response to the changing needs of its users over time.

Keynote Speaker

Thea Tjepkema

Thea Tjepkema is one of Cincinnati’s most passionate advocates for the historic preservation of architecture and its power to reveal nuanced stories of people living and working within its walls. As an active preservationist, she continues to identify and guide restoration projects and historical research while serving on the Friends of Music Hall and the Cincinnati Preservation Association boards. During the 2016-17 revitalization of Cincinnati Music Hall, she spearheaded major restoration projects that are now historical highlights of the building. Recently, she led the restoration of Music Hall’s long-lost finials, which once again grace its gables.

Tjepkema has spent much of the last decade researching Cincinnati Music Hall in the context of underrepresented constituents to create an inclusive interpretation of events, performers, and audiences in this National Historic Landmark. Her groundbreaking presentations “Under One Roof: The African American Experience in Music Hall” and “Muses: The Women of Music Hall” have been enthusiastically received and have become integral to the interior and exterior tours delivered to thousands of visitors. Her regular blogs for the Friends of Music Hall have deepened the narrative of Music Hall and its past performers and inspired numerous concert presentations with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops.

Tjepkema holds a B.F.A. in historic preservation from the Savannah College of Art and Design and an M.A. in arts administration from The University of Akron. She has worked in historic preservation, curation, archives, education, interpretation, and as a research historian at many significant historic landmark museums across the country, including the Lyndhurst Estate National Historic Site, NY; Jekyll Island National Historic District, GA; Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters of the Telfair Museum, GA; Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace and Girl Scouts Headquarters, GA; William Howard Taft National Historic Site, OH; Yosemite National Park Museum, CA; and Willistead Manor, Ontario, Canada. She continues to be in great demand as a historian and preservationist for interviews and commentaries heard on regional and national media outlets. She has been a featured speaker for the Cincinnati Preservation Association, Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, Northern Kentucky University, Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati MacDowell Society, and Harriet Beecher Stowe House.

Continuing Education Details

Course Number: WiA2023.b

Instructional Delivery Method: live

AIA CES Program Approval Expiration Date: 5.23.2026

Prerequisites: none

Program Level: beginner

Advance Learner Preparation: none

 

AIA CES Provider Statement

AIA Cincinnati is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number 088. All registered AIA CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Any questions or concerns about this provider or this learning program may be sent to AIA CES (cessupport@aia.org or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3).

This learning program is registered with AIA CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product.

AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.

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