Harbor View on ’20 list of endangered historic sites

At risk for demolition, Vermilion’s Harbor View Mansion on the coast of Lake Erie is listed on this year’s Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites list by Preservation Ohio.

Thomas Palmer, executive director of Preservation Ohio, said this year’s list of 11 sites was chosen from 20 nominations, with a strong representation of Northeast Ohio.

The endangered sites list has been around since 1993, which often results in listed sites receiving the attention needed to restore it.

“That attention is resulted many times in developers or citizens coming together and saving some really important buildings,” Palmer said.

Normally, historic sites that end up on the list are either nominated by members of the community or through Preservation Ohio’s board members.

In the case of Harbor View, it was a little bit of both, Palmer said.

The concerned citizens group that is attempting to save the building has been in contact with the board members, he said.

“They’ve been actively promoting the future for that mansion for some time,” Palmer said.

In choosing nominated sites to put on the list, he said the board discusses different factors, like the site’s history, importance to the city or region and what threats plague the site.

For Harbor View, Palmer said the building, one of the first concrete buildings in the area and having a unique architectural flair, set it apart for the list.

The building was constructed in 1909 as a family home for Frederick William Wakefield and has been owned by a slew of different people.

Now, it has sat vacant for decades.

Due to a cost of renovation estimated in the millions, the city of Vermilion has worked with the Parks and Recreation Board to plan for its demolition and to begin a Main Street Beach revitalization.

Mayor Jim Forthofer said due to budget cuts from the impact of novel coronavirus, Harbor View along with other projects has been postponed.

“We’re not actively moving forward with anything,” Forthofer said.

“That attention is resulted many times in developers or citizens coming together and saving some really important buildings.”

— Thomas Palmer, executive director of Preservation Ohio

JORDANA JOY - THE MORNING JOURNAL The rooms of Harbor View Mansion in Vermilion have been lying vacant for decades, the walls infested with asbestos and mold. The Harbor View Project Committee has recommended the building, along with the Inland Seas Maritime Museum add-on, be demolished.