Adaptive Reuse Gone Too Far? (The Bingham-Hanna Mansion)
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- Опубліковано 20 лис 2023
- Explore the dramatic transformation of the Harry Payne Bingham house, a once-majestic 35-room Italian Palazzo style mansion. Discover its rise and fall amidst America's elite, its architectural marvels, and the controversial decisions that altered its fate. Witness the breathtaking interior, from the grand stair hall to the radiant drawing room, and delve into the debate of historic preservation versus modern necessity.
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Location: Cleveland, OH
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I vote for maintaining the architectural integrity - either intact or altered sensitively. This mess just makes what remains of the house look irrelevant.
I’d visited a few times before I realized that it was there was actual house.😂
@@TheRealAsteria I can just imagine. :)
Totally goes against what the organization is supposed to do and protect.
The additions to this magnificent mansion are an example of how so much has been lost to the development of modern architecture under the guise of advancements in some tangent of preservation yet ironically the mansion is partially destroyed and it’s a travesty to use it in this way. They could have built a huge facility for the same purpose and preserved the mansion. The mansion should be restored and the buildings adjacent to it relocated somewhere other than a historic site. What a shame to see the grandeur of this stunning home diminished to a commercial building in part and destroying the grounds it sat on!! 😢😢😮
I'm a Cleveland native. There's a lot of beautiful mansions still intact here. I think it's ironic that WRHS didn't have enough respect for the building it is housed in.
Here too..right on
I so enjoyed Cleveland, had clients there and friends (lived in Las Vegas 20 yrs).
Loved "the Flats", R&R Museum, (college in Memphis, we came in 2nd for that, ? Go figure), and I also went to the Indians BB Stadium.
A great city, my original home having been Chicago, felt really easy to get around.
Best Thoughts Cleveland!
Beth
Tennessee, USA
@@bethbartlett5692 Thank you so much for your kind words. It’s absolutely a beautiful livable city. I’m fortunate to live on the lakeshore.
I lived 10 years in Portland, Oregon and that’s the only other city that I’ve found to be as nice. If not for the high cost of living, I’d be there now. Even with its homeless problem, I knew I was fortunate to experience pdx. The PNW is gorgeous.
I’ve visited Chicago several times and wow! Beautiful. Friendly. So much to offer. I missed the people of the urban Midwest when living out west. Straightforward and engaging.
Most of the mansions from that era have been torn down…
@@TheRealAsteria yep. Most are just GONE... still a few nice ones in Shaker, but even those which survived in lakewood, have been butchered in the last 10-20...
It's totally unacceptable.
The WRHS didn't need to create such a mess out of the mansion and its grounds. This mansion was very impressive in its original form; I guess Cleveland is fortunate to have some of it preserve. Thank you for another look into the opulence of the time period. Could you show the uncle's mansion on the Hudson that he liked better?
Yes!! Let’s see the home on the Hudson!!!
I think that we are lucky to have so much of the mansion still intact because the alternative scenario is awful.
Good video. Showing the existing building immediately after each view of the original gave me a better idea of what has been done to it. Your channel is so entertaining thank you for all the work you put into it.
There were certainly better ways of incorporating the mansion for use and expansions of the historical society. Instead of tearing down the porte-cochere and making additions that envelop the building they could have kept it's volumetry intact while connecting it by covered low glass pavilion hallways, which would be far easier to undo if full restoration was ever considered while also allowing the new additions more natural light and access to inner courtyards. The uncanny interior, such as the staircase shows copious amounts of value engineering and disregard for the original details, from filling in that Palladian arch for what I assume was HVAC retrofitting while blocking up the natural light that spilled into that mezzanine for some addition has made the entire space just come off as flat. The fact that so much of the original formal gardens were lost as well, which were also a key features and context of the original design just shows the haphazard manner the house was disposed with.
There had to be a way to do this without destroying so much of the original home. So my short answer is "no" it is never ok.
It's too late to put the mansion back to original, just make the best of what's left. If the newer structures were removed to rebuild the original structure it's not original, it would be like making a fiberglass Liberty bell and saying "it's original." I'm just glad that the RMS Queen Mary was saved many years ago and is still around for people to take tours, although parts have been changed but most of the ship is still as built. Thanks for your time, work and posting......................
Best ceilings of this series.❤
I like Cleveland. They have one of the best art museums in the country. I’ve not seen the western reserve museum but agree with you they could have made an addition more in keeping with what they started out with.
Exquisite! 1. A most impressive Foyer - one has only once chance at First Impressions, & 2. A Preservation Society that would demolish Art they were trying to PRESERVE, is the Antithesis of Art & Preservation! Lame, my Dudez, Lame! Keep up your EXCELLENT work! Thx!
While it is nice that the mansion is mostly intact, the "additions" do not appear necessary. Rather than demolish the exterior, it might be better to explore removing walls to create large useable spaces. Whether or not that is feasible, or possible, is another question. 😩
I suppose adaptive use is better than the wrecking ball, as long as it doesn't go too far. In England people are buying beautiful three and four hundred year old mansions and turning them into modern nightmares that look like space ships inside. I thought the National Trust was organized to protect these building from exactly what's happening now. It seems I was wrong.
Most historic preservation rules only apply to the exterior of the structure. I have never seen restrictions on interior renovations, and I question how enforceable these would be.
I work in a building that is almost 200 years old, and I would welcome renovations to modernize the interior -- the disused fireplaces are certainly attractive, but having the washrooms located in a far corner of the basement is not very convenient!
At least it’s still standing! They could of just tore it down!
As as Architectural Designer by trade, these designers of the addition did a horrible job in blending in the Historical design. Very sad to see a opportunity for a great building be destroyed like this. My guess is it was designed by committee which kills a design process
Design by committee is a death sentence. In the end no one gets what they wanted, and the original good intentions are held hostage by the overblown egos of people of dubious qualifications.
@@monkeygraborange Well-put.
This puts me in mind of people who buy a beautiful Craftsman house, stucco it over, tear out the wood detailing, and blot the interior white. It's amazing how many have to "uglify" an old building.
@@garryferrington811 The question is a double edged sword. The answer is that many of these old mansions ( and office buildings, etc… ) serve no real function in the 21st century. Maintaining these white elephants for their beauty and craftsmanship alone is a money pit few can afford, and fewer still are interested in.
I think any preservation or creative adaptation is better than the wrecking ball, although this is a particularly heinous example. There are no easy answers to this difficult question.
Brilliant, entertaining and amusing narrative throughout.
Pls do more videos on historical mansions in the United states that are demolished
Check out our Lost Buildings Playlist: ua-cam.com/video/oLWjl2B5b08/v-deo.html
They should have left the home alone. They could have provided a small covered walk to the new building. Besides the buildings should be on different parcels/deeds. you are doing a great job of showing what was. Thank you
That would have been ideal but there was not enough room to do this. It’s next to a hospital, a large university and three other museums. It would have been nice if they’d paired up with University House or something.
Driving past the mansion its always shocked me how WRHS completely bumbled the preservation of the original building. Its almost as if the mansion is an afterthought and is now hidden amongst whatever that is they decided to build up around it. SAD
Terrible!! It's like painting a beard on the Mona Lisa.
Happy Thanksgiving Ken!
You need to do a video on one or more of the massive mansions in Bratenahl, Oh. A Cleveland suburb…
It appears that a ham-handed "architect" could think of no other way to preserve the mansion and build a newer addition. Here in Philadelphia, many things have been destroyed and others saved by developers looking for an easy construction. Chestnut Hill College is an old mansion that also has had newer buildings built around and near it. No, it doesn't look like the beautiful estate it was, but it's incorporated virtually intact. If people truly care, they can do better.
i would rather see the additions. at least the base of the structure is intact and being used. so many old houses get demolished.
This particular video reminded me of what happened with the Auckland City Art gallery in the 1990s. The Mayor at the time, Dick Hubbard, wanted to enlarge the original building which had been built in the French chateau style. Lovely building it was too. But the new extension was very much a modern glass, concrete and steel building. It caused a huge amount of controversy, with the opposition trying to get as many people to stop this extension from being built. I personally opposed it as well. But somehow the building extension was built. The new building has taken a lot of the beauty of the old building away, and also the new Cafe is still badly built and too small again! I have not been there for a few years. Don't wish to go back as well. So I do understand completely why many people have complained about this particular mansion being extended in such a careless and haphazard way. Enough said. Thank you.
This may have something to do with the fact that the attached Hay-McKinney mansion is used as a house museum, and it is quite beautiful (the staircase is from - if I remember correctly - not the Hay mansion, but Amasa Stone's (Clara Hay's father's) mansion on Euclid Ave.). I was here once a number of years ago; you need to look at the architecture and ignore the exhibits while you enjoy the exhibits and block out the mansion. Excellent video.
Ken! My Cleveland again! Its a fun place to go and the Euclid Beach carousel is there .
The damage done to the original property reflects an unfit management and board. Such problems are not isolated to this institution. Thanks for sharing an example why such cultural institutions should not be given unrestricted endowments. Potential benefactors do your due diligence. It may mean giving abroad until the culture war ends or even spending more on yourselves for lack of a better reciipient. Don't give when the bequest may be used irresponsibly or received with ingratitude.
😮i can"t believe they did that!
Irony, springs to mind.
It is certainly possible to expand and adapt historic buildings while remaining sensitive to the original architecture.
In Calais, Maine there is a lovely Carnegie library. It is one of the nicest buildings in the town. At some point the space became too small and an expansion was needed. This was added to the rear of the building, partially located down an embankment. The end result is that the addition is not at all obvious, and the original building is minimally impacted.
It is hard to believe that the additions could not have been designed to be more sympathetic and sensitive to the house. Whatever architect design the addition should be ashamed of what was built, as should the society. And to think they were GIVEN the house and property!
I find the changes shocking! Ugly and horrible. I don't like the thing that was erected in front of The Breakers in Newport, either. Thank you for the video!
Somebody was clearly asleep at the switch. I’m not sure if the old can be resurrected. I’m not sure I fully grasp what has happened here.
Better than tearing it down and only having pictures and memories of what it once looked like.
Personally, I consider it remarkable that any mansion from the Gilded Age still exists let alone is preserved in this condition. While yes, it's unfortunate that some of the original building was razed, it's also possible that it was less costly than trying to repair or update it may have been.
I'd add that contextually, the mansion is now a museum gallery of sorts that can foster positive dialogues about the value of preserving older homes. As such, I have no objections to the reusage of this structure. It's preferable to imaging all of that beautiful stuff rotting in some landfill.
Question: Is the interior still intact? Are the original furnishings etc., still there?
I think they should've left space around it so it was still beautifully visible with natural light, with therefore beyter place ment of the surrounding buildings. Glass surface tunnels or underground tunnels could have connected it to the other buildings in order to retain the impact of the building.
Easy come easy go.
Better than the wrecking ball.
Destroy to preserve? Clearly, the result of this tactic is visually and intellectually incomprehensible.
Building should be restored to its original beauty 😢
This was absolutely the best option for retaining the home’s architectural integrity. They had nowhere else to go. Anyone that’s been to the WRHS, knows it is surrounded by the VA hospital, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Cleveland Institute of Music, University Circle House and Case Western Reserve University. It’s unfortunate that you chose not to represent the limited foot print they had to work with in this area. While it may not have been preserved in the most ideal way, the only other option would have been to tear it down completely. WRHS is one of four museums in the area. I encourage everyone to visit to get a better understanding of what they were working with when this decision was made.
No it's not okay !
Such a lovely and beautiful home it originally was !
I think the modern additions serve a good purpose. They act as an example to architectural students of WHAT NOT TO DO.
Exactly.
On the one hand it’s nice the house is still standing, but those additions are highly questionable, and not remotely sympathetic. Instead, they dwarf the original mansion in what looks like an industrial complex.
No, it is NOT o.k. to destroy a historic mansion just because you need storage space. They should have come up with a better plan. But the horse is out of the barn, in this case. It should be used as a cautionary tale.
If they would’ve put a roof on that first story extension, it wouldn’t be that bad. Maybe?
It should have been properly restored but as someone said the horse has left the barn. Shame
Don't be harsh; it's Cleveland.
Yeah...not great. The building on the left looks like a warehouse, which is probably what it is. But at least keeping some similar roof lines and window details, it would have easily blended with the original building. The exterior wasn't even that ornate. Here we have "Orchid" and "Onion" awards that are given to recent architectural offerings. The Onions are usually pretty bad. Thanks for letting us chime in!
The question is a double edged sword. The answer is that many of these old mansions ( and office buildings, etc… ) serve no real function in the 21st century. Maintaining these white elephants for their beauty and craftsmanship alone is a money pit few can afford, and fewer still are interested in.
I think any preservation or creative adaptation is better than the wrecking ball, although this is a particularly heinous example. There are no easy answers to this difficult question.
🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉
May not have been the best option, but it was an option, and the original building is still more ore less intact? . . . Did it have any historical significance other than being built by some rich guy who sold it to some rich lady?
😔
The so called additions are incredibly heavy handed, calling attention to themselves rather than giving the mansion breathing space. The additions should have been set away from the mansion and defer to the finer details of the mansion. The mansion interiors should have been restored to the original in totality. To be sure, all this would have cost more money, but the present approach only resulted in an awkward hybrid satisfying no one, sending an unfortunate signal that the remaining classical portions of the original building might not last when the next budget crunch arrives.
If they hadn't done this I imagine it would have been torn down. I think its okay and nice that its inuse.
Restore the mansion
In a word...no
I think it’s terrible that they completely destroyed the historical integrity of this beautiful home, unless there were problems with it. If they needed more space, why not put up those ugly buildings somewhere away from the mansion and leave the historic house as is. Next they’ll be bulldozing it down for more room.
It is absolutely NOT o.k. to do what Western Reserve did! I would expect better of a historical society. How disappointing!
Those "improvements" didn't improve the house at all.
There were qualified architects involved in these "improvements? I wonder who profited from the sale of the original fixtures and materials left from the demolished portions of the building. The end result looks like what happens when nepotism awards contracts to incompetents.
It’s sad, removing the original architecture and having a hodgepodge of tacky architectural design, bumping up against the house. With additions why wouldn’t they do architecture that mimics the original house?
TRAVERSTY
This is a perfect example of the modern historical preservationists. They destroy works of beauty to erect heinous modern buildings that make conscience humans nauseous. That beautiful house will never be restored as there are no longer any artisans with the knowledge or talent to replicate any of it.
In trying to please everyone, they pleased no one.
Poorly executed and certainly not preservation of the environs by a so-called historic society.
A terrible misuse of this house. There are many historically significant buildings, but in reality we cannot save them all. The upkeep and maintenance is extremely high. The Wright Foundation has a hard enough time maintaining Wrights buildings. Adaptive reuse is good, some are just not done very well, and you always have to deal with the local historical society which is nothing more than a bunch of old farts who don’t want to see change. I know, I deal with them in Princeton which is why I do very little work there. I lose money on every job.
A Historical Society destroys the building and property, to hius staff. "You must read the article on the Memphis Library, Downtown, (a major donation by a wealthy resident, way back), but a chain of definitively ignorant individuals "Modernized it" and then they kept going until, somewhere amidstt the old buildings it is said to be ..."?"
It's appalling how WRHS handled this...to say nothing of the lack of thought given to their adjoining buildings....they couldn't at least employ traditional styles to compliment the mansion and the surrounding area? It looks like a cross between Seaworld and a U-Haul center!
Annoying computer-generated voiceover!
THEY CALL THAT HISTORIC PRESERVATION???????????!!!!!!!!!!!! ARE THEY NUTS???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is an oxymoron if ever I've heard one, Destroying history to preserve it....?
After watching it again, it makes me sick to my stomach. I’m sure there were better options. Historical Society? What a joke. I wonder how much backlash the “historical society” received over their debacle.
Not okay. They not only adulterated two historic homes, but destroyed the neighborhood.
It’s surrounded by three other fantastic museums, cultural gardens and a phenomenal college campus.
Remove the ghastly addition!
Wow, unfortunately it wasn't an improvement. Euclid isn't where anyone wants to live now. Too bad.
Good thing it isn’t in Euclid.
Didn't care for the modern additions at all. Seems if they were trying to tie the two older mansions together, they could have done it with something to complement them. The new building detracts from the grandeur of the old.
Agreed .
The Historical ( hysterical) society has destroyed these properties beyond belief ! So sad ....and equally VERY rude, boring people involved !😢