The Observation Deck

Has anyone noticed the sign designating Bird Town as an 'Historic District'? I noticed it for the first time today. I saw a small sign on a pole at Halstead and Madison (SW Corner). It looks wonderful and is mounted on a lovely bracket. I'm not sure if there are more further east along Madison.
Is this a Lakewood designation? ...or something more? Its not the same as the national Historic Designation that has been discussed previously is it?

Yes, that would be the designation!

I hadn't noticed that the signs were up finally. That's great news! This is the culmination of a long process that involved countless hours of hard work on the part of the Lakewood Planning Department, especially Meredith Karger, the planning associate. The process of nominating a district to the National Register of Historic Places involves researching building records, writing the nomination and a statement of significance, taking photographs of every building in the district (sometimes several times), and creating maps of the districts. I know Meredith and the Planning staff worked closely with current and former residents who are knowledgeable of the neighborhood and its history. The nomination goes to the State Historic Preservation Office, the State Review Board, and finally to the National Park Service and the Keeper of the Register. Although National Register listing has no impact on the local zoning, it is a great honor and tends to increase the reinvestment and desirability of listed districts.

Congratulations and thanks to the Lakewood Planning Department!

Now it would be great if there was some on-going publicity regarding the history of Birdtown, and also highlight the potential to purchase and redo those homes.

My family came to the U.S., and lived there, many were born there THERE. not in a hospital and it would be really something nice for the city, in my ethnic and humble opinion.

could the maps, photos and information used be turned into a Birdtown history website (maybe hosted by the library)? Or could brochures be made to not only help "sell" the area for new residents, but also to showcase the unique history of the neighborhood?

Wow, my mother just gave me a half day's worth of information about the history of Birdtown, what went on in there, much of it fun, funny and also things that were about a 10 on the "wow" factor.

There's some great vibes in those properties. It's one of those "if those walls could only talk" type things, dating back to the roaring 20's and 30's.

I love Birdtown! What a great place to walk around on a nice day.

Here's some info on Birdtown's history:

Birdtown Trail Walk:
http://www.lkwdpl.org/paths/historywalk ... ail10K.pdf

Birdtown Reminiscences by Suzanna Megles
http://www.lkwdpl.org/paths/birdtown/

Birdtown from the Carpathian Connection Web site
http://www.tccweb.org/lakewood.htm

Lots of good reading, but I suggest you take a walk over there and see the sites yourself!

- John Guscott

John & Mark,
Sounds like the 2 of you could be a terrific collaborative team to write about this for the Lakewood Observer. Please?

Thanks for the links, John! I'm gonna see if I can get my fiancee to join me on the Birdtown walk when she's here this weekend.