By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
A building has a story to tell. It has an impact on community and people’s lives. And the people who worked on them.
“Those are the stories that make buildings most interesting,” D. Scott Clark told the Northern Kentucky Tribune.
And perhaps there is no one to tell these stories better than Clark, who for the last 20 years worked in Historic Preservation. “I oversaw districts; in particular the East Row Historic District in Newport.”
Clark’s love for historic buildings is nothing new.
“At the age of 11,” he said, “I worked on my grandmother’s house. It was an 1847 Queen Anne Home. I repaired the windows, did the woodwork.”
In fact, Clark and his brother restored that house, sold it, and used the cash to pay for his college.
That was Otterbein University, where he was a Communications major.
“I worked for Provident Bank in their Trust Department for 15 years,” and said, “and to be honest, it was dull.”
In 2011, he was hired by the city of Newport as contractor with the city as their Preservation Officer. When he started his efforts, Newport had but one district – The East Row. When he left office this past February, Newport could boast four local districts, York Street, Monmouth (central business), Buena Vista, East Row and eight National Register districts including Mansion Hill, East Newport, Cote Brilliant, York Street, York Street Expansion, Buena Vista, Courthouse Square and Monmouth.
Buena Vista, a diverse neighborhood, is the oldest in Northern Kentucky.
So, what exactly is Historic Preservation?
“It requires buildings that are eligible and worthy of preservation,” Clark said. “In Newport’s Historic District, there are about 6,000 buildings – about the same in Covington.”
This past year he served as Heritage Preservation Officer and Historian for the City of Newport. He ensured city and community compliance with historic regulations and guidelines; provided property owners with assistance in obtaining Rehabilitation Tax Credits; conducted research on the history of Newport, its culture and historic properties; advocated for historic assets and sites in the city, acting as liaison with state and federal governments; coordinated community outreach and education activities relating to preservation and history; arranged and implemented historic walking and app-based historic tours for citizens, organizations and public history students and mentored new preservation professionals locally as well as nationally.
“If there was ever a person to be a preservationist, it is Scott Clark,” wrote Dr. Brian Hackett, professor of history at Northern Kentucky University. “His love of preserving the past and appreciation for the architecture those who came before us.”
His use of tax credits for restoration and adaptive reuse projects included the Carnegie Hall conservation, the Funeral Home and Warehouse at 402 West 9th Street conversion to a condominium complex, and the rehabilitation of the Green Derby, now known as the Purple Poulet Restaurant, from a previous casino and restaurant.
Clark is also responsible for the revitalization of the Taylor Mansion, working with a preservation-minded developer, aiding in the obtaining tax credits and advising on restoration resources. He also made possible the Monmouth Street Facade Grant Program.
Clark’s tax credit projects and grant programs have brought millions into the local economy.
The Southgate Street School project was a winner for Clark. Originally opened in 1873, it served as a school for African Americans. It quickly became a center not only for education but a center for the African American community.
The current structure, built in 1893, served as a segregated school until Newport Schools were desegregated after Brown vs. the Board of Education. Clark used mitigation monies from another project to restore the building and make it once again a center for the community.
This August will be his one-year anniversary serving as Public History Adjunct Professor at Northerrn Kentucky University.
“I teach one course, for historic preservation. A graduate course utilizing real life examples from the region and local historic districts,” he said.
“We’ll walk through buildings,” he said, “read buildings, and notice the changes in technology and structure.”
In fact, he was viewing a building with arched windows. “Those arched windows came about during the Industrial Revolution,” he said. “Steam power was used then for factory made windows.”
His work has not gone unnoticed. He received not only the Cincinnati Preservation Award from the Historic Advocacy Group and was given the Ida Lee Willis Memorial Federation Service to Preservation Award just last month, a statewide commendation.
“You can learn from a building,” Clark says. “It changes over time. And it’s important to keep these structures for future generations.”