Work on Riddle Block 1 includes nearly $1 million for slate roof

RAVENNA − More than $2 million in work is taking place at Ravenna's historic landmark Riddle Block 1, including work on the building's slate roof and upgrades to the Juvenile and Probate courts.

Shannon Kautzman, director of internal services for Portage County, said the three projects are underway. The roofing project, the most costly of the three, and the reason scaffolding is in place around the landmark, is expected to be done in November.

What's being done?

The county-owned landmark is finally seeing investment from the county's capital improvements budget. Some projects, such as the roof, have been on the county's to-do list for years.

Kautzman said the roof project will cost about $980,000.

"They replaced a portion of the roof this spring, and the slate portion is starting now and is expected to be completed by November," she said. "They need to access the slate potion with the scaffolding."

The county also is working on a $1.2 million upgrade for Portage County Juvenile Court , and another $350,000 upgrade for the Probate Court, both overseen by Judge Patricia Smith. The probate court work is finished, except for final steps such as touching up paint, Kautzman said

Truancy program moving

In January , Smith approached commissioners about relocating the court's truancy diversion program to the fourth floor of Riddle Block 1 . The court clerks previously used the space during a renovation of the Probate Court. The truancy diversion staff already is housed in the building.

Smith said the building already has security, and is less intimidating to youth and their parents than a courthouse.

"Any kind of truancy diversion programs should not be in the courthouse," Smith said earlier this year. "The purpose is to keep the kids out of the courthouse."

The nearly 4,000-square-foot space hosts a data tower for the county's IT system, but otherwise is empty. The space is large enough to eventually offer other programs, such as mediation.

Smith told Portage County commissioners she wants to expand the program in an attempt to keep youth out of juvenile detention as part of a statewide move to better address juvenile justice. Truancy, she said, is a growing program. Some lawmakers have floated the idea of paying students to go to school.

History of Riddle Block 1

In 1831, Clark Carriage Company , owned by N.D. Clark, was established. In 1861, Clark sold the company to his relatives, Charles Merts and Henry W. Riddle, who renamed the company Merts and Riddle Coach and Hearse Company . When the company closed in 1926, many buildings used in the carriage building industry transitioned into real estate, and those historic landmarks became known as the Riddle Blocks.

Late historian Jack Schafer, who led a tour of the Riddle Blocks in 2017, said then that Henry Riddle built 14 buildings in downtown Ravenna, including the ones he used to build carriages and hearses. Some of those buildings are the largest commercial buildings in the city's downtown.

Riddle Block 1 was simply called "the Riddle Block" at the time, because, in 1888, Riddle didn't realize he would go on to build 10 more Riddle Blocks, Schafer said. The main level hosted retail stores, the second level had doctor's offices, the third level had apartments and the top level had meeting rooms, including those used by the Knights of Pythias. Some lodges meet at buildings known as Pythian Castles, a name that Schafer suggested might have inspired the architecture of the building.

Portage County purchased Riddle Block 1 in 2001, along with Riddle Block 8. In addition to Probate and Juvenile court offices, the building houses various other county offices, including adult probation.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Work on Riddle Block 1 includes nearly $1 million for slate roof