City Partners with Emerson Third-Graders to Salvage, Repurpose

In an effort to preserve a page from Westerville’s past, two classes of thirdgraders at Emerson Magnet School are in the process of refashioning the remnants of the Kyoto Tea House into a piece of public art.

Driven by sense of hometown pride and historic preservation, the students, their teachers and the City of Westerville have formed a unique partnership to breathe new life into the colorful mosaic tiles that once adorned the walls of the renowned Tea House.

“Through this project, our students are getting the opportunity to preserve a huge piece of Westerville’s history and Japanese culture,” said Kristin Quinn, a third-grade teacher at Emerson Magnet School. “They are getting the chance to learn about our city’s history from experts and then taking all of that information and sharing it with the rest of the community.”

Formerly a doctor’s office, the tea house was a 1950s remodel by Army linguist George Henderson and his wife, Opal, upon their return from post-World War II Japan. Over the years, the tea house became a field-trip destination for students and tourists across the central Ohio, who came to visit the moon bridge, carp pond and replica Shinto Shrine.

The Hendersons’ son sold the tea house in 2004, after which several own-

Kyoto Tea House Tiles

ers and unsuccessful redevelopment efforts failed to save the tea house from foreclosure. The City purchased the dilapidated tea house in early 2011 and approved redevelopment plans later the same year. With the shrine relocated to Franklin Park Conservatory and other artifacts removed from the property, the City focused its efforts on salvaging the mosaic tiles.

“The City commissioned Wiebold Studio of Terrace Park, Ohio to remove the tiles of the Mount Fuji mural,” said Bassem Bitar, senior planner for the City of Westerville. “With the help of community partners, we delivered the tiles to the students at Emerson in February. It is our hope that the students’ creations will be installed in a publicly accessible space, either as part of the redevelopment of the site or elsewhere in the City.”

From cleaning the recovered tiles to brainstorming possible projects for their reuse, the City has remained an active participant in the effort to find the tea house tiles a new home. “The City has done absolutely everything it could to help us with this project,” said Quinn. “This project has given our students so many great opportunities to learn about not only history, but how a community is run, how decisions are made and what they can do as third-graders to make a difference in the community.”

The City is currently in negotiations with a potential developer that has proposed a mixed-use project for the former Kyoto Tea House site. The Tea House Site Redevelopment Committee has endorsed a preliminary development concept, and if negotiations are successful, the plans will be subject to review and approval by the Uptown Review Board, the Planning Commission and City Council.

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