Description: This color postcard features interior and exterior views of the Seneca Hotel, Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1935. The background image shows the hotel's brick exterior from a distance, with parked cars on the street and a row of leafy trees. Four insets show the hotel lobby, the interior of a typical room, the so-called beverage room (the bar), and the Columbus Room, a dining area. The name of the hotel's vice president and general manager, James H. Michos, appears in the lower right corner of the postcard. Designed by noted Columbus architect Frank Packard (1866-1923), the 10-story Seneca Hotel was built in 1917. It was the first high-rise structure in the city of Columbus, and it ranked among the city's most luxurious hotels. During its history the Seneca was home to the Ohio State Faculty Club and later became office space for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. In 1987 the Ohio EPA moved out, and the Seneca remained closed until it was renovated and reopened in 2008 as a 77-unit apartment building. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05861
Subjects: Ohio Economy--Architecture and Engineering; Columbus (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Hotels--Ohio--Columbus--History;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph showing a group of five men in military dress outside a tent was taken by traveling photographer Albert J. Ewing, ca. 1896-1912. Like most of Ewing's work, it was likely taken in southeastern Ohio or central West Virginia. Born in 1870 in Washington County, Ohio, near Marietta, Ewing most likely began his photography career in the 1890s. The 1910 US Census and a 1912-1913 directory list him as a photographer. A negative signed "Ewing Brothers" and a picture with his younger brother, Frank, indicate that Frank may have joined the business. After 1916, directories list Albert as a salesman. He died in 1934. The Ewing Collection consists of 5,055 glass plate negatives, each individually housed and numbered. Additionally, the collection includes approximately 450 modern contact prints made from the glass plate negatives. Subjects include infants and young children, elderly people, families, school and religious groups, animals and rural scenes. In 1982, the Ohio Historical Society received the collection, still housed in the original dry plate negative boxes purchased by Albert J. Ewing. A selection of the original glass plate negatives were exhibited for the first time in 2013 at the Ohio Historical Center. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV71_b03_f187
Subjects: Ewing, Albert J. (1870-1934); Portrait photography--United States--History; Soldiers
Places: Ohio; West Virginia
 

Description: A photo of the garage and workshop almost completed. The photo was taken as part of Project No. 28b, Other Structures. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: 3076_89_11_feb35_b35_51
Subjects: Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.); New Deal, 1933-1939; Fort Hill State Memorial (Ohio); Building
Places: Hillsboro (Ohio); Highland County (Ohio)
 

Description: Carte de visite of General William Starke Rosecrans, who served the Union Army during the Civil War. Born in Delaware County, Ohio, Rosecrans led troops at battles including Stones River, Corinth, and Chickamauga. His defeat at Chickamauga effectively ended his career. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV200_b03_f33_04
Subjects: Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Pictorial works; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Photographs; Rosecrans, William S, 1819-1898
Places: Delaware County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1943, this photograph shows a fireplace and doors in the home of Benjamin Pitman. The molding and woodwork feature elaborate carvings. Benjamin Pitman, an English author and proponent of Pitman shorthand, developed by his brother Isaac Pitman. Benn, along with his wife and children, arrived in the United States in 1853 and settled first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later Canton, Ohio, and then Cincinnati. After his brother made changes to his system, Pittman refused to endorse it, and the original shorthand system was adopted in the United States. Pittman served in the Union Army during the Civil War and became the official stenographer for the trials of Abraham Lincoln's assassin and others. He became active in the arts in the 1870s and introduced the Pitman School of Woodcarving. The Benn Pitman house is located at 1852 Columbia Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. The home was built between 1800 and 1804 and the exterior incorporates many styles, including Italian Chateau, Romanesque and Rococo. Among his many accomplishments, Pitman taught woodcarving at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He himself made much of the woodwork inside the home, including doors, panels and wainscoting. Much of the more delicate work depicting flowers and leaves was done by Pitman's wife and her twin sister, who taught at the local art school. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_b03f03_028_001
Subjects: Houses; Architectural interiors; Cincinnati (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Republic Steel Corporation Collection (MSS 192) consists of 13,000 black and white photographic negatives, 2,000 color photographic negatives, and many 35 mm slides which document Republic Steel Corporation’s main production facilities and its subsidiaries, 1941-1975. This collection also includes images of social events such as company picnics, award banquets, and dances. Founded in 1899, Republic Iron and Steel Company was a steel production company based in Youngstown, Ohio, and the result of a consolidation of 34 steel mills across the United States including the Mahoning Valley’s Brown Bonnell Iron Company, Andrews Brothers and Company, and Mahoning Iron Company. From 1927-1937, Republic Iron and Steel Company expanded its reach by acquiring a number of other companies such as Trumbull Steel Company in Warren, Ohio, and Central Alloy Steel Corporation in Canton, Ohio. With its expansion, Republic Iron and Steel Company became the third largest steel producer in the United States behind United States Steel Corporation and Bethlehem Steel Company, and changed its name to Republic Steel Corporation to reflect its new status. After the outbreak of World War II in 1941, the Corporation’s production increased by 33%. This increased production continued into the 1950s and 1960s as the company continued to be one of the leading developers of steel production technology. Due to a myriad of factors including decreased demand for steel from automobile manufacturers and imported foreign steel, steel sales declined and in 1984 the Republic Steel Corporation was purchased by LTV Corporation, which led to the closure of the Youngstown plant. LTV filed for bankruptcy in December 2000. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: YHC_MSS192_B03F453_002
Subjects: Republic Steel Corporation; Steel industry; Youngstown (Ohio)
 

Description: Celebration at the opening of the Davis Island Dam on the Ohio River, five miles south of Pittsburgh. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07972
Subjects: Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Davis Island Dam (Ohio River)
 

Description: This photograph shows three men working on the construction of the Ohio State Office Building, Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1930-1933. They are working with a steel beam. One man, his back to the camera, sits astride the beam. The two workers stand opposite each other, on either side of the beam. Groundbreaking for the Ohio State Office Building, 65 South Front Street, took place on November 19, 1929. Construction began in October 1930, and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. An explosion damaged the structure on April 14, 1932, but the building eventually opened on March 27, 1933.The 14-story building was designed by architect Harry Hake, Frank Bail, and Alfred Hahn. The building later became the Ohio Judicial Center. In 2011 the state Supreme Court named the center in honor of the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who was the second-longest-serving chief justice in state history at the time of his death in April 2010. The Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center is considered an excellent example of architecture from the Art Deco period. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06916
Subjects: Columbus (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Ohio History--State and Local Government; Ohio Judicial Center (Columbus, Ohio); Construction industry
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Steam powered, paddlewheel boat passing under the Ohio River Bridge, Marietta, Ohio, ca. 1910-1919. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00221
Subjects: Washington County (Ohio); Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Marietta (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio)
 

Description: A scenic road in rural Ohio winding through the countryside. Alongside the road there are wooden rails and road posts. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F03_021_001
Subjects: Rural roads--Ohio
Places: Ohio
 

Description: The Republic Steel Corporation Collection (MSS 192) consists of 13,000 black and white photographic negatives, 2,000 color photographic negatives, and many 35 mm slides which document Republic Steel Corporation’s main production facilities and its subsidiaries, 1941-1975. This collection also includes images of social events such as company picnics, award banquets, and dances. Founded in 1899, Republic Iron and Steel Company was a steel production company based in Youngstown, Ohio, and the result of a consolidation of 34 steel mills across the United States including the Mahoning Valley’s Brown Bonnell Iron Company, Andrews Brothers and Company, and Mahoning Iron Company. From 1927-1937, Republic Iron and Steel Company expanded its reach by acquiring a number of other companies such as Trumbull Steel Company in Warren, Ohio, and Central Alloy Steel Corporation in Canton, Ohio. With its expansion, Republic Iron and Steel Company became the third largest steel producer in the United States behind United States Steel Corporation and Bethlehem Steel Company, and changed its name to Republic Steel Corporation to reflect its new status. After the outbreak of World War II in 1941, the Corporation’s production increased by 33%. This increased production continued into the 1950s and 1960s as the company continued to be one of the leading developers of steel production technology. Due to a myriad of factors including decreased demand for steel from automobile manufacturers and imported foreign steel, steel sales declined and in 1984 the Republic Steel Corporation was purchased by LTV Corporation, which led to the closure of the Youngstown plant. LTV filed for bankruptcy in December 2000. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: YHC_MSS192_B03F380_001.tiff
Subjects: Republic Steel Corporation; Steel industry; Youngstown (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing a bank along Indian Lake near Russell's Point. The caption beneath the photograph reads: "Weak Bank, Indian Lake." The attached description located on the back of the page reads: "PHOTOGRAPHS No's 89,90,94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 & 101.| INDIAN LAKE REVETMENT WALL.| A wall should be constructed from Russell Point to Lakeview along the bank of Indian Lake. The present bank has become disintegrated and is more than one-half washed away from its original cross section. Said bank is very weak and is subject to rupture at any time. This bank impedes the entire waters of Indian Lake and should it give away, Indian Lake would be drained. In addition to being very expensive to repair, the damage incurred by said break, would entail thousands of dollars, besides loss of life. The gap that should spanned with a concrete wall is 4968 Linear feet. The present driveway is dangerous, which located on top of said bank, owing to it being washed so badly as to make the road bed not over 10 feet in width. The construction of a wall and a back fill of the same would create a boulevard along the lake at this point." This photograph is part of a series taken by the Board of the Ohio Department of Public Works to document the disrepair of the infrastructure of the Ohio and Erie Canal and Miami-Erie Canal systems in 1916, showing the physical condition of each structure. The Ohio Department of Public Works is one of the oldest departments of state government in continuous existence. Among its other duties, this department was charged with maintenance and administration of the Ohio & Erie and Miami-Erie Canals. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA936AV_B01_095
Subjects: Waterworks; Rivers; Canals; Lakes & ponds; Dams; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Russells Point (Ohio); Logan County (Ohio)