Description: This photograph of the Civic Center area in Columbus, Ohio, shows the LeVeque Tower (left), the State Office Building (right), and the Ohio Statehouse in the background. The term "Civic Center" refers to the cluster of government and public buildings that hug the Scioto River's east bank. The American Insurance Union Citadel, now known as the LeVeque Tower, was dedicated on September 21, 1927. The building, which is located at 50 West Broad Street, was designed by architect C. Howard Crane in the Art Deco style. The 47-story tall skyscraper, designed mainly as office space, rises to an elevation of 555.5 feet, and was built to be 6 inches taller than the Washington Monument. Due to the Great Depression, the American Insurance Union went bankrupt and sold the building. The tower was purchased by John Lincoln and Leslie L. LeVeque in 1945. Construction of the Ohio State Office Building began in 1930 and was completed in 1933. The 14-story building was designed by Cincinnati architect Harry Hake and serves as a classic example of the Art Moderne movement. The building was later known as the Ohio Judicial Center until 2011, when 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 Ohio Statehouse is the seat of Ohio’s government. Construction of Ohio’s current statehouse began in 1839 and was completed in 1861. Prison inmates provided much of the construction labor. The Statehouse is typical of Greek Revival architecture, which Ohioans selected because of its democratic symbolism. This structure replaced an early statehouse, built in 1816 and burned in 1852. The new statehouse had fifty-three rooms, but over the years the number of rooms grew to 317. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Statehouse was restored, and 225 rooms were eliminated. Today the Statehouse principally houses the Ohio General Assembly, although several state officials, including the governor, have ceremonial offices in the building. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05711
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government; Columbus (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Architecture; Art Deco; Ohio Statehouse (Columbus, Ohio); Public buildings--Ohio--Columbus; Architecture
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Cincinnati City Hall is a four and a half story building located at 801 Plum Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. It was designed by local architect Samuel Hannaford, in the Richardson Romanesque style. Construction began in August 16, 1888 can was completed in 1893, with a spectacular dedication ceremony on May 13th of that year. Construction was done by three different Cincinnati companies: David Hummel Company, stonework; M. Clements, ironwork; and F. Pedretti Sons, painting. New York based Pottier Stymus & Co. G.C. Riordan & Co. made the stained glass windows throughout the building. The large allegorical window facing Plum Street is inscribed with a line from the poem “Catawba Wine” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s, which is a reference to Cincinnati and reads “To the Queen City of the West, in her garlands dressed, On the banks of the Beautiful River”. The symbol for the city of Cincinnati, which consists of the scales of justice above a caduceus crossed by a sword below the words “Juncta Juvant” (latin for “Strength in Unity”). The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 1972. Photograph ca. 1935-1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F08_013
Subjects: Government buildings; Public buildings--Ohio--Cincinnati
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photographic reproduction of an engraving of the first state buildings in Columbus, Ohio, including the United States Courthouse, Public Offices and the Old State House, ca. 1814 - 1816. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00527
Subjects: Public buildings--Ohio; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the United States Post Office in Fremont, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B06F07_044_1
Subjects: Fremont (Ohio); Sandusky County (Ohio); Post office buildings--Ohio; Public buildings
Places: Fremont (Ohio); Sandusky County (Ohio)
 

Description: Pictured is a brick building in the Neoclassical Revival style characteristic of new construction in the 1930s. It likely served as a Post Office or other municipal purpose. Other buildings of the 30s reflect a trend toward simplified designs associated with the Art Deco and Art Moderne movements of the period. In twelve separate counties, primarily in southeastern Ohio, more than twenty-five percent of families had at least one member working for the WPA during the late 1930s. By the end of 1938, these various workers had built or improved 12,300 miles of roads and streets and constructed 636 public buildings, several hundred bridges, hundreds of athletic fields, and five fish hatcheries. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F04_003_002_001
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works., Public--Ohio; Buildings, structures, Works Progress Administration; Depression Era; New Deal
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Caption reads: "Present Day Cin.O. Night Scenes." During the twentieth century, Cincinnati has experienced continued growth both culturally and economically. The city's population has remained relatively constant since the 1880s with its population in 2000 at 365,000 people. The diversity of operating corporations in Cincinnati has helped residents to weather economic downturns comparatively easily, as no single business employs more than three percent of the city's workforce. When hard times have hit the community, local residents have persevered. During the Great Depression, many people found employment through various government programs, including the Works Progress Administration and the Public Works Administration. It was also during the Great Depression when the Carew Tower, Cincinnati's tallest building, was built. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F17_023_001
Subjects: Daily Life; Cityscapes; Cincinnati (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works; Public buildings--Ohio--Cincinnati.
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Picture of the old Champaign County Public Library with two unknown people entering it. This is the old Morlite building that housed the Champaign County Public Library until it moved to the new building in 1996. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B14F04_007_001
Subjects: Urbana (Ohio); Libraries--Ohio; Public buildings--Ohio
Places: Urbana (Ohio); Champaign County (Ohio)
 

Description: East side of the State Office Building, Columbus, Ohio. The Ohio State Office was constructed during 1930-1933. The 14-story building was designed by Cincinnati architect Harry Hake and serves as a classic example of the Modernistic style. The building was later known as the Ohio Judicial Center until 2011, when the state Supreme Court named the center in honor of the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who was the second-longest chief justice in state history at the time of his death in April 2010. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05710
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government; Columbus (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Public buildings--Ohio--Columbus; Architecture; Modernist
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This ambrotype depicts Cleveland's Public Square. It was probably taken in the autumn of 1859 by Albert Bisbee. Within the image can be seen the Public Square fountain, Second Presbyterian Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, and St. Pauls Episcopal Church. In the foreground lies the outline of a ball diamond. An 1845 ordinance prohibited baseball playing on Public Square, but was repealed in 1856. The ambrotype is 9.5" x 7.5" (24.13 x 19.05 cm). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01100
Subjects: Cuyahoga County (Ohio); Art and Artists; Parks--Ohio--Cuyahoga County; Public buildings
Places: Cleveland (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph taken for the Columbus Free Press with the handwritten caption "I-670 Replacement Library." The building reads "Public Library of Columbus & Franklin County Shepard Branch," and a hand-painted sign in front states "Getting ready for the 3rd Annual Jambo Festival." The Shepard Branch Library, part of the Columbus Metropolitan Library system, is now located at 850 N. Nelson Road in a new building that opened in October 2016. Construction of an entrance ramp for Columbus's I-670 interstate displaced the original location of the library branch on 5th Avenue in 1986, and it was reconstructed in a replacement location at 790 N. Nelson Road. The Columbus Free Press began as a bi-weekly publication in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970. An underground newspaper, it replaced the Ohio State University publication The People, Yes. The earliest known issue of the newspaper appeared on January 4, 1971. The newspaper underwent a series of name changes over the decades, with titles including the Columbus Free Press & Cowtown Times (1972-1976), the Columbus Freepress (1976-1992) and The Free Press (1992-1995). The paper, which covered many liberal and progressive causes, was an alternative to mainstream news sources in central Ohio with the slogan “The Other Side of the News.” In 1995, the paper ceased publication briefly before reemerging as a website in early 1996, and returning as a print publication under the Free Press title in the form of a quarterly journal in 1998. Published under various frequencies during the first part of the 21st century, the Free Press again became a nonprofit monthly publication in 2017 with both a print and web presence, published by the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism and operated by a volunteer staff and board. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS1301AV_B02F09_04
Subjects: Libraries--Ohio; Festivals; Public buildings--Ohio--Columbus;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the front facades of the Madison County Sheriff's Office and the Madison County Courthouse. The sheriff's office served as the county jail until 2000, when the Tri-County Regional Jail was opened. The original building had two sections, one of which was the county jail and the other served as the Sheriff's residence. The jail held female, male and juvenile prisoners. In the early 1980s, the Sheriff moved out of the residence and this portion of the building became offices. The entire building now houses county offices. The jail is located on the southeast corner of the courthouse square. To the right is the Madison County Courthouse. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F04_292
Subjects: Public buildings--Ohio; Courthouses; National Register of Historic Places; mansard roofs; dormers; pediments; pavilions (building divisions); Second Empire;
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio);
 

Description: Photograph of the partially-covered steel frame of the State Office (Ohio Departments of State) building, Columbus, ca. 1931-1932. Groundbreaking for the Ohio State Office Building took place on November 19, 1929. The building, located at 65 South Front Street in downtown Columbus, took over the site of 34 businesses. Construction began on October 31, 1930 and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. A gas line explosion on April 14, 1932 damaged the nearly finished building. Eventually it opened in 1933. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03638
Subjects: Public buildings--Ohio--Columbus; Ohio--Politics and government; Construction industry
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)