Description: Photograph (ca. 1935-1943) of the Madison County courthouse in London, Ohio. Completed in 1892 and designed by George H. Maetzel, this building represents several architectural styles, including Beaux-Arts Classicism and Second Empire design elements. This was intended to be a smaller version of the 1887 Franklin County Courthouse which was built by the same architect. It features a Mansard roof and a barrell-vaulted light court with a stained glass ceiling in the interior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. On April 3, 1974, a devastating tornado destroyed the nearby town of Xenia, and also damaged many surrounding towns, including London. The statue of Lady Justice that stands on the top of the dome, in this photograph, was toppled due to the high winds. She was found on a ledge, and remains there, standing atop the pediment over the entrance to the building. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F07_001
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; Madison County (Ohio); Public buildings--Ohio
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)
 

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; Architecture--Ohio--Columbus--History--20th century; Ohio Statehouse (Columbus, Ohio); Public buildings--Ohio--Columbus; Architecture--Ohio
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1935-1940, this photograph shows the front of the old Champaign County Public Library, located at the northwest corner of S. Main and Reynolds Streets, in Urbana, Ohio. This is the Morlite building that housed the public library for 64 years, until the new building opened in 1996. 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_B14F04_014_001
Subjects: Urbana (Ohio); Libraries--Ohio--History; Public buildings--Ohio
Places: Urbana (Ohio); Champaign County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph view of civic buildings in downtown Columbus including, from left to right, police headquarters, the American Insurance Union building (now LeVeque Tower) and City Hall, taken in 1930. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03264
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio--Columbus--History--20th century; Leveque Tower (Columbus, Ohio); Public buildings--Ohio--Columbus
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin (Ohio)
 

Description: Excavation of the State Office Building site, Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1929. 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 unfinished building. It eventually opened on March 27, 1933. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03500
Subjects: Public buildings--Ohio; Ohio History--State and Local Government; Construction industry--Ohio
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin 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
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Holes and shattered windows in the west wall of the nearly completed Ohio State Office Building. 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 the site of 34 businesses. The building, designed by architects Harry Hake, Frank Bail and Alfred Hahn, is noted as an excellent example of architecture from the Art Deco period. Construction began on October 31, 1930 and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. The explosion occurred shortly after three o'clock on the afternoon of April 14, 1932. The building eventually opened on March 27, 1933. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05449
Subjects: Public buildings--Ohio; Ohio History--State and Local Government
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Men posed outside the Ohio State Office Building after an explosion. Shattered windows and rubble on the sidewalk is visible. 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 the site of 34 businesses. The building, designed by architects Harry Hake, Frank Bail and Alfred Hahn, is noted as an excellent example of architecture from the Art Deco period. Construction began on October 31, 1930 and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. The explosion occurred shortly after three o'clock on the afternoon of April 14, 1932. The building eventually opened on March 27, 1933. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05451
Subjects: Public buildings--Ohio; Ohio History--State and Local Government
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Two men standing in rubble, surrounded by twisted rebar from the collapsed ceiling of the Ohio State Office Building after an explosion. 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. Designed by architects Harry Hake, Frank Bail and Alfred Hahn, the building is noted as an excellent example of architecture from the Art Deco period. Construction began on October 31, 1930 and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. The explosion occurred shortly after three o'clock on the afternoon of April 14, 1932. The building eventually opened on March 27, 1933. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05452
Subjects: Public buildings--Ohio; Ohio History--State and Local Government; Downtowns; Columbus (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Two large holes in an exterior wall and rubble on the sidewalk after an explosion at the Ohio State Office Building. 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 the site of 34 businesses. The building, designed by architects Harry Hake, Frank Bail and Alfred Hahn, is noted as an excellent example of architecture from the Art Deco period. Construction began on October 31, 1930 and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. The explosion occurred shortly after three o'clock on the afternoon of April 14, 1932. The building eventually opened on March 27, 1933. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05453
Subjects: Public buildings--Ohio; Ohio History--State and Local Government
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Man surrounded by rubble climbing ladder through the collapsed floor of the Ohio State Office Building after an explosion. 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 the site of 34 businesses. The building, designed by architects Harry Hake, Frank Bail and Alfred Hahn, is noted as an excellent example of architecture from the Art Deco period. Construction began on October 31, 1930 and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. The explosion occurred shortly after three o'clock on the afternoon of April 14, 1932. The building eventually opened on March 27, 1933. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05454
Subjects: Public buildings--Ohio; Ohio History--State and Local Government
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: CU cans of paint, twisted air ducts, collapsed roof damage to Ohio State Office Building from explosion on April 14, 1932. The explosion was determined to have been caused by a build up of gas in a subterranean chamber about 30 by 100 feet. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05456
Subjects: Public buildings--Ohio; Ohio History--State and Local Government
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)