Ohio State Office Building construction photograph   Save
Ohio State Office Building Construction
Description: This photograph shows a construction worker at the site of the future Ohio State Office Building, Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1930-1933. The man, a member of a four-person riveting team, is working at a coke-fueled forge that heats structural steel rivets to a glowing hot temperature. With his left hand he is operating the forge's hand-cranked blower. His right hand grips a pair of long metal tongs that he uses to remove the hot rivet and toss it to the "catcher," who retrieves it with a hand-held container. In turn the catcher inserts the rivet into an opening in the joints of two steel beams. The team's third member holds the rivet in place while the fourth worker hammers the rivet in place. The heater and catcher operated with machine-like precision. They could stand at a distance of 75 feet from each other and still maintain accuracy and speed. 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 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: AL06915
Subjects: Construction workers; Columbus (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Design and construction; Ohio History--State and Local Government; Ohio Judicial Center (Columbus, Ohio); Construction industry--Ohio
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)