Ohio Historic Site Preservation Board to Consider State’s Nominations to National Register of Historic Places
(COLUMBUS, OHIO) — The Ohio History Connection announces a public meeting of the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board will be held on Friday, March 27 at 10 a.m. at the Ohio History Center.
The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board is a governor-appointed panel of citizens and professionals in history, architecture, archaeology and related fields.
The board will review seven proposed Ohio nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, which is a list of historic places worthy of preservation because of national, state or local significance.
To be eligible for listing on the National Register a property or district must qualify for at least one of the following:
-Be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history
-Be associated with the lives of people significant in our past
-Embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values or represent a significant, distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction (e.g. a historic district)
-Yield, or be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
The seven proposed Ohio nominations include:
Columbus: The A.B. Graham House, 159 Clinton Heights Ave.
The A. B. Graham House is being nominated for its association with Albert Belmont Graham, a primary founder of the 4-H program. Since its inception in 1902, 4-H has grown to become the nation’s largest youth development organization, with a current network of more than six million youth, 540,000 volunteers, 3,500 professionals and more than 60 million alumni. Its mission is to “empower youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults. As a young schoolteacher in Springfield, Ohio, Mr. Graham set up the first formal, ongoing agricultural education club for boys and girls that would soon become 4-H, and through his leadership, 4-H clubs propagated throughout Ohio and elsewhere. He retired in 1936 and returned to Columbus, Ohio, settling in this house in the neighborhood of Clintonville. This 22-year period when he lived at 159 Clinton Heights Avenue was marked by the fiftieth “jubilee” celebration of 4-H’s founding and of Mr. Graham’s contributions to 4-H in 1952.
Bexley: Drexel Theater, 2254 E. Main St.
The Drexel Theater is nominated as a significant example of the small neighborhood movie theater of the 1930s. The Drexel’s streamlined Art Deco architectural details, marquee and sign, interior lobby space, remaining ticket booth and auditorium theater space are all characteristics of this type of early twentieth century theater design. The Drexel Theater is nominated for its contribution to the broad patterns of our history. During the early 20th century, movies were a novel and inexpensive form of entertainment and became extremely popular. The Drexel Theater is an excellent representative of a bygone era, when neighborhood theaters were commonly found in every commercial center. It is one of the last grand neighborhood theaters operating in Columbus. The Drexel is an important and highly visible landmark for the city of Bexley, as well as the greater Columbus community.
Dayton: Miami Valley Golf Course and Clubhouse, 3311 Salem Ave.
The Miami Valley Golf Course and Clubhouse is being nominated for its importance in Dayton-area recreational history and for the design of the golf course landscape, and the grounds design. It is also significant on the local level as an example of the Jacobethan architectural style of the clubhouse, designed by Dayton architect Rollin Gebhart.
It was Dayton’s first professional golf course with 18-holes of continuous play designed by one of the world’s most famous golf architects, Donald Ross. Its opening was the catalyst for other Dayton golf courses to professionalize their courses.
Cleveland: Scranton South Side Historic District, 2314-2658 Scranton Rd., North Brooklyn/Scranton Rd. Cemetery, 3339 Scranton Rd., 1632-2101 Holmden Ave., 1644-2115 Brainard Ave., 1724- 2105 Corning Ave., 1701-2034 Clover Ave., 1724-2028 Valentine Ave., 3227-3344 West 17th St.
The Scranton South Side Historic District is significant as representative of the transformative effect of streetcar railways on residential and neighborhood development within cities, with Scranton Avenue/Road as an early main corridor connecting the central city of Cleveland to the south side over the Cuyahoga River. The Scranton Road neighborhood experienced a surge of development and a wave of German immigrant settlement during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries coinciding with the introduction of south side horse drawn streetcar service in 1872 and electric streetcar service in 1889. In 1929 street car service along Scranton Road ended and the increase in automobile transportation saw the construction of a number of early automobile service stations reflecting the historic development along Scranton Road.
Columbus: Theresa Building, 823 E. Long St.
The Theresa Building is significant for its role in Columbus’ African American history, specifically during the period of the 1920s Great Migration The Great Migration was the relocation of more than six million African Americans from the rural south to the cities of the north, midwest and west from 1916 to 1970. The Theresa Building is the last known existing African American-developed and owned office building associated with the Great Migration in Columbus. Constructed by entrepreneurs Ruby Williams and James Albert “Al” Jackson in 1925 and named after Jackson’s wife Theresa, the Theresa Building provided modern office space for a class of African American professionals that grew during the period of the Great Migration.
Columbus: United States Carriage Company, 309-319 S. Fourth St.
The United States Carriage Company building is significant for its association with the industrial history of Columbus. The building represents a period in Columbus history when small-scale industrial processes were housed in multi-story buildings designed to be integrated into the fabric of the city’s downtown area. The building served as a headquarters and manufacturing facility for three early-20th century Columbus industries.
Cincinnati: West Fourth Street Historic District, 309 Vine St. (Boundary increase)
This nomination amendment proposes a boundary increase for the West Fourth Street Historic District, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In 2007, the district was expanded one block east to designating Vine Street as the easternmost boundary. This most recent expansion included the Union Central Life Insurance Building located at 9 W. Fourth Street. When completed in 1913, this tower was the fifth tallest building in the world, and the tallest building outside of New York City. In 1928, Union Central Life Insurance Company constructed an Annex, connected at the third and seventh floors to the primary building. This Annex was intended to accommodate projected growth and in the early years was entirely devoted to the insurance company, with the exception of retail spaces on the ground floor. It included facilities for the employee medical department, as well as offices for the legal, policy, and financial departments. The seventh floor housed a cafeteria and dining room, while the basement provided employee parking. Union Central remained in the building until it moved to a new headquarters in the late 1960s. It was then purchased by Central Trust Bank, (today PNC). Because the Annex was functionally related and physically connected to the Union Central Building, it should have been included in the 2007 boundary expansion.
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Review Process for the National Register of Historic Places
Nominations are made through the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office. The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board will review each nomination’s National Register eligibility, and then make a recommendation to the State Historic Preservation Officer. The final decision to add a property to the register is made by the National Park Service, which administers the program nationwide.
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Ohio Historical Society is now Ohio History Connection
On May 24, 2014, the Ohio Historical Society changed its name to the Ohio History Connection. Established in 1885, this nonprofit organization provides a wide array of statewide services and programs related to collecting, preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, archaeology and natural history through its more than 50 sites and museums across Ohio, including its flagship museum, the Ohio History Center in Columbus. For more information about programs and events, call 800.686.6124 or go online at www.ohiohistory.org.
