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Columbus Landmarks Publication

The annual list of Most Endangered Sites

to create awareness and stimulate redevelopment of historic properties.

This list represents an immediate opportunity to achieve our vision for Columbus: a thriving, creative city that values and protects its architectural and cultural legacy and is committed to equity, sustainable growth, and design excellence.

2023 Most Endangered Site

Hayes-Henderson House

Site Address
1544 Atcheson St, Columbus, OH 43203 (King-Lincoln Bronzeville)
Building Date
1860
Franklin County Auditor File Parcel ID
010-039613-00

This historic “I-House” residence was likely built by Judge John Green somewhere between 1865 and 1868, on farmland once owned by the family of a U.S. president, Rutherford B. Hayes. The symmetrical “I-House” style was commonly built in the rural farm areas of Indiana, Illinois and Iowa and was prevalent in Ohio as well. In 1942, the house was sold to prominent local attorney Leon Pearl Henderson who over the years established his home as a social center for the community and hosted many prominent African-American entertainers there. This was especially important during the era of segregation. The house was sold to Leon’s daughter, Lee, who turned it into the nation’s first Bed and Breakfast owned and operated by an African American.

The nation’s first Bed and Breakfast owned and operated by an African American

The house was sold to PACT (Partners Achieving Community Transformation) by the family. There it remained vacant for a number of years. In February 2023, during Black History Month, The Ohio State University announced that it had purchased the property from PACT and their intention of demolishing the house for a new 3-story, 80+ bed rehabilitation center. After Preservation Ohio and Columbus Landmarks communicated our intention of listing the Hayes-Henderson House on our 2023 Most Endangered Sites List, The Ohio State University stated in the press that they would be taking demolition off the table for the house and investigating other uses. With the university’s presidency role, one that is responsive to community concern, remaining vacant and unable to oversee agendas, we remain concerned about the house’s future to stay within the community.

2023 Most Endangered Site

Summit United Methodist Church

Site Address
82 E. 16th St Columbus, OH 43201 (University District)
Building Date
1954, renovated interior 1983
Franklin County Auditor File Parcel ID
010-067117-00

The building was built in 1954 as the Wesley Foundation at the Ohio State University. In 1977, the Wesley Foundation, Indianola United Methodist Church, and University United Methodist Church merged to form the ‘new’ Summit United Methodist Church. The exterior of the former Wesley Foundation remained as is, but the multipurpose room was renovated to become the church’s new worship space by award-winning mid-century architect, Edward Sövik. Flexible seating and podiums that can be rearranged, plus “non-representational art” illustrate how an ordinary space can be repurposed to accommodate both civic and sacred functions. The design does not set apart the space for worship alone but is adaptable and suitable for non-church functions as well. It is a beautiful modern artifact in very good shape that should be adaptively repurposed and preserved.

a beautiful modern artifact in very good shape that should be adaptively repurposed and preserved

Summit United Methodist Church has partnered with a developer for the site. The developer has proposed an insensitive luxury apartment complex to replace the building which seems to neither meet the housing affordability needs of the area nor the height restrictions for the district. We remain vigilant on the future of this site – once the home of affordable childcare and community engagement – while also being an example of modern devotional space architecture.

2023 Most Endangered Site

Fire Engine House no. 10

Site Address
1096 W Broad St. Columbus, OH 43222
Building Date
1896
Franklin County Auditor File Parcel ID
N/A

Located in Franklinton, on the west side of Columbus, Fire Engine House no. 10 is one of the oldest fire engine houses in the city. Built in 1896 and designed by Harris Architects, very little has changed since its construction. Featuring a 55-foot hose tower, four engine bays, two fire poles, and an ornately designed brick facade, the buildings is designed in an Italianate style. Originally, designed for horse-drawn fire engines, by 1912 the station became only the second station in the city equipped with motorized vehicles—one of which was used to pump water out of the station after the Great Flood of 1913. After suffering a series of fires, through the 1970s, the city proposed that the station be closed, along with a nearby station in the Hilltop, and build a new larger station further westward. However, the proposal fell through and the station remained open and operational until 2008 when the fire fighters begrudgingly left their posts at Engine House No. 10 for a newly built station down the road. Having sat vacant since its closure, the engine house is owned and used for storage by the City of Columbus. Based on eyewitness reports, the building is deteriorating and there are significant leaks in the roof. It has been proposed by the folks with the Franklinton Civic Association that an effort be made to get the building back on the City’s Register for Historic Places and that the station be brought up to code and used as a possible community center.

designed for horse-drawn fire engines, by 1912 the station became only the second station in the city equipped with motorized vehicles

With all the development that surrounds the old station in Franklinton, it is no wonder there’s a strong effort to preserve one of the neighborhoods last remaining historic landmarks. Currently, the site on Broad Street, one of the major thoroughfares of Columbus remains empty and inactivated. We are concerned about potential neglect of the structure and how this is affecting the block in a vacant state.

2023 Most Endangered Site

Downtown Columbus YMCA

Site Address
40 W. Long St. Columbus, Ohio 43215
Building Date
1924
Franklin County Auditor File Parcel ID
010-067063-00

Columbus’s Downtown YMCA has stood at Front and Long streets for nearly 100 years. The seven-story structure, designed by Walter Shattuck with Jacobethan and Gothic revival influences, is believed to be the only structure with elements of both styles in the city, and the only nondenominational structure in Downtown Columbus in either style. The massive building has a well-preserved façade on Long Street that is elaborately decorated. It is described as castle-like, with stone buttresses, crenellated battlements, belt courses, copings, and finials. Its interiors retain innumerous original elements, including varnished wood paneling, built-in bookcases, fireplaces, and doors with pointed arches and leaded-glass windows within its first-floor social spaces. The building stood holding one of the most important civic and cultural institutions in the city, not only providing housing for over 500,000 people, but providing food, education, vocational training, and more. Here the YMCA established the first evening high school in Columbus, the first cooperative day school (allowing students to divide their days between learning and industrial work), and opened colleges for law, arts and sciences, and commerce. In the 2010s, the YMCA realized it would not have the budget to renovate the building, and is in the process of re-establishing a community center to serve downtown Columbus.

The building stood holding one of the most important civic and cultural institutions in the city

The building was sold in 2023. The YMCA and the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation hopes the building will be repurposed, and the building’s potential for reuse has attracted numerous developers with interest. During the current vacancy period, the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation has been a good steward of the Downtown YMCA building by repairing damage and keeping on the utilities; Columbus Downtown Development Corporation has a proven track record for saving the character of other Columbus places.

Columbus Landmarks is advocating for Columbus Downtown Development Corporation to be bold in their plans to engage the community in protecting the building’s architectural integrity and affordable housing, setting the stage for any selected developer(s) to be guided by our city’s history of providing below market rate housing downtown. It is in this spirit that we list the Downtown YMCA on our 2023 Most Endangered listing.

2023 Most Endangered Site

Old Lazarus Block

Site Address
171-191 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215
Building Date
19th c. (171-177 S. High), 1906 (185-191 S. High)
Franklin County Auditor File Parcel ID
010-037820-00

The Old Lazarus Block has served as a commercial center to Columbus for over two centuries. The structures have seen a wide variety of retail and service uses during this time, including shoe stores, groceries, opticians, hatters, jewelers, a liquor store, and a car dealership. The buildings exhibit early 20th century facades; 185-191 South High, once considered a landmark corner for Columbus, dates to 1906, while 171-177 South High was constructed sometime in the 19th century and was remodeled in the second decade of the 20th century. The latter building was once part of the first Lazarus department store, which grew to encompass a group of seven buildings on the site until it moved to the Lazarus Building in 1909. The same building was again noted in the 1930s, for housing the first Kroger store in Downtown Columbus, which was considered the first supermarket in the city. The Ohio National Bank building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and actively being saved as part of the redevelopment efforts, was built in 1911, designed by the city’s preeminent architects Richards, McCarty & Bulford. The firm envisioned the structure with an ornate Greek Revival style, reflecting the design chosen for the Ohio Statehouse nearby.

an ornate Greek Revival style, reflecting the design chosen for the Ohio Statehouse

The bank and commercial buildings, as well as a brick garage dating to 1910, were sold to a development company in 2023. The developer plans to renovate the bank building to the highest preservation standards – which we applaud — but to also demolish the remaining Old Lazarus Block. Here, Columbus Landmarks is calling for a more sensitive treatment and reuse of the Old Lazarus Block.

Let’s keep discovering and saving our city’s history, one landmark at a time!

Join us on the Advocacy Bus Tour and create awareness of architectural heritage at risk.

Nominate a historic building at risk today and help ensure our city’s architectural heritage is preserved for future generations!

May 14, 2020 in 2020 Most Endangered Sites, Uncategorized

Former Lazarus Kingsdale

example of the suburban Lazarus store design of the mid-20th century... design influenced by Raymond Loewy, considered the father of industrial design
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May 14, 2020 in 2020 Most Endangered Sites

C&O Roundhouse

...originally built as 27-bay brick roundhouse serviced by a 115-foot turntable and one of the last few in Ohio
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May 14, 2020 in 2020 Most Endangered Sites

Historic Sheep Farmhouse

...one of the oldest remaining structures in NW Columbus... an important example of rural architecture and sits on a 58-acre parcel
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May 14, 2020 in 2020 Most Endangered Sites

Cleve Theatre

...Art Deco style, originally front center tower featured glass block with a large motorized color projected vertical bands of color
Read More