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Groveport School gets state nomination for National Register
(by Rick Palsgrove, Southeast Editor - April 20, 2009)
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| Groveport School in 1926. |
Groveport School is one of five sites recommended for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.
On April 17, the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board unanimously voted to recommend to State Historic Preservation Officer Dr. William Laidlaw, Jr., that the school's nomination be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, who directs the program for the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., for consideration.
If the Keeper agrees that the properties meet the criteria for listing, they will be added to the National Register of Historic Places. A decision from the Keeper is expected in about 90 days.
About Groveport School
Groveport School (now Groveport Elementary and Groveport Madison Junior High School), 715 and 751 E. Main St., Groveport, was recommended for nomination to the National Register for its association with the history of education in the community and its representation of how the village school system developed from the 1920s through the 1950s.
The original three story building, completed in 1923-24, is the work of Columbus architects David Riebel & Sons, who designed many central Ohio schools from the 1880s to the 1920s. Reflecting the popularity of historical styles at the time it was built, it is an example of the Jacobethan style inspired by English architecture of the 1500s and 1600s. Additions made in 1952 and 1956 reflect the impact of the post-World War II baby boom, as well as the popularity of the modern International style favored for school buildings at that time.
Groveport School was built on land that was once pasture land owned by the Rarey family and where the famous horse Cruiser, and now the school mascot, used to romp. It cost $225,000 to build and housed all 12 grades until the mid-1950s when a new high school was built next door and connected by an overhead walkway.
Groveport Madison Junior High served as Groveport Madison High School until 1970 and was built for $550,000 in phases throughout the 1950s on the site of the former Rarey mansion, also known as the Elmont Hotel.
The two buildings also feature a striking contrast of architectural eras. Groveport School looks almost church like in appearance while the junior high sports the sleek look of the post World War II era when modernity was fully embraced.
The two buildings have served generations of Groveport Madison students and served as a linear link for families as children of today study and play on grounds where their grandparents also experienced their school days.
The structures have been focal points for community activities ranging from academics, to concerts, to athletics, to theatrical plays, to lectures and more.
Other nominations
Other Ohio properties nominated include:
•Born Capital Brewery Bottling Plant, 570 S. Front St., Columbus - Nominated for its association with the history of German settlement and commerce in the area south of downtown Columbus that now comprises German Village and the Brewery District, and for its association with the city's brewing industry.
•Hayden Building, 20 E. Broad St., Columbus - Built in 1869, the four-story Hayden Building is the oldest commercial building on Capitol Square.
•New Hayden Building,16 E. Broad St., Columbus - A 13 story skyscraper built in 1901, it is an early Columbus skyscraper and was the home of the National Football League in the 1920s and 1930s.
•Hotel Metropole, 609 Walnut St., Cincinnati - A 10-story Neoclassical style building completed in 1912 and enlarged in 1924.
About the National Register
The National Register lists places that should be preserved because of their significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture. It includes buildings, sites, structures, objects, and historic districts of national, state, and local importance.
To be eligible for listing on the National Register a property or district must:
•be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history, or
•be associated with the lives of people significant in our past, or
•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), or
•have yielded, or be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
National Register listing often raises community awareness of a property. However, listing does not obligate owners to repair or improve their properties and does not prevent them from remodeling, altering, selling, or even demolishing them if they choose to do so.
Owners or long-term tenants who rehabilitate income-producing properties listed on the National Register can qualify for a 20 percent federal income tax credit if the work they do follows the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, guidelines used nationwide for repairs and alterations to historic buildings.
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