Spencer Township Hall

Last updated
Spencer Town Hall
Spencer Township Hall in Columbia-Tusculum.jpg
Front and western side
USA Ohio location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location3833 Eastern Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates 39°6′39″N84°26′6″W / 39.11083°N 84.43500°W / 39.11083; -84.43500 Coordinates: 39°6′39″N84°26′6″W / 39.11083°N 84.43500°W / 39.11083; -84.43500
AreaLess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1860
MPS Columbia-Tusculum MRA
NRHP reference No. 79002701 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 24, 1979

The Spencer Township Hall is a historic former government building in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. One of Cincinnati's oldest extant public buildings, it has been designated a historic site because of its architecture.

Contents

Architecture

Constructed in 1860, [1] the township hall is a two-story brick building with a stone foundation, a shingled roof, and miscellaneous elements of stone. [2] Many small elements combine to give the building a Greek Revival flavor, including its pilasters, the capitals on its columns, and the simple windowsills and lintels. Among its lesser details are a bracketed overhanging roof, which adds an Italianate appearance, and a pair of datestones above the main entrance — one commemorating the local IOOF lodge, and the other marking the building as the township hall. When originally built, the hall was three bays wide and six bays long, although it was later expanded by the construction of an addition to the front. [3]

Activities

Besides serving as the township hall, the building was originally the meeting place for the IOOF lodge whose datestone appears on the facade; the lodge was chartered just one year before the building was built. [4] :13 In the late 1970s, the building was no longer used as a government or fraternal building, but despite the presence of the unsympathetic addition to the facade, it was still seen as a high-quality work of institutional architecture. By this time, it had been adaptively reused, [4] :11 and it was home to an engineering firm, [1] which decided to remove the front addition in conjunction with a grassroots effort to revitalize the neighborhood. [4] :11 By the early 2010s, it had become home to a dance studio. [5]

In 1979, the Spencer Township Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its historically significant architecture. [1] It was one of seventeen Columbia-Tusculum properties included in a multiple property submission related to a historic preservation survey conducted in the previous year; most of the properties were buildings, but the Columbia Baptist and Fulton-Presbyterian Cemeteries were also included. [1]

Related Research Articles

Bates Building United States historic place

The Bates Building is a historic house in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. A two-story building constructed in a vernacular style of architecture, it is one of the oldest buildings on Eastern Avenue in the neighborhood.

C. H. Burroughs House United States historic place

The C.H. Burroughs House is a historic former house in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Constructed at the end of the nineteenth century by one of the city's most prominent architects, the house has been converted into a social club, but it retains enough of its integrity to qualify for designation as a historic site.

Stephen Decker Rowhouse United States historic place

The Stephen Decker Rowhouse is a historic multiple residence in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Built in 1889, it occupies land that was originally a portion of the wide vineyards of Nicholas Longworth. In 1869, after his death, Longworth's estate was platted and sold to builders who constructed a residential neighborhood along Tusculum Avenue. One of the most unusual buildings was the Decker rowhouse, which features multiple distinctive Victorian elements. Chief among these is the ornamentation on the porch roofs: they include gabled rooflines and beveled corners supported by multiple spindles. Connecting these porch roofs are low normal roofs, which primarily protect the recessed entrances to the houses. Elsewhere, the houses feature double-hung windows, imbricated shingles on the gables, and arcades of Gothic Revival panelling, and numerous ornamental circles inscribed within squares. Taken as a single building, the rowhouse measures two bays wide and eighteen bays long; it is of frame construction and two stories tall. Rated "outstanding" by an architectural survey in 1978, it is the only rowhouse of its type in Cincinnati, due to its well-preserved Victorian architecture.

Hoodin Building United States historic place

The Hoodin Building was a historic apartment building in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Built in 1881, it was once one of the neighborhood's most prestigious addresses. Despite its designation as a historic site, it is no longer standing.

Kellogg House (Cincinnati, Ohio) United States historic place

The Kellogg House is a historic building in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Built in 1835, it is a two-and-a-half-story building with two prominent chimneys on the ends. The weatherboarded walls rest on a stone foundation and are covered by a metal roof, which rises to a high gable on each end. The building's architecture is a mix of the Federal style with many vernacular elements; it has been recognized as one of the area's best examples of transitional architecture. Some of the distinctive features of the Kellogg Building are the small brackets that support the simple cornice, two wings attached to the rear, and the two enclosed porches on the facade. Inside, the main hallway is ornamented by such features as intricate fretwork and multiple pillars. Main hallway is also occupied by the homes original pipe organ.

Kestler Building United States historic place

The Kestler Building was one of many historic buildings in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Originally a store, it was a weatherboarded building set on a stone foundation. Parts of the building were once used for residential purposes, in addition to the commercial space. Along with many other buildings in the neighborhood, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 24, 1979, qualifying because of its historically significant architecture; like several other Eastern Avenue commercial buildings, it was deemed historic partially because of its exterior design work.

Landt Building United States historic place

The Landt Building is a historic house in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Constructed at the end of the nineteenth century, it has been named one of the neighborhood's numerous historic sites.

LuNeack House United States historic place

The LuNeack House is a historic residence in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Built in 1894, it is a frame building with clapboard walls, two-and-a-half stories tall. The overall floor plan of the house is that of a rectangle, with the front and rear being the shorter sides, although the original shape has been modified by the extension of the rear and a hexagonal bay on the western side.

Mardot Antique Shop United States historic place

The Mardot Antique Shop was a historic commercial building in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Built in 1889, it was a weatherboarded structure with a slate roof and built on a stone foundation. Three stories tall, the building was a simple rectangle, two bays by three, and it featured a simple symmetrical facade with a cast iron front and many windows. Other architectural features included multiple dormers in the roof, a small cornice with brackets, and a recessed portion of the storefront surrounding the main entrance.

S. C. Mayer House United States historic place

The S.C. Mayer House is a historic house in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the late 1880s, it has been recognized because of its mix of major architectural styles and its monolithic stone walls. Built by a leading local architect, it has been named a historic site.

Morrison House (Cincinnati, Ohio) United States historic place

The Morrison House is a historic residence in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. One of the area's first houses designed by master architect Samuel Hannaford, the elaborate brick house was home to the owner of a prominent food-processing firm, and it has been named a historic site.

Northside United Methodist Church United States historic place

The Northside United Methodist Church is a historic Methodist church in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the 1890s for a congregation more than sixty years old, the building has been named a historic site.

Norwell Residence United States historic place

The Norwell Residence is a historic house in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. A Victorian building constructed in 1890, it is a weatherboarded structure with a stone foundation and a shingled roof. The overall floor plan of the house is irregular: two and half stories tall, the house is shaped like the letter "L" but appears to be a rectangle, due to the presence of two separate porches that fill in the remaining area. Many ornate details characterize it, including imbricated shingles on the westward-facing gable end of the house, a frieze with spindles on the railing of the primary porch, and small yet cunningly crafted braces for the same porch. Yet more distinctive is the secondary porch, which sits atop the primary one; it features braces and spindles similar to those of the primary porch.

Henry Powell House United States historic place

The Henry Powell House is a historic house in the Mount Auburn neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the mid-19th century, it experienced a radical transformation near the end of the century under the direction of a leading regional architect. This French-style residence has been named a historic site.

L.B. Robb Drugstore United States historic place

The L.B. Robb Drugstore was a historic pharmacy in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Erected in 1860, it was a four-story building, constructed of brick on a stone foundation and topped with a slate roof. The building was a simple rectangle in its floor plan, although not without embellishments: the roof, which rose to gables on the sides, was crowned by a large central chimney, while the gables were ornamented with machicolations, and the walls were anchored by brick pilasters. After the drugstore was completed, it was modified by the addition of a wooden porch to one of the sides; aside from the porch, it measured four bays on the front, four on the rear, and four on each side. The windows were of plain lintel construction with lugsills on the sides.

Stites House United States historic place

The Stites House is a historic residence in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio.

St. Roses Catholic Church (St. Rose, Ohio) United States historic place

St. Rose's Catholic Church is a historic Catholic church in St. Rose, an unincorporated community in Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio, United States.

Brooklin IOOF Hall United States historic place

The Brooklin IOOF Hall is an commercial and fraternal society building at the junction of Center Harbor Road and Reach Road in Brooklin, Maine. The three-story Second Empire style building was erected in 1875, and is one of the small community's largest 19th-century buildings and one of its architecturally most significant. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Chester Town Hall (Chesterville, Ohio) United States historic place

The Chester Town Hall is a historic governmental building and community meeting place in the village of Chesterville, Ohio, United States. Built in the 1860s by the village and a fraternal society, it has served as home for both entities throughout its history, as well as providing space for Chester Township officials and community gatherings. Along with numerous other buildings in the village, it has been named a historic site.

Chesterville Methodist Church United States historic place

The Chesterville Methodist Church is a United Methodist congregation in the village of Chesterville, Ohio, United States. Founded in the 1830s, it is Chesterville's only church, and it worships in a landmark 1850s building. Constructed during the village's most prominent years, the building is one of the most significant structures anywhere in the community, and it has been named a historic site as an important part of the village's nineteenth-century built environment.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Spencer Town Hall, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2012-11-19.
  3. Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 668.
  4. 1 2 3 Columbia-Tusculum Historical Society-Miami Purchase Association. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Columbia-Tusculum Multiple Resource Area . National Park Service, 1978-10-27.
  5. Location/Directions, Ballet Theatre Midwest, n.d. Accessed 2012-11-19.