Ohio Statehouse and Museum (Tour)

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1. Ohio Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 16, 1919

After the Civil War Ohio counties and communities created local women’s suffrage groups. In 1885 the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association (OWSA) was founded to focus on Ohio local and state laws. Women earned the right to vote in board of education elections in 1894, but did not earn the right to vote in all elections until the 19th Amendment. Ohio ratified the 19th Amendment on June 16, 1919, and also passed a state bill allowing women to vote in the 1920 presidential election in case the amendment did not go into effect before then.

2. James Rhodes Statue and Tower

Rhodes Tower is the tallest building in Columbus, completed in 1974 at a cost of over $60 million. Five years later, the 41-story office building was re-named in honor of James A. Rhodes, Ohio's longest-serving governor who held office from 1963-1971 and again from 1975-1983. Rhodes was instrumental in establishing Ohio's two-year college system, an achievement recognized in in 2002, one year after his death, when Lima Technical College changed its name to James A. Rhodes State College. Rhodes is best known for another event at one of Ohio's colleges. He was governor during the Vietnam conflict and expressed little support for the rights of students and other war protesters prior to his fateful decision to send troops to quell the anti-Vietnam War protests at Kent State University. The statue of Rhodes in front of the office building was financed by private donors and dedicated on the statehouse grounds in 1982. The ceremony was marked by praise from long-serving politicians of both parties, as well as protesters who chanted and held signs asking participants to remember the Kent State Massacre. The statue was moved to its present location in front of the Rhodes Tower in 1991.

3. The Hayden Building

Built by businessman Peter Hayden in 1869, the Hayden building was once the home of Hayden-Clinton Bank. Hayden built the structure to have a base for his banking business. The structure is the oldest in the Columbus Capitol Square. Known for his ironwork and brick and tile manufacturing, Hayden named an entire town after himself after placing his business there. Haydenville is along the Scioto River, and many brick structures of Haydenville still remain today.

4. Huntington Center

Built in 1984, the 37-story Huntington Center is an office complex that is the fourth tallest structure in Columbus, Ohio. The structure was built by architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP. It is the tallest structure built during the 1980s in Columbus, Ohio.

5. Ohio Holocaust and Liberators Memorial

On the south side of the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse you will find the Ohio Holocaust and Liberators Memorial. Dedicated in 2014, this newest addition to the historical markers on the statehouse grounds honors the memory of those who died in the Holocaust as well as paying tribute to the men and women who liberated Europe. The memorial was begun at the urging of Governor John Kasich who said at the dedication, "Our young people need to know about the injustice and how it happened and what we can do so it doesn't happen again."

6. Ohio Theatre

The Ohio Theatre was built in the Beaux-Arts style from stone and terra-cotta in 1928. It served as both a movie and live performance theater until its closure in 1969. That same year, locals saved the Ohio from demolition, and it was purchased and renovated by the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts. The Ohio Theatre is now the Official Theatre for the State of Ohio and is used primarily for stage performances, with some movies shown throughout the year.

7. The Columbus Dispatch Building

Built in 1925, The Columbus Dispatch Building served as the printing facility for the Columbus, Ohio newspaper for many years. The structure was built in a second renaissance revival style. The Dispatch was the first newspaper in the United States to publish online in 1980. Editors used CompuServe dial-up to transfer the news to computers at home. The neon sign above the building marks the history of the paper and how news has evolved over time.

8. Ohio Veterans Plaza

The Ohio Veterans Plaza was dedicated in 1998 and honors veterans from World War II into the future. The plaza is a grassy lawn featuring flowers, two fountains, benches, and limestone walls inscribed with veterans’ letters to home. The idea for the monument came in the 1980s after two local Vietnam veterans took matters into their own hands and built a temporary tribute to other veterans on statehouse property. Local legislation was then passed to construct a permanent reminder of the sacrifices made by Ohio’s veterans.

This Tour is a Virtual Museum or Site Tour.

Ohio Statehouse and Museum

Created by Joanne A. Nelson on September 17th 2014, 3:23:52 am.

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Constructed in stages between 1839 and 1861, the Ohio Statehouse serves as the meeting place of the state legislature and the offices of the governor. The design comes from a competition where the judges selected a structure that blended many of the standard classical features of state legislature buildings and the United States Capitol. Although it features the Greek Revival style, the building does not feature the nearly-ubiquitous dome that became common following the completion of the Capitol Dome in Washington. The State House features Doric columnns made of Columbus limestone from the Scioto River. In addition to skilled workers and supervisors, much of the labor for the building was provided by prisoners. The central feature of the building is the Cupola which provides natural light for the rotunda.

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Ohio Statehouse and Museum

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