{"nrhp_refnum":"04001145","name":"Buckeye State Building and Loan Company Building","other_names":["The Buckeye Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"36-42 E. Gay St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Franklin County","state":"OH","lat":39.95828000800003,"lon":-82.99732931399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-10-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 16-story Classical Revival office tower with a rear banking hall extension at 36-42 E. Gay Street in downtown Columbus, Ohio, built 1926-1927 as the headquarters of the Buckeye State Building and Loan Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant under Criterion C as an outstanding example of the Classical Revival style applied to a high-rise bank/office building and as an important work of the New York firm Hopkins & Dentz. The text also discusses the Buckeye company as the largest and most successful savings and loan association in Columbus from 1925 to 1949.","narrative":"Rising sixteen stories at the corner of E. Gay Street and Pearl Alley in downtown Columbus, this building was constructed in 1926-1927 as headquarters for the Buckeye State Building and Loan Company. It combines an office tower with a rear extension holding a grand banking hall. The south and west faces follow the base-shaft-capital pattern of Classical Revival design, with polished granite at the base, bluestone above, engaged Corinthian columns, carved friezes and a modillioned cornice. Inside, the banking hall measures 75 by 180 feet with a 44-foot ceiling, cast stone walls and a coffered plaster ceiling. The original boardroom and safe deposit areas survive, though some finishes were altered in later decades. The building is recognized for its architecture, as an example of Classical Revival applied to a high-rise bank and office building by the New York firm Hopkins & Dentz. It also reflects the role of the Buckeye company, which became the largest savings and loan in Columbus before becoming federally chartered in 1949.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Hopkins & Dentz (New York City architecture firm)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals / Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in commercial use as offices; the banking hall and original features remain, with later alterations such as 1960s mezzanine offices and 1980s lobby finishes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:06.749604-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/04001145.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001145/5533b911fa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001145/5533b911fa-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buckeye_State_Building_and_Loan_Company_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buckeye_State_Building_and_Loan_Company_Building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988442","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckeye_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q97356221"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/franklin-county/buckeye-state-building-and-loan-company-building-04001145/"}