{"nrhp_refnum":"04001200","name":"Huron County Children's Home","other_names":["Hur-28-3"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"190 Benedict Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Norwalk","county":"Huron County","state":"OH","lat":41.231992630000036,"lon":-82.60830399299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-10-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick children's home at 190 Benedict Avenue in Norwalk, Huron County, Ohio, built in 1913 by the Huron County Commissioners on a parcel of about 3 acres. It has an E-plan and a contributing detached garage.","why_significant":"It is significant under Criterion C as a well-preserved early twentieth century institutional children's home in the Neo-Classical Revival style. It is significant under Criterion A as an example of county-funded children's homes, a period when poor, orphaned and indigent children were housed in large institutions apart from adult county infirmaries. It is also linked to contractor W. L. Willing, who is credited with inventing the tower crane around the time of its construction.","narrative":"Built in 1913 on Benedict Avenue in Norwalk, this two-story brick building served as the Huron County Children's Home. Designed by architects S. H. and R. H. Shively and built by W. L. Willing of Bellevue for a low bid of $34,200, it replaced a smaller residence nearby. The E-plan building has a projecting center bay with a two-story pedimented portico, fluted Doric columns, stone lintels with keystones, and a bracketed wood cornice. A rock-faced concrete block garage of about the same date also contributes to the site. The home reflects the era when Ohio counties placed orphaned and poor children in large institutional buildings separate from adult infirmaries. It housed children until at least 1966, later held county offices, and has been vacant since 1995. Willing's work on the project is also tied to his invention of the tower crane. Alterations are modest, and the original plan remains largely intact apart from a small rear addition made between 1931 and 1946.","period_of_significance":"1913-1954","architect_builder":"Architect: S. H. & R. H. Shively; Builder: W.L. Willing, Bellevue","architectural_style":"Classical Revival/Neo-Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Vacant since 1995; Huron County Job and Family Services was the last tenant. Alterations include three bricked-in windows, plywood infill in upper window sash, and dropped ceilings inside.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:06.854236-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/04001200.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001200/67a7b67f3d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001200/67a7b67f3d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Huron_County_Children%27s_Home.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Huron_County_Children%27s_Home.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989429","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138375280"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/huron-county/huron-county-childrens-home-04001200/"}