{"nrhp_refnum":"07000298","name":"Marion County Telephone Company Building","other_names":["Ohio Associated Telephone Co. Bldg.(MAR-162-08)","General Telephone of Ohio"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"197 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Marion","county":"Marion County","state":"OH","lat":40.586659119000046,"lon":-83.12906140299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-04-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Communications"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick telephone company headquarters at 197 South Main Street in Marion, Marion County, Ohio. It was built in 1916 as a two-story building, and a third story was added in 1949.","why_significant":"The building is significant under Criterion A for its link to Marion's twentieth-century telephone communications history. It was the first building in Marion built specifically to house telephone operating equipment and company offices. It later served as the statewide headquarters of General Telephone Company of Ohio, which became the state's largest independent phone company.","narrative":"Located 1.5 blocks south of the Marion County courthouse, this three-story brick building was constructed in 1916 as the first in the city designed specifically for telephone switching equipment and company offices. It has fireproof concrete framing, stepped brick piers capped with stone ornament, and a stone foundation. A third floor was added in 1949 to meet growing demand, using matching materials so the addition is nearly imperceptible. Around 1965 most windows were bricked in when air conditioning was installed. The company that built it, the Marion County Telephone Company, was locally owned, and Warren G. Harding served on its board. Later the building housed General Telephone Company of Ohio, serving as its statewide headquarters from 1940 to 1964 and then as division offices. That company became the largest independent telephone provider in Ohio and a major Marion employer. The building is now vacant, though it keeps its basic form and many 1949 interior features.","period_of_significance":"1916-1956","architect_builder":"Architect: Unknown; Builders: 1916 Unknown; 1949 Addition: Carstenson of Pittsburgh, PA","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Current function is listed as vacant / not in use. All telephone company equipment is gone from the building, and many window openings were bricked in around 1965.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.199264-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/07000298.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100007469","name":"Marion Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/marion-downtown-historic-district-100007469/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990179","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/marion-county/marion-county-telephone-company-building-07000298/"}