{"nrhp_refnum":"12000801","name":"Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall","other_names":["City Hall, Memorial Hall","G.a.r."],"category":"building","location":{"address":"401 Railroad St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ironton","county":"Lawrence County","state":"OH","lat":38.53736480400005,"lon":-82.68533073799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-09-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story-plus-basement Richardsonian Romanesque meeting hall at 401 Railroad Street in Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio, built in 1892 for the Grand Army of the Republic and designed by architect Joseph Yost.","why_significant":"It is tied to the Grand Army of the Republic's Post No. 165 and later served as library, city hall, courts and veterans' headquarters. It is also the only Richardsonian Romanesque building left in Ironton, designed by prominent Ohio architect Joseph Yost and rebuilt after a 1905 fire.","narrative":"Built in 1892 at 401 Railroad Street in Ironton, Ohio, Memorial Hall was created as the meeting place for the Grand Army of the Republic's Post No. 165. Columbus architect Joseph Yost designed it in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, with rusticated buff Amherst stone, contrasting brick walls, round-arched windows, a recessed arched entrance and a prominent corner tower. A lightning strike and fire in 1905 gutted the building, and the interior and upper walls were rebuilt by local architect T.S. Murray, who echoed Yost's design. Over the decades the hall housed the public library, city offices, courts, a jail, and the American Legion. The city left in the mid-1990s, and a 2007 storm collapsed the rear roof and floors. The masonry exterior and tower foyer survive, and the hall remains the only Richardsonian Romanesque building in Ironton. The annual Memorial Day parade still forms in front of it.","period_of_significance":"1892-1954","architect_builder":"Yost, Joseph; McLain, W.J.; Murray, T.S.","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Romanesque/Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Vacant since the city moved out in the mid-1990s. The rear roof and interior collapsed after a 2007 storm, and a temporary steel-framed cover protects the building. The masonry shell is reported in excellent condition.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.13477-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/12000801.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000801/61a02bc317-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000801/61a02bc317-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ironton_GAR_hall.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ironton_GAR_hall.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989663","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Army_of_the_Republic_Memorial_Hall_(Ironton,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5594264"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lawrence-county/grand-army-of-the-republic-memorial-hall-12000801/"}