{"nrhp_refnum":"72001028","name":"Painesville City Hall","other_names":["Old Lake County Courthouse"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7 Richmond St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Painesville","county":"Lake County","state":"OH","lat":41.72414265100008,"lon":-81.24556559299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-07-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Greek Revival building at 7 Richmond Street in Painesville, Lake County, Ohio, erected in 1840 as the Lake County Courthouse and later used as city hall.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an outstanding example of the Greek Revival architecture flourishing when Lake County was established. It was built right after Lake County was separated from Geauga County in 1840, and it served as the county courthouse until 1909. It was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1936.","narrative":"Built in 1840, this two-story brick building at 7 Richmond Street in Painesville first served as the Lake County Courthouse. It has a cupola and a pedimented two-story porch carried by four Doric columns, with brick pilasters and a full entablature that give it an almost pure Greek Revival character. Construction followed quickly after Lake County was carved out of Geauga County, a move that succeeded by claiming Lake Erie's acreage to its centerline. Painesville became the county seat, and citizens raised $5,000 by subscription for the courthouse. The contractor, Henry Wigglesworth, reportedly overran the funds. A public square lies across Richmond Street. When a new courthouse opened in 1909, the older building became Painesville City Hall. The interior has been much altered, and a large west addition, the Safety Center, was completed in 1961. The building was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1936.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1840)","architect_builder":"Contractor Henry Wigglesworth; widely but probably erroneously attributed to Jonathan Goldsmith","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in fair condition, altered, and occupied; the cupola is described as structurally weak. Used as city hall, with a 1961 west addition housing the Safety Center.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.047637-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/72001028.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001028/ac779bb761-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001028/ac779bb761-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"LeeG7144","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Painesville_City_Hall.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">LeeG7144</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Painesville_City_Hall.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78002093","name":"Mentor Avenue District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/mentor-avenue-district-78002093/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989593","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painesville_City_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q136312804"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lake-county/painesville-city-hall-72001028/"}