{"nrhp_refnum":"73001534","name":"Founders Hall, Heidelberg College","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Perry St. (OH 18)","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tiffin","county":"Seneca County","state":"OH","lat":41.116452922000065,"lon":-83.16718218199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-03-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Founders Hall is a three-story brick and stone Greek Revival building on the Heidelberg College campus on Perry Street (Ohio Route 18) in Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio. Its cornerstone was laid in 1852 and construction finished in 1858.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the best Greek Revival buildings in Ohio. Its attic windows set into the frieze echo domestic architecture of the Connecticut Western Reserve, and its monumental front doorways are Greek Revival features. It was also the original college building, housing the whole of Heidelberg for 36 years.","narrative":"Founders Hall is the original building of Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio. Its cornerstone was laid in 1852, two years after the Ohio Synod of the Reformed Church founded the college. Students moved into the first story in the fall of 1853, and the work was finished in 1858. The brick and stone structure measures 104 by 64 feet, with a basement and attic. Its front projection has three stacked monumental doorways, the upper two with balconies, framed by heavy pilasters and entablatures. Attic windows sit in the frieze beneath the cornice, a detail associated with the Connecticut Western Reserve. Originally it held residence rooms, lecture halls, literary society halls, recitation rooms, a library and a chapel, and for 36 years it was the whole college. Professor Jeremiah Good is thought to have drawn the design. A 1929 remodeling added bathrooms, new floors and steam heat. The building was listed as one of Ohio's best Greek Revival works and for its educational history.","period_of_significance":"1852-1858","architect_builder":"Design thought to be by Jeremiah Good; the nomination states the builder and supervisor are unknown (a later state inventory names Jeremiah H. Good as architect and George C. Small as builder).","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Stated to be in excellent condition and occupied, used for educational purposes. It was remodeled in 1929 and renovated again in 1974-75, when it became home to the Speech and Theatre Department.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.480677-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/73001534.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001534/40f73a4918-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001534/40f73a4918-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Founders_Hall,_Heidelberg_University.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Founders_Hall,_Heidelberg_University.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986150","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138672954"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/seneca-county/founders-hall-heidelberg-college-73001534/"}