{"nrhp_refnum":"74001567","name":"Butler Institute Of American Art","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"524 Wick Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Youngstown","county":"Mahoning County","state":"OH","lat":41.10549558400004,"lon":-80.64585995499993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-10-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, U-shaped museum building faced in white Georgia marble at 524 Wick Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio. It opened in October 1919 and was built by Joseph G. Butler, Jr.; wings were added in 1931.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the Butler Institute was the first museum building erected entirely for American art, though reviewers questioned this claim. It is also described as one of the most characteristic Renaissance Revival buildings of McKim, Mead and White. It shows the early twentieth-century striving for cultural expression in a Midwestern steel town.","narrative":"Located at 524 Wick Avenue in Youngstown, the Butler Institute of American Art is a two-story, U-shaped museum faced in white Georgia marble. Its 120-foot facade centers on a recessed portico of three arches on Ionic columns, with a mosaic-tiled vaulted ceiling and niches holding statues of Apollo and Minerva by sculptor J. Massey Rhind. Steel executive Joseph G. Butler, Jr. built it after a 1917 fire destroyed his private art collection, and it opened in October 1919. Two wings planned from the start were added in 1931 by Youngstown architect Paul Boucherle, enclosing a formal garden. The design is regarded as a characteristic Renaissance Revival work of McKim, Mead and White. The nomination also claims it was the first museum building erected entirely for American art, a claim that federal reviewers questioned. It reflects early twentieth-century cultural ambition in an industrial Midwestern city.","period_of_significance":"20th Century; specific date 1919","architect_builder":"McKim, Mead and White (original building); Paul Boucherle (1931 addition); built by Joseph G. Butler, Jr.; sculptor J. Massey Rhind (statues)","architectural_style":"Second Renaissance Revival Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent condition, and in use as a museum; altered by the 1931 wings.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.479057-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/74001567.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001567/3fef505e78-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001567/3fef505e78-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Lorinda Dixon","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Butler_Institute_of_American_Art_07.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lorinda Dixon</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Butler_Institute_of_American_Art_07.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990076","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butler_Institute_of_American_Art","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5002627"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/mahoning-county/butler-institute-of-american-art-74001567/"}