{"nrhp_refnum":"75001526","name":"Ohio State Normal College At Kent","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Hilltop Dr. on Kent State University campus","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kent","county":"Portage County","state":"OH","lat":41.15172382600008,"lon":-81.34781857699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-05-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A group of five early twentieth-century college buildings (Kent, Administration, Merrill, Lowry and Moulton Halls) arranged in a curve on a hilltop at the original campus of Ohio State Normal College, now Kent State University, in Kent, Portage County, Ohio. Built 1912-1917 with later additions.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the five oldest Kent State buildings form a distinguishable group because of their good proportions, their relationships to one another and their siting along a curving hilltop, despite being basically plain utilitarian structures with nominal Neo-Classic Revival detail. It also notes that Kent was the first state normal college in Ohio, and that the layout follows the nineteenth-century college row composition.","narrative":"Five early buildings of what is now Kent State University sit in a gentle curve along a hilltop in Kent, Ohio. Kent, Administration, Merrill, Lowry and Moulton Halls were built between 1912 and 1917 for Ohio State Normal College, the first state normal college in Ohio. Architect George Francis Hammond of Cleveland prepared the 1911 master plan, which envisioned a semicircle of classical buildings. The halls are yellow brick with gray stone trim over a reinforced concrete frame, and are dressed in simplified Neo-Classic Revival detail, including Ionic columns on Kent Hall and a temple-style facade added to Administration in 1929-1931. A gymnasium was added behind Administration in 1923-1924. The nomination values the group mainly for its proportions, its siting and the relationships among the buildings, which echo the nineteenth-century college row layout. It also observes that the rear elevations are plain and utilitarian, making the group a strong example of attention to the front facade.","period_of_significance":"1912-1931","architect_builder":"Architect George Francis Hammond; contractor Robert H. Evans & Company of Columbus; landscape architect Albert D. Taylor of Boston made the topographical survey","architectural_style":"Simplified Neo-Classic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition and occupied, in educational use by Kent State University; the form notes some alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.410592-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001526.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001526/e1232ef4c1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001526/e1232ef4c1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"JonRidinger","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merrill_Hall_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JonRidinger</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merrill_Hall_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990995","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_State_Normal_College_at_Kent","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7080921"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/portage-county/ohio-state-normal-college-at-kent-75001526/"}