{"nrhp_refnum":"79001779","name":"Lima Memorial Hall","other_names":["Allen County Memorial"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W. Elm and S. Elizabeth Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lima","county":"Allen County","state":"OH","lat":40.73759653800005,"lon":-84.10624207599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-05-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Lima Memorial Hall (also called Allen County Memorial) is a Beaux Arts Classicism public hall at West Elm and South Elizabeth Streets in downtown Lima, Allen County, Ohio, built in 1908 and designed by Dawson and McLaughlin.","why_significant":"The nomination cites its long role as a town hall and performance center since 1908 and as a memorial to military veterans and Allen County pioneers. It is also presented as a good example of Beaux Arts Classicism by a respected architectural firm. Federal reviewers emphasized its fine Beaux Arts construction and its long function as a civic institution.","narrative":"Lima Memorial Hall, also known as Allen County Memorial, is a Beaux Arts Classicism building at West Elm and South Elizabeth Streets in downtown Lima, Ohio. The Allen County Commissioners began planning it in 1906, because the city was to host the Ohio Grand Army of the Republic in 1908 and lacked adequate accommodations. Dawson and McLaughlin designed it. Coupled columns carry an entablature with metopes, triglyphs and dentils, and a monumental stair leads to three arched doorways. Inside, a marble double staircase rises to a balustraded balcony. The hall has served as a town hall and performance venue, hosting symphonies, band concerts, opera singers, religious meetings, wrestling shows and auctions, and it honors military veterans and county pioneers. Its acoustics have drawn praise from some musicians. When the form was prepared, a downtown redevelopment plan including a new civic center had led to a recommendation to raze it, and local citizens were working to save it.","period_of_significance":"1908","architect_builder":"Dawson and McLaughlin (later McLaughlin and Hulsken)","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts Classicism","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in fair condition, in use as a museum and educational facility; the form says it was threatened with razing under a downtown development program, with preservation efforts under way.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.324177-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79001779.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001779/7f46e6676a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001779/7f46e6676a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lima_Memorial_Hall_from_south.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lima_Memorial_Hall_from_south.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986600","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lima_Memorial_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6548820"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/allen-county/lima-memorial-hall-79001779/"}