{"nrhp_refnum":"79001788","name":"Herron Gymnasium","other_names":["Van Voorhis Hall"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Miami University campus","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oxford","county":"Butler County","state":"OH","lat":39.509537340000065,"lon":-84.73379946899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-11-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Herron Gymnasium, now called Van Voorhis Hall, is a two-story brick Romanesque-style gymnasium built in 1897 on the Miami University campus on East High Street in Oxford, Butler County, Ohio.","why_significant":"It is the oldest remaining academic building on the Miami campus, and its Romanesque style and steel roof truss system are unique locally. It is also tied to the start of official coaching classes at Miami in 1924, supporting the university's reputation as the \"Cradle of Coaches.\"","narrative":"Built in 1897 on the Miami University campus in Oxford, Ohio, Herron Gymnasium, now called Van Voorhis Hall, is the oldest surviving academic building at the university. The two-story brick structure has a low hip roof and is dominated by arches, including arched doorways, blind arches, and arched window lintels. Its second-floor gymnasium is an uninterrupted space spanned by five riveted steel Howe trusses, with a running track set ten feet above the floor. F.E. Townsend of Hamilton designed it, and the Johnston Brothers of Oxford built it. John W. Herron, class of 1845, conceived the project. The building was moved 522 feet on railroad tracks in 1923 to clear a dormitory site. It served as the center of Miami athletics until 1930 and hosted the first official coaching classes in 1924. Many Miami graduates later became prominent coaches, earning the university the title \"Cradle of Coaches.\" Classrooms and offices now occupy it.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"F.E. Townsend, Architect, Hamilton, Ohio; Johnston Bros. Const. Co., Oxford, Ohio","architectural_style":"Utilitarian Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"In use for first-floor classrooms and offices, with art classes held in the second-floor gymnasium. It was moved 522 feet in 1923. The form notes it is scheduled for demolition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:11.863633-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79001788.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001788/943adc305d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001788/943adc305d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Snyder, Frank R. Flickr: Miami U. Libraries - Digital Collections","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herron_Gymnasium_crop.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Snyder, Frank R. Flickr: Miami U. Libraries - Digital Collections</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herron_Gymnasium_crop.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986939","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herron_Gymnasium","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5744205"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/butler-county/herron-gymnasium-79001788/"}