{"nrhp_refnum":"79002735","name":"Elyria High School - Washington Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW corner of 6th St. and Middle Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elyria","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.36210901000004,"lon":-82.10756030399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-08-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story sandstone school building at the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Middle Avenue in Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio, built in 1893 to designs by Elah Terrell of Columbus.","why_significant":"The building is described as a fine example of late Romanesque architecture and a major visual landmark in the city because of its style and massive scale. It replaced Elyria's first Union School of 1857 on the same site. Its interior was rebuilt in 1923.","narrative":"Built in 1893 at the corner of Sixth Street and Middle Avenue in Elyria, this sandstone school building remains part of the Elyria High School complex. Designed by Elah Terrell of Columbus, it rises two and a half stories under a hipped roof and is regarded as a fine example of late Romanesque architecture. The battered base, tower and great entrance portal are typical Romanesque features, while broad bands of windows with stone mullions give the walls an open, almost glass-like quality. It replaced the city's first Union School, built in 1857 on the same site. Plans called for brick, but the sandstone was donated by Henry E. Mussey. The interior once held an octagonal skylit chapel, which was replaced by a skylit stairwell when the interior was gutted and rebuilt in 1923 under architect R. Silsbee, making it fireproof. Its Romanesque character and massive scale make it a visual landmark in Elyria.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Elah Terrell, Columbus (architect); R. Silsbee, architect of the 1923 interior rebuilding","architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a school; exterior in very good condition and interior fair. Renovation plans were postponed for lack of funds.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:11.954437-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79002735.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002735/38a0da4223-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002735/38a0da4223-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"SilentMatt Psychedelic","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elyria_3-12-24_thumbnail_IMG_5732.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">SilentMatt Psychedelic</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:Elyria_3-12-24_thumbnail_IMG_5732.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985732","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elyria_High_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5368518"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/elyria-high-school-washington-building-79002735/"}