{"nrhp_refnum":"80003214","name":"Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building and Madison Theater","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"36 Park Ave., W.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mansfield","county":"Richland County","state":"OH","lat":40.75887898700006,"lon":-82.51687251699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-05-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two connected public buildings at 36 Park Avenue West in downtown Mansfield, Ohio: the Richardsonian Romanesque Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building (1888-89) and the Art Deco Madison Theater (1929-31) behind and beside it.","why_significant":"The Memorial Building is argued to be an excellent example of Richardsonian Romanesque design and a visual landmark among brick commercial neighbors. The Madison Theater is the best Art Deco building downtown and one of the last grand movie palaces built in Ohio. Together they served for decades as a civic center for veterans, displays, meetings and entertainment.","narrative":"Two joined buildings on Park Avenue West in downtown Mansfield form a civic landmark. The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building, finished in 1889 to designs by Oscar Cobb, was conceived as a monument to Civil War veterans and as a home for the new public library and museum. Built of rock-faced sandstone with a corner tower and a steep hip roof, it contrasts with the flat-roofed brick storefronts around it. Behind it was an opera hall, which burned in 1929. The Madison Theater replaced it in 1931 with plans by New York theater architect John Eberhard. Its reinforced concrete structure has a modest street front, but the lobbies and the roughly 1,500-seat auditorium carry lavish Art Deco ornament. It is described as one of the last grand movie palaces built in Ohio. Both buildings were built with public funds and operated jointly. Their listing recognizes the architecture and their long role as a community gathering place.","period_of_significance":"1888-89; 1929-31","architect_builder":"Oscar Cobb, Chicago; John Eberhard, N.Y.C.","architectural_style":"Richardsonian Romanesque (Memorial Building); Art Deco (Madison Theater)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Both buildings had declined in use; restoration of the theater was underway and a public use for the Memorial Building was being planned. The third-floor museum was closed to the public.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.561188-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/80003214.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003214/912e0c2541-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003214/912e0c2541-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Publichall","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soldiers_%26_Sailors_Memorial_Bldg_-_Mansfield,_Ohio.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Publichall</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soldiers_%26_Sailors_Memorial_Bldg_-_Mansfield,_Ohio.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100004214","name":"Downtown Mansfield Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/downtown-mansfield-historic-district-100004214/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71991148","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansfield_Memorial_Museum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65555702"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/richland-county/soldiers-and-sailors-memorial-building-and-madison-theater-80003214/"}