{"nrhp_refnum":"87001985","name":"Central School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"474 Church St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Amherst","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.386581834000026,"lon":-82.22554846399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-11-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Central School is a three-story rock-faced sandstone school building at 474 Church Street in Amherst, Lorain County, Ohio, built in 1907 with a matching rear addition in 1922.","why_significant":"It is significant for its distinctive native sandstone architecture, which reflects Amherst's role as the \"Sandstone Capital of the World.\" It is also significant for its role in the educational history of Amherst, serving as the town's only school building for decades. It was designed by Cleveland architects Searles, Hirsh, & Gavin.","narrative":"Central School, at 474 Church Street in Amherst, Ohio, is a three-story schoolhouse built in 1907 of rock-faced coursed sandstone quarried near the town and cut in a local stone plant. Cleveland architects Searles, Hirsh, & Gavin gave it a crenelated parapet, a four-story central tower and segmental arched entrances. A 1922 rear addition doubled its size, using the same stone and design. The interior largely keeps its original layout, staircases, woodwork and moldings. The building reflects Amherst's history as a leading source of structural sandstone. It is the only sandstone school of its size and period in the town and surrounding township. It replaced two earlier schools on the site that were lost to fire. For decades it housed the high school, intermediate and primary departments together, until additional buildings opened in 1957. It continued as a school until 1985 and is now vacant.","period_of_significance":"1907","architect_builder":"Searles, Hirsh, & Gavin","architectural_style":"Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Vacant and not in use; the school closed in 1985.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.952139-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/87001985.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001985/ddb8143cb3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001985/ddb8143cb3-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Central_School_in_Amherst.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Central_School_in_Amherst.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989797","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138475705"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/central-school-87001985/"}