{"nrhp_refnum":"98001397","name":"Oberlin Gas Lighting Company Gasholder House","other_names":["The Gasholder House","The Round House"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"291 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oberlin","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.284456050000074,"lon":-82.21569508299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-11-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A round, two-story brick gasholder house at 291 S. Main Street in Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio, built in 1889 for Albert H. Johnson, president of the Oberlin Gas Lighting Company, to store manufactured coal gas.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the few remaining gasholder houses in the country and the only known brick gasholder structure west of the Appalachians. It illustrates the era when coal gas supplied lighting and heating, and the quick pace of technological change. Its brick construction and unusual roof framing also show the builders' skill.","narrative":"Built in 1889 at 291 S. Main Street in Oberlin, Ohio, this round brick building sheltered a large gasholder for the local gas company. The structure is two stories tall, about 58 feet across, and capped with a conical slate roof that carries the date 1889 in darker slate. Ten bays, separated by brick pilasters, hold tall boarded-up arched openings. Inside, long wooden rafters rise to wood and iron rings, forming an unusual roof frame. The gasholder was built for Albert H. Johnson, president of the Oberlin Gas Lighting Company, and held coal gas used for lighting, heating and cooking. Electric streetlights arrived in 1893, and the facility appears to have remained in use until 1918. Later it served as a lumber yard site and storage garage. It was listed as one of the few surviving gasholder houses in the country and the only known brick example west of the Appalachians, and for its industrial history and architecture.","period_of_significance":"1889 to 1918","architect_builder":"Unknown; builders were from Cincinnati according to an 1889 newspaper account","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/industrial","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"First floor leased for storage and sorting for a recycling and scrap metal business; second floor unused for decades; slate roof in very poor condition with storm damage and some water damage inside.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.29966-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/98001397.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001397/ad4f5fdfc0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001397/ad4f5fdfc0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TnrSmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oberlin_Gasholder_House_Oberlin_OH.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">TnrSmith</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:Oberlin_Gasholder_House_Oberlin_OH.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989879","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138515036"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/oberlin-gas-lighting-company-gasholder-house-98001397/"}