South Fountain Avenue Historic District

South Fountain Avenue and the adjoining stretch of South Limestone Street form a dense residential neighborhood of about 15 blocks south of downtown Springfield, Ohio. Most of the growth came between 1870 and 1900, when the city became a major manufacturing center, especially for farm machinery. Large houses sit on narrow lots close to the street, shaded by mature trees. The district includes Greek Revival-Italianate, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Eastlake and Colonial Revival buildings, along with more modest turn-of-the-century frame houses on the side streets. Many homes were built for executives and owners of firms such as the James Leffel Co. and Whitely, Fassler & Kelly, later the Champion Company. Other buildings include a 1918 synagogue, a 1922 apartment building and a 1909 fire station. The district was recognized as the city's largest intact collection of high-style homes from the period and as a record of the prosperity of its business and industrial leaders.