Lima Stadium
Why it's listed
Lima Stadium is a concrete football and track facility built in 1936 on a former city dump beside the Ottawa River, close to the center of Lima, Ohio. Two stands, each 204 feet long with 25 rows of seats, face each other across the field and seat about 6,000 people. Rooms for locker space, concessions and restrooms sit beneath the bleachers behind a simple concrete colonnade, with fluted bands that suggest Art Deco. Thomas D. McLaughlin's firm designed it, and Green & Sawyer built it. The Lima school board paid 55 percent of the cost, with Public Works Administration funds covering the rest and Works Progress Administration labor handling site work, courts and landscaping. Reinforced concrete construction was unusual in this rural region at the time. Later work included aluminum seating, a larger press box, concrete repairs, a 1998 west-side addition and a new running track, yet the colonnade, main entrance and original ticket booths keep their 1936 character. The stadium has hosted over 600 football games and graduations.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a good representative of the sports stadium type under Criterion C. Its poured concrete design by T.D. McLaughlin and Associates was unusual for the rural region in 1936 and shows a hint of Art Deco styling. It was built with Public Works Administration and Works Progress Administration support during the Depression, and it has served the schools and community continuously.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 02000219, listed March 21, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 100 S. Calument Ave. and E. Market St., Lima |
|---|---|
| County | Allen County |
| Listed | March 21, 2002 |
| Reference number | 02000219 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1936 to 1951 |
| Architect / builder | Thomas D. McLaughlin & Associates Architects, Lima, Ohio; Green & Sawyer Contractors, Lima, Ohio |
| Architectural style | Simple design with a hint of Art Deco (modified Art Deco); classification field not clearly legible |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a stadium; the stands were repaired in 1992-93, a west-side addition was completed in 1998, and the field and track were renovated in 1999. |
| Acreage | 8 |
| Coordinates | 40.73990, -84.09205 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 02000219.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6548835
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.