Medfair Heights Apartment Historic District
Also known as: Liberty S. Apts., dunbar Circle Apts., North Street Apts.; Walden Apts.
Why it's listed
Medfair Heights is a wartime housing complex on the edge of Medina, Ohio, built in 1943 for workers at the nearby Permold aluminum castings plant. Nineteen one-story concrete block buildings, eighteen with four apartments each and one community building, face inward toward each other across open lawns that cover about 75 percent of the site. Built on a tight Lanham Act budget to Federal Housing Administration standards, the buildings are plain, with gabled roofs, brick chimneys, one-over-one wooden windows and small canopies over the doors. Inside, the concrete block walls remain unplastered. Two buildings were lost to fire around 1977. The complex is significant for its planning, its modest architecture and its social history. Many residents were African American workers, and Jamaican workers were housed in trailers beside the apartments. Local leaders, the newspaper and federal staff helped Medina accept the newcomers, and residents formed their own social club and held dances and classes in the community building.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a surviving example of federally funded wartime housing built to Federal Housing Administration standards under the Lanham Act, important for community planning and social history. It also housed workers for the nearby Permold aluminum plant, many of them African American, and Jamaican workers, and the town's integration of these new residents is presented as notably positive. Its village-style layout, open lawns and simple, uniform buildings are cited as architectural evidence.
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 08000624, listed July 2, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 221 N. State St., Medina |
|---|---|
| County | Medina County |
| Listed | July 2, 2008 |
| Reference number | 08000624 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1943-1953 |
| Architect / builder | National Housing Agency; Engineer: J.R. Barth (Federal Housing Authority); Contractor: Alger Rau, Inc. (Cleveland, Ohio) |
| Architectural style | No Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as multiple dwellings; two of the original 21 buildings burned about 1977, and most original exterior features, including windows and lawns, remain, though the wooden door trellises are lost. |
| Acreage | 9.7 |
| Coordinates | 41.14165, -81.87955 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 08000624.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.