Previous documentation on file (NPS): our history. Primary location of additional data: Areas of Significance information important in prehistory or history. (Enter categories from instructions) a significant contribution to the broad patterns of G less than 50 yearsof age or achieved significance for National Register listing.) CFR 67) has been requested 8. Statement of Significance (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualitying the property (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) Natlonal Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Allen County, OH The Lima Stadium was built near the center of the city within a surrounding residential neighborhood The east and west stands/bleachers built in 1936 are constructed of poured in place concrete beams, columns and bleacher deck.
The stadium was built in eight sections, four on each side of the football bleacher seats per side. The total seating capacity for the stadium is 6,000 seats. Under the original west side stand/bleachers are housed two coaches offices, two team dressing rooms with toilets and showers, furnace room, transformer room, refreshment stand and two public restrooms. Continuation Sheets pages 3 and 4 for sketched floor plans. still control pedestrian access. A 12-foot wide pedestrian concourse bisects the length of the structures with arched openings at both ends of the stadium. ( Photos #3,4,9 &10.) windows per structural bay on the west side stands. On the east side stands, there are only windows in the first two bays on either side of the entrance bays. This was all part of the 1936 design as shown on of the Works Progress Administration. Description the original architectural drawings.
Under the original east side stands/bleachers are two public restrooms, transformer room and has a park-like setting. the floor drainage system.(Photo # 6.) Exterior walls are pierced with two steel frame and sash Lima Stadium 1936.This work was done by F.E.R.A.(Federal Emergency Recovery Act), through the cooperation a simple colonnade for east elevation of the east stands and west elevation of the west stands.This under the bleacher area on the east stand.The flat roof over the rooms is poured in place ribbed Brick and concrete block wall infill between concrete columns and beams form the various rooms reinforced concrete. The roof slopes inward toward the concourse.
Gutters and downspouts tie into In addition to the stadium structures, tennis courts and shuffleboard courts were also constructed in form provides a very simple architectural statement.(Photos # 1 and # 7.) Both rectangular structures field.(see floorplans.)Expansion joints separate each section.The concrete columns and beams form and adjacent to the Ottawa River.The stadium was built over an existing city dump and about 60 feet south of the south rim of an old quarry.(Photo #13.) Situated alongside the Ottawa River the stadium National Park Service measure 204' long by 53'-9"wide and the top wall is 29' above ground level.There are 25rows of Section number . Page Two ticket booths flank the main entrance foyers.
(Photos # 2 & 8.) The original steel folding gates United Statee Dopartment of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number _7 Page Allen County, OH Description (continued) Between 1936 and 1989 normal routine maintenance work was performed on the structures. Circa 1972 the wood bleacher seating was replaced with aluminum seating. In 1989 the existing press box was removed and replaced, along with adding a second floor, creating additional needed space. This addition is wood frame construction with vinyl siding. Field lighting poles, originally installed in front of the stands adjacent to the front walls, were removed field lighting system was installed using the existing poles. In 1992, there was a growing concern about the structural integrity of the east and west stand/bleacher structures.
LJB Group (engineering firm) was hired by the school board to study and determine if the recommended that the underside of the lower bleacher area have all partitions removed to allow air concrete from rotting. reinforcing rods and sealing the entire exterior concrete structure. In 1994, a master plan was developed by Charles M. Ditto, Landscape Architect to upgrade the west side stand/bleacher facilities. This included a building addition, providing expansion of locker room with showers/restrooms, official's dressing room, concession stands and public restroom, along with parking, fencing, two additional detached ticket booths and gateways, and landscaping. This work was and the Lima City Schools built other facilities.
While the work completed in 1998 updated the stadium, and allowed it to accommodate the increased instance, the upper portions of the colonnade, the main entrance, and two original ticket booths all retain their 1936 historical integrity. These areas remain in use today. (Photos #8 and #12). The new ticket booths and gateways were built of concrete to match the existing structure. The top of traffic flow, a major portion of its historical value and its vintage appearance remain intact. For and relocated to the outer exterior walls of the stadium in spring, 1958. (Photo #18).
In 1991 a new Lima Stadium In 1992 and 1993, Trisco Systems Inc., Lima, Ohio, repaired concrete, covering exposed steel circulation to penetrate the lower portions of the concrete structure.This would keep the existing completed in 1998.Existing tennis courts, shuffleboard courts and horseshoe pits built in 1936 were stadium should berepaired or demolished.The study indicated that the concrete structures were United States Dopartment of the Interior totally dilapidated and removed at this time, due to lack of usage and maintenance.
The City of Lima structurally sound and when repaired should serve the needs for future generations.The study National Park Service Allen County, OH home locker room cker room ticket booth - concourse men storage foyer ramp Lima Stadium Mech Continuation Sheet retreshment stand Attachment A National Register of Historic Places West Stand 1998 Addition Floor Plan United States Department of the Interlor Section number - Page - transformer offical's room- National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Allen County, OH _seating above .
concourse booth men storage room refreshment transformer ramp foyer Lima Stadium refreshment stand National Park Service East Stand Attachment B Floor Plan United States Department of the Interior Page Section number National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7&8 Page - concrete block and painted to match the existing structure. The roof is a metal standing seam roof. The renovated building formation respects and relates to the existing concrete colonnade. In 1999, the football field was renovated, installing new drainage, soil profile and irrigation system. A new 400-meter, all weather running track, with new retaining walls was also constructed. Schools and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided a structure, unusual for its time.
Prior to the construction of the Lima Stadium, only two other recreational facilities, Faurot Park and Schoonover Park, existed within the city limits. Neither facility, in its current state, would have accommodated the type of recreational activity to be provided by the Lima Stadium; nor would either facility have allowed for the amenities the Lima Stadium would offer. community, as well as being a functional part of the school system. The continual functionality of the press box is provided over the main entrance atop of the west stands, being among the few high school WPA Program. These stadiums were reinforced concrete construction, with stands on only one side of the football field. The Bluffton stadium, built in three sections, has a seating capacity of 1,000 persons and was constructed at a cost of $10,734. The first game was also played on Thanksgiving Day, 1936. Today games.
Lima Stadium stadiums equipped with one. The architectural drawings show a separate room to accommodate the representative of a specific resource type, sports stadium. The joint effort between the Lima City 1936. It also accommodated the Lima News (newspaper) whose sports coverage at that time was structure is attributable to the materials utilized and the soundness of its design.
Statement of Significance Description (continued) devoted mainly to the Lima schools.Further, games were filmed from atop the box and scouts from The Lima Stadium design.exhibits a simple architecture that provides an attractive addition to the other teams had access to the box.Both home and visiting coaches used this facility for coaching the beams, located over main entrance (Photo 2) give a hint of Art Deco style architecture.A 30-foot long first radio station in Lima (WBLY) a 100-watt station which began broadcasting in December of Allen County, OH Two other high school stadiums in the area (Bluffton &Van Wert) were also built in 1936under the National Park Service The horizontal banding created by the fluting at the top of walls, pilasters, ticket booths and top of The Lima Stadium is significant for consideration under criterion'C',due to its significance as a good National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet completely obscured by this addition.
Van Wert Stadium accommodates 3,312 persons. The total cost of construction was $60,000, which ceremonies and the first football game played were on Friday evening at 7:30 PM, September 18, The original 1936 Lima stadium design, done by T.D. McLaughlin and Associates, was an illustration of architectural significance. At that time, reinforced concrete structures were utilized before 1936 in and this stadium is a testimony to this fact, due to its longevity and excellent condition. This architectural firm, headed by Thomas D. McLaughlin, a graduate of the College of Architecture at designs were used for a number of schools in northwestern Ohio, including all Lima City Schools from 1924 to 1955. He also designed the Bluffton Stadium mentioned above.
County, a trading center for 10 surrounding counties, and a focal point for 75manufacturing In April 1932, the Lima City Schools suffered a financial setback and had to close its doors one-month prior to the end of the normal school year. This is the only time in the history of the school that it has was a symbol of encouragement, during the Depression era. The School Board was able to take advantage of two other New Deal programs for the completion of the Stadium. The Public Works to its original design. Lima Stadium One major ingredient of concrete is stone aggregate, which provides strength to concrete.
This area of Statement of Significance (continued) Columbia University, designed a number of significant buildings in the Lima area.The design for sympathetic to the existing structure.The simple architectural lines of the original stadium are for the stadium and site work to be done by the F.E.R.A.(Federal Emergency Recovery Act).This Allen County, OH larger metropolitan areas.However, this type of structure was an unusual concept in this rural region. 1936.The newspaper headline stated,"This Stadium is Dedicated as Place for Community Meetings recently been erected in front of the stadium over the main entrance.This addition was not is centered over the top area of the stadium.Pedestrian access to the stadium is at both ends of the Memorial Hall, Elks Lodge (191l) and the Allen County Library were all under his direction.
His been closed.Just 20 months later,(February,1934) the school board approved purchase of property In 1936,Lima (42,287pop.) was the center of a rich and prosperous agricultural area, the seat of Allen for Decades to Come."This stadium appears to be in good condition and no changes have been made United States Department of the Interior the stadium is in need of repair. A large press box made of steel columns and wood frame has Ohio has a natural abundancé of limestone that produces a very high quality of crushed stone aggregate included a 90,000 watt lighting system. A small glass enclosed press box, approximately ten feet long largest land locked city in northwest Ohio reaching a population of 54,000 in 1970.
bleachers/stands through detached reinforced concrete walls and ticket booth gateways.Dedication United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Allen County, OH Administration provided funds for the construction of the stadium and the Works Progress Administration assisted in providing labor. America in March, 1933 than there had ever been before in any other single month in the entire history of this country. Millions of men and women - no one knows exactly how many, some say thirteen, Administration was established in 1935 to provide work for the many unemployed. municipalities.
Formal proposals for WPA projects "had to be made by a public agency empowered to sponsor the work proposed.' A proposal had to show estimated costs, what the sponsors share of the cost would be, and the amount and degree of skilled and unskilled labor needed to complete the they had to maintain and operate the completed project (at the sponsor's expense). And finally, the through June 30,1940, $743-million (almost ten percent) was spent on parks and other recreational facilities. (Macmahon, 1941)." (Paquette) Several small New Deal projects were completed in northwest Ohio. In neighboring Putnam County, a Wood County, the Perrysburg Water Maintenance Building was financed by the WPA (N.R., 1990). included six buildings.
When the Lima City schools embarked upon the stadium project in 1936, there were 20 public schools, including two senior high and three junior high, with a total school enrollment of 6,717. Also, the parochial schools totaled three, with enrollment of 1,283. The stadium was originally created to serve the two high schools (Lima Central & Lima South). In 1938, Lima Saint Rose Parochial School Lima Stadium Statement of Significance (continued) wages regularly were then without any kind of work or any means of providing for their families.
" already mentioned, the stadium in nearby Van Wert County was a WPA project.Farther north in city park in Pandora and a municipal pool in Columbus Grove (N.R.,1997) were constructed.As Established in 1933,the Public Works Administration contracted with private companies in "Most projects submitted to the WPA were organized and planned by localities or some fourteen, some more than fifteen million-who had once made fair or good or even enviable (Adams,1939)In response to the country's high unemployment rate the Works Progress community'(Final Report...,1947) Of the $7.78-billion in federal funds spent on WPA projects if it could not be completed by the WPA;agree to own project when completed; own the land on Page Section number project had to'...provide employment for the needy unemployed persons available in the local conjunction with municipalities or states to fund public projects.1933 is generally considered to be project.
Sponsors had to:provide engineering plans and specifications; agree to complete the project which the project would be undertaken (no federal monies were available for purchase of land); and United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Allen County, OH fielded their first football team and played their games at the stadium until 1956. Lima Central & with the Lima News reporting over 10,000 spectators at various games. In 1955, the two public high schools were consolidated into Lima Senior High School. The parochial schools also consolidated the same year into Lima Central Catholic. These teams exist today and play all home football games at the stadium. Dr. Roy E.
Offenhauer was very instrumental in the development of the stadium, and provided Schools as teacher and principal from 1918 to 1929 and as superintendent from 1929 to 1937. Bronze plaques, mounted on the foyer walls, at both structures, give testimony to his role in the Lima Stadium project (see Photo #14). The dedication of the Lima Stadium was held at a Thanksgiving Day football game on November 26, 1936. At the time of the dedication, Dr. Offenhauer outlined the significant factors of the project on the back cover of the football program for the dedication. He notes, ...The Lima Board of Education realized that the wooden bleachers on both the South sometime, the up keep of two athletic fields had proven burdensome. Faced with these two facts, the Board began a search for a new site for an athletic field.
Since such a field must serve both high schools as a place to play their football games and to hold their track events, its location would have to be convenient to both schools and should be as near the center of the city as possible. After a prolonged search, the present site was selected. No other site could be found that would meet the requirements without an outlay of money that was prohibitive. On February 13, 1934, the school board received a petition requesting the board to purchase and five thousand names. With the site procured at a cost of $11,145.15, it was graded at practically no cost to the Board of Education. When the field was ready, an application football games. Page fostered community support and involvement. Attendance increased throughout the years 1936-1955, Statement of Significance (continued) Lima Stadium Section number the site.
The petition was signed by people from all over the city carrying between four leadership during the land acquisition and the entire construction period.He served the Lima City and drained through the cooperation of the F.E.R.A.(Federal Emergency Recovery Act), High School and Central High School athletic fields were rapidly rotting down.For games at the stadium during the 1940's.The stadium is also the site for post season state playoff On a regional basis, Bluffton College and Ohio Northern University scheduled homecoming football South traditional game was played on Thanksgiving Day. The rivalry increased attendance and United States Department of the Interior National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet was made to the Public Works Administration for the cooperation of the Federal Government in the building of the stadium.
55% of the cost of construction and architect's fees and the Federal Government 45%. approved, the contract for the construction of the stadium was sold to Green & Sawyer, work was $64,855.13, of which the Board of Education was to pay 55% or $35,670.32. All of the work except the building of the stadium proper, and that was done by the F.E.R.A. before the construction of the stadium was started, has been done through the building of tennis courts, shuffleboard courts, landscaping, sodding the field, etc. It will in the future include the building of the track, further landscaping, building necessary walks, horseshoe courts, grading the parking lot, etc. The W.P.A. labor and much of the material used were furnished free to the board of Education. The building of the stadium either case. important structure in the city for football and track events, with over 600 football games played.
The stadium has served 5 high schools during its lifetime. It has brought communities together from as far as 150 miles, not only to play football and run track but to provide a space for civic life as well. The stadium serves as the site for high school graduations, band concerts, and many other public The simple concrete structure has been well preserved and carefully maintained, and continues to serve THe gatherings. Lima Stadium Statement of Significance (continued) McLaughlin and Associates were employed as architects.When plans were drawn and Contractors, Lima.at a cost of $62,170.00.Later changes were made and additional children through their high school years.
Since its construction, the stadium has been the most fine cooperation of the W.P.A.under the directions of Mr.Roose.This includes the The stadium is historically significant for its continued association with the development of our Allen County, OH shuffleboard courts under the W.P.A. furnished work when work was greatly needed and The application was granted with the understanding that the Board of Education pays some other place would have done so and our part in paying it back will be the same in under the P.W.A.,the preparation of the site and the building of the tennis courts and the authorized which resulted in an additional cost of $2,685.13 or a grand total of brought into Lima more than $75,0o0 of Federal funds.If Lima had not used this money Natlonal Park Service high schools and community in a manner that does justice to its high standard of architectural integrity.
Page Section number Natlonal Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet For reference, only two stadiums in Ohio have been individually listed in the National Register: the (N.R. 1974) located at the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, was constructed in 1922 of has been the case with the Lima Stadium. Today, the Lima City Schools are embarking on a major 110 million-dollar building program and plans This project, estimated to be complete in 2005, provides another period of significance for the stadium Page Lima Stadium Statement of Significance (continued) Section number constructed of reinforced concrete and completed in 1931. As with the Lima Stadium, it was a concrete and steel.
The Ohio Stadium continues to undergo renovation to modernize its facilities, as Allen County, OH Natlonal Park Service Cleveland Municipal Stadium and Ohio Stadium.The Cleveland Municipal Stadium (N.R.,1987) was modified Art Deco design.Cleveland Municipal Stadium was demolished in the 199os.Ohio Stadium well into the 21s century. United States Department of the Interior are underway to build a new high school across the river from the stadium, creating a campus setting. Hp Porm 10-000 TM Reference - See continuation sheet (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) 11.
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