Collegiate Gothic

September 2024.

Pomerene Hall is a fantastic example of the Collegiate Gothic style of architecture, although scaled down to a level that was appropriate for the then-small Ohio State. I may trash on Xichigan and hate them with every fiber of my being, but I greatly envy their flamboyant Law Quadrangle. Our law building is just an oddly shaped box. Pomerene Hall is on south campus, bordered by Mirror Lake to the north, 12th Avenue and Oxley Hall to the south, Kuhn House to the east, and Jennings Hall to the west.

History

Pomerene Hall under construction in 1921. (University Archives)

Pomerene Hall was designed in 1919 by university architect Joseph N. Bradford. It was built starting May 1921 by Robert H. Evans Co. and was completed that October. When it was first built, Pomerene Hall served as the women’s student union, the counterpart to the men’s Ohio Union (now Hale Hall). Its original layout held a gymnasium for physical education classes and social spaces for women to use.

Pomerene Hall’s original footprint.

A social space inside Pomerene Hall c. 1948. (Buckeye Stroll)

In 1925, it was determined an addition was needed, and Bradford was commissioned again to design it. Construction began that October, executed by D. W. McGrath & Sons, and the newly renovated Pomerene Hall opened in September 1927. This addition added a pool, more social spaces, and a kitchen and dining hall known as the Refectory (now Mirror Lake Eatery).

Pomerene Hall’s footprint after its first addition designed in 1925.

Pomerene Hall before (1925) and after its addition (1927). (University Archives)

Pomerene Hall continued its use as a student union until the then-new co-educational Ohio Union was built near High Street. This caused it to lose much of its previous tenants, although women’s physical education classes were still held there until the 1970s. The building became fully co-ed in 1957, when the Dean of Men’s offices were moved to the building.

Students in front of Pomerene Hall c. 1952. (University Archives)

In 1960 another addition was made to Pomerene Hall, designed by university architect W. E. Linch. It was built July-December of 1960 by Henry A. Justus. This addition filled in voids between the earlier addition and the original building. I was unable to find any photos of this addition, but knowing Linch’s work, it was likely in a clashing Modernist style. 

Pomerene Hall’s footprint after W. E. Linch’s addition.

Pomerene Hall, undated, showing Bradford’s first addition to the rear of the original building. McMillin Observatory can be seen in the background. (University Archives)

Pomerene Hall has recently been renovated twice, in 2011 and 2018. The 2011 renovation was less extensive and modified office spaces and archives within the building. In 2018, Acock Associates did a larger renovation that included both gut-renovation and preservation. They hired local historians and masonry professionals to find materials that exactly matched the originals for the new construction, and old fixtures such as the woodwork, plaster, and stained glass were restored. Pomerene Hall currently houses the Data Analytics and History of Art Departments, the Transitional Data Analytics Institute, and Mirror Lake Eatery. The most striking new feature is the three-story glass atrium, replacing W. E. Linch’s addition.

Pomerene Hall’s current footprint.

A snowy Pomerene Hall, undated, but likely from the 1980s-1990s. (CML)

A few other tidbits of history I could find that I had a hard time fitting in elsewhere: 

The Refectory (now Mirror Lake Eatery) was a laboratory for Institutional Management students during its lifetime, and it was later known as “The Rathskeller” and “Mirror Lake Creamery”.

“Rathskeller” sign, undated. (Ohio State TDAI)

Before Pomerene’s major renovation, the swimming pool became abandoned and urban explorer Ronny Salerno famously visited it. You can read his article here. I found it very interesting, and it makes me feel less bad about “borrowing” one of his photos:

(Ronny Salerno)

Pomerene Hall is named after Frank Pomerene (1868-1919). Pomerene graduated from The Ohio State University in 1891 with a bachelor's degree in arts, and four years later he earned his law degree. He was a prominent lawyer and had one of the largest firms in the state of Ohio. Most notably, he was on the Board of Trustees for 15 years and served until his death in 1919.

Photos

Pomerene Hall is one of my favorite buildings on campus, and I ate at Mirror Lake Eatery while on the dining plan at least once a week. Listening to the rain surrounded by beautiful woodwork and pretty stained glass was always a good way to relax after a long day. I wasn’t happy with my west facade shots from September 2024, so here’s a better one from March:

My favorite detail of Pomerene is the entry portal and oriel window above. Here’s a detail of it:

Unlike the main west facade, the south facade is perfectly symmetrical:

The projecting tower is also very rich in detail. I like the carved lintel with the shields and the stone cross in the middle.

The rear facade has a large gap, which is filled with the Acock addition’s atrium. Although the glass curtain wall is much different than the red brick and stone, its small size allows it to appear secondary to the original building.

Here’s a closer view of the addition, plus the awaiting Grubhub robots.

Compare this shot of the northeast corner to the one from the 1980s seen earlier in the post:

I also love this second-floor entrance above Mirror Lake Eatery. Why don’t they put griffins on buildings anymore?

The view from the balcony is exquisite.

When entering the building from the west, this is your view:

The plasterwork on the ceiling is super ornate and full of cool details.

Turning left and heading north, here are some second-floor classrooms. I particularly like the doors with the Gothic pointed arch incorporated into them.

Going up to the third floor, here’s the inside of the atrium. Not sure what’s going on with the goofy target-looking artwork:

The left side used to be an exterior wall and was left as it is, which makes it look rather quirky. Notice the floating door at middle left. On the first floor, there’s a small display with artifacts from the original building:

I wanted to see if the old gym still existed on the fourth floor (Acock’s photos show it was renovated, but the wood floor is still there), but that seems to be the offices of the Transitional Data Analytics Institute, so that was a bust. While searching for another way up, I found another exterior wall that was exposed:

The bottom floor most significantly houses Mirror Lake Eatery. Maybe one day I’ll make the time to show up right as it opens and take photos of the details inside when nobody’s around, but this crappy phone shot is all you’re gonna get for now:

Most of the details are visible here anyways. The walls have dark wood wainscoting and the roof is low and vaulted, both of which create a cozy atmosphere. The vaults are connected to the walls by corbels with engravings of fruit. Many features appear original or at least pretty old, like the glass and doors visible at left.

Pomerene Hall looks extra cool on dark, foggy nights.

Sources:

https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/24059

https://library.osu.edu/site/buckeyestroll/

https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/37314

https://library.osu.edu/site/archives/university-archives/

https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ohio/search/searchterm/pomerene

https://acock.com/pomerene-hall

https://tdai.osu.edu/about-tdai/pomerene-hall-history

https://ronnysalerno.com/queencitydiscovery/2020/05/from-archives-pool-at-pomerene-hall.html

https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19190602-01.2.1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------

Campus Victorians

April 2024. Photos of Kuhn House from September 2024.

There are a lot of cool old houses on south campus. Since their history is generally brief and I was unable to enter any of them, I decided to consolidate them all into one article.

German House

German House, also known as the Max Kade German House, is a Folk Victorian house across the street from Park-Stradley Hall. It was built in either 1904 or 1905 and is similar in appearance to other houses in the university area. Its first owner was Arthur Gillett McCall, an OSU alum who taught agronomy. German House was sold several times until it was purchased by Charles Beatley. After his death in the 1970s, he then transferred it to his son, Charles Beatley Jr. The final owner was Charles Beatley Jr.’s sister, Janice Beatley, who sold the house to the university in 1990. 

After Ohio State acquired German House, it was leased as apartments for graduate students, until a renovation in 1996 created its current program. This was financed by the Max Kade Foundation, whom the house is named after. Its purpose is “to promote scientific and technical progress, to further the peaceful coexistence of nations, and to advance German-American relations.” Currently, German House is a living-learning community for second-years and above studying German. It works as an “immersion environment” where German is spoken exclusively (the only such place in any language on Ohio State campus), as well as meetings of the German Club and other events held by the school. 10 students and an RA live in the house each year.

North facade of German House:

Side view:

Now I wish I spoke German so I could live in this pretty house.

Pomerene House

John Herrick tricked me because he had an entry for a “Mary Pomerene Scholarship House,” but that wasn’t the current Pomerene House on 10th Avenue. After doing a little digging, I found the Alumnae Scholarship Housing website’s history, and then everything made more sense.

Pomerene House came out of the university Alumnae Council, which was founded to help female students find housing during the Great Depression. The first house they used was a duplex on West 10th Avenue (address not listed) leased in 1935. Then, in 1945, the Pomerene House as John Herrick knew it was purchased. It was located at 201 East 16th Avenue, housing first 28 and later 26 women. The house apparently began to decline in its condition and management was transferred to OSU in 1977. Ten years later in 1987, an engineer found severe problems with the house, and the university was required to either close it or remodel to bring it back to code. Ultimately, it was decided that the first Pomerene House would be closed, and students living there were temporarily housed in the Stadium Scholarship Dormitory. It was demolished in 1992.

The current Pomerene House is located at 231 West 10th Avenue, right across from Residences on Tenth. It was first occupied in 2000 after remodeling.

I love the turret and arched windows. I’d take living in one of these houses over the bougie new north campus dorms or TROT any day. Rear view:

The “door to nowhere” is funny. I think the brick thing that’s painted red was a later addition. The new wood deck connects Pomerene to Hanley, and my guess is that it’s a sort of “community gathering space.”

Hanley House

Hanley House came a little later than Pomerene House. In 1954, the Alumnae Council bought the house immediately to the left of Pomerene House at 195 East 16th Avenue, and it was dedicated as the “Davisson-Hanley Scholarship House.” It also housed 26 students. John Herrick has a little more information about this house specifically, as he notes that its garage was demolished in 1955. Like the first Pomerene House, the first Hanley House fell victim to the same poor report and was subsequently sold and razed. 

The new Hanley House is located at 225 West 10th Avenue, next to Pomerene House and Residences on Tenth. It was occupied a bit earlier in 1998.

I’m not sure why the back of Hanley House is a different colored brick, maybe it was an addition at some point?

53 West 11th Avenue

Originally, I couldn’t find much about this one online. Wikipedia says it houses the Undergraduate Fellow Office and Undergraduate Research Office. However, John Herrick has an entry on it for some reason, and from it more information can be gleaned. It was built c. 1885-1890 and was purchased by the university in 1970. The addition connecting the two was constructed around that time, and the house was used as an "employment office for non-certificated personnel."

I also discovered that Harriet Townshend, one of the first two women to enroll at Ohio State in 1873 and daughter of professor Norton Strange Townshend, lived in the house while she worked as a librarian on campus.

Its current and main use is the Buckeye Bargains thrift store. While it opened in this building in 2022, the store was on campus since 1966 and first opened in the “old veterinary surgery theater at 17th and Neil,” replaced by Independence Hall. Buckeye Bargains helps finance the University Women’s Club scholarship fund.

Note the old “Buckeye Bargains” sign -- these were how the campus signs used to look before the current scarlet and gray ones.

I always liked the vegetal ironwork on the porch. I doubt it’s original, but it still looks cool to me:

Here’s a side view. I wonder what’s going on with the darker brick up front.

45 West 11th Avenue

The only thing I could find online beyond John Herrick's entry is that it houses Planning and Real Estate offices, according to Wikipedia. This house was built slightly later, noted as c. 1900, and it was obtained by Ohio State slightly earlier, in 1965. It also briefly was used as a "Campus Student Center."

I’ve been tempted to climb that fire escape more than once. Rear view:

75 West 11th Avenue/Catfish Biff’s

This house, until 2021, was the last property along West 11th Avenue that Ohio State did not own. I find its history and future plans really interesting, but sadly I have nothing until 1984. 

Catfish Biff’s before it closed in 2021. (The Lantern)

Since this house appears almost identical to German House, I wouldn’t consider it a stretch to assume they were built around the same time, likely around 1900. In 1984, a restaurant named Catfish Biff’s opened, which served pizza and similar late-night drunk eats. It was well-loved by students, similar to PJ’s or Buckeye Donuts today. Catfish Biff’s first closed due to COVID in 2020 and reopened in January 2021, but came to an agreement with Ohio State that they would cease operations after May 2021. The building has since sat abandoned, and will be demolished relatively soon for future campus expansion efforts.

I always wondered what it would be like to watch campus change from 2000-now, but at least I get to watch some of it today. The university’s continued gentrification of its surroundings (through its master plan “Framework 3.0”) is killing the character of campus, and soon it will be fully surrounded by buildings that it designs and owns. No more Bier Stubes or Catfish Biffs’, just soulless contemporary architecture. When fully executed, this master plan will see the destruction of campus icons like St. John Arena.

The machinery on the side of the building always made me wonder what this house’s purpose was, since it closed before I attended. It makes sense that it used to be a restaurant.

Spooky.

Fechko Alumnae Scholarship House/Walker House

Fechko House is a little different from the other “campus Victorians” in that it was built for the university. While it’s currently known as the “Fechko Alumnae Scholarship House,” it was known to John Herrick as “Walker House,” named after Grace Graham Walker (whom I couldn’t find any information about). It was also named the “Home Management House” and “Women’s Self Government Association House,” recalling its original programs. Designed by Howard Dwight Smith, the Tudor-style house was built in 1930 by Herman C. Weller and was completed in 1931. It served as a residence for women that were studying home economics.

Fechko House in 1937. (University Archives)

Unfortunately, the early history of Fechko House isn’t very becoming. A Black female student named Wilhelmina Styles applied to live in the house in autumn 1931 but was denied. This decision was protested by locals and politicians, yet university president George Rightmire supported it. A year later, another Black woman named Doris Weaver applied, and similarly was denied once the home economics department learned of her race. Ohio General Assembly representative Chester Gillespie asked the state legislature to investigate possible discrimination charges, which culminated in an Ohio Supreme Court decision that ruled against Weaver. The case was not considered discrimination because Black students were offered “exclusive use of certain parts of the house,” which sounds like a verbose way of saying the house was segregated. (This defense was written by John Bricker, OSU alumnus and namesake of Bricker Hall.) Happily, both Weaver and Styles earned their degrees and later taught at Wilberforce University.

In September 1975, the house was transferred to the “Women’s Self Government Association,” and presumably used as scholarship housing. By 1991 it was used by the Alumnae Scholarship Program, who still owns it. In 2002, it was renamed after Ruth Fechko.

The main facades of Fechko House face east and west, so if you’re looking at it from 11th Avenue this is all you get:

Here’s the west side:

After zooming out a bit, the hulk of Morrison Tower can be seen dominating the sky behind the house. I think the cute Tudor country house vibe is defeated a bit now that it’s surrounded on three sides by dorms. When it was built, only Canfield Hall stood to the west.

Kuhn Honors and Scholars House

Kuhn House was actually built as the university president’s residence and served this purpose until 1972. It was originally designed by university architect Joseph N. Bradford in 1924, but he was asked to redo his plans after construction bids were rejected for being too expensive. Construction began in 1925 by Boyajohn & Barr and was completed in 1926. President Rightmire and his family moved in that year. This was the second “president’s house,” the first (Rickly House) was located on High Street and was later demolished to build Mershon Auditorium. The final president to live in the house was Novice Fawcett, who moved out before his retirement in July 1972. The next university president was Harold Enarson, who chose to live off-campus. No university president has since lived on campus, and the current president’s house is located in Bexley (a bougie Columbus suburb).

Kuhn House, undated. (University Archives)

After president Fawcett moved out in 1972, the house sat in limbo for about a decade, being used by various university tenants. It was transferred to the Honors Program in 1987, who has since occupied the building. It was then remodeled in 1991-1992, which better suited it to its new program. Its new name comes from Albert J. Kuhn, who taught at Ohio State and served as honors director until his retirement in 1988.

Here’s how the main façade looks today. It’s mostly unaltered, but the windows are probably not original. I particularly enjoy the detailing of the entrance:

The decorations aren’t just confined to the entrance. Various brickwork details are present across the house, such as this chimney:

The renovation also added new rooms to the house. The architecture is wonky Postmodernism that references details of the original structure (like the central window), but the massing is clunky and boxy, ultimately failing to relate to the whole.

I think the box with no windows is an elevator shaft, probably to comply with ADA regulations, but the addition just doesn’t work. At least try to match the gables and proportions of the original?

I think Kuhn House is the most picturesque of any of the “campus Victorians,” especially when viewed across Mirror Lake. It’s such a prime spot for the president’s residence.

Sources:

https://ashsociety.wordpress.com/history/

https://uwcohiostate.com/buckeye-bargains/

https://pare.osu.edu/framework

https://www.thelantern.com/2020/11/ohio-state-to-purchase-catfish-biffs-for-1-million-pending-full-board-approval/

https://library.osu.edu/site/archives/?s=walker

https://library.osu.edu/site/archives/2011/08/17/where-the-presidents-live/

https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/24059