May 2025.
Beyond Circleville’s landmarks, I explored downtown more and compiled photos of interesting buildings. I only have one or two for a lot of them, so I usually document them in a larger post that covers more ground. Since I entered the town from the north via US-23, I’ll start from the corner of Western Avenue and West Main Street/US-22.
Cargill Grain Elevator
When you drive into a city like Chicago or Columbus, you can see the skyscrapers from far away as a sign you’re getting close. When I drove into Circleville from US-23, its “skyscrapers” were…grain elevators. Very rural Ohio.
201-209 West Main Street
This group of early Italianate buildings are the first historic buildings seen when driving east towards the center of downtown. They’ve all been heavily altered with coats of paint and new storefronts, but the wooden sash windows of 207 and 209 are original.
Smith Block [demolished]
The clearest photo of the Smith Block I could find. (Chadoh25 on SkyscraperCity)
This Commercial style building on the corner of Main Street and Scioto Street was demolished between 2009 and 2015. The Circleville Herald’s website has articles but won’t let me view them without a subscription, so I have to use the testimony of the guy who uploaded that above photo:
“The Smith Block has stood on the corner of West Main and Scioto Street for over 100 years. Now the slum lords who own it want to tear it down because they've let the building go fo so long that the rear of the building has suffered a roof collapse. It's fixable and the building could be reoccupied. But the sum lords seem to think a empty lot would be more desirable! All of this after the lose of the American Hotel and Critts buildings on Court Street. Shame on Circleville for allowing this needless destruction of our community! Ok I'm done! Lol” [sic]
159 West Main Street
Note the exposed chimneys that originally connected to the Smith Block.
This Italianate building has hood molds with corbels and denticulation, which imitates the cornice above. It retains the original ornamentation around the base, but the windows have been replaced:
The exterior was also repainted gray and black between 2021 and 2022, from a buff color. I think the latter fits the character more appropriately, though the two-tone does add a touch of contrast.
155 West Main Street
Beyond the vinyl windows, this building retains much of its Italianate character. The first floor’s decorative pilasters, stained-glass windows, and front doors are original and intact. The cornice is too, but its paint is chipping.
Slightly east is the western terminus of Circleville’s original plan:
147-151 West Main Street
This lovely Italianate building has interesting asymmetrical fenestration, even though the bays themselves are placed evenly. Each seems to be its own separate building but intentionally designed as part of a whole. The easternmost portion (left) was likely built with similar picture windows as the middle section, but they were filled in at some point.
The building was repainted between 2018 and 2019. I think the new colors have held up wonderfully--the green matches the original character, the gray less so, but it has still been thoughtfully applied.
Detail of the ghost sign on the side:
Marfield Bank/Ted Lewis Museum
Historic engraving of the bank. (ArtsaRound on Facebook)
This building is very significant in Circleville history in that it is the only extant building that conforms to the original circular plan of the town. (via its property line?) Its contemporaries have mostly been demolished as the town grew.
The Marfield Bank was built in 1848 as an early example of the Italianate style. The bank was operated by Samuel Marfield until 1872. It was restored in 1972 by the Pickaway County Historical Society, and it is used today by the ArtsaRound Gallery and the Ted Lewis Museum, which contains the personal effects of jazz musician and Circleville resident Ted Lewis.
It’s rare to see buildings this old in Ohio’s downtowns. Many were demolished during the Victorian era in favor of larger and more current designs, which generally stand to this day. Additionally, Circleville’s expansion outside of the original plan meant that most of its oldest buildings date from the 1850s or later.
Detail of the restored sign and hood molds:
The Ted Lewis Museum’s sign:
Crist Building II/129 West Main Street
Okay, Circleville has no less than three buildings that are referred to as the Crist Building, two standing and one demolished, so I’m going to assign them arbitrary labels based on their construction dates. The first (demolished 2009) was built in 1896, the third was built in 1923, and this one appears to date between the two, so I’ll call it the second.
Given the classical ornamentation employed across this building, it appears to be in the Beaux-Arts style and date from c. 1900-1920. The bay windows feature a simple entablature supported by Doric pilasters, and a cornice with triglyphs spans the building just below the roofline. A mock balustrade continues above, with the name of the building engraved in the center.
The storefronts were removed in favor of an outdoor dining area when the Mexican restaurant began using the space in 2019, but they were mid-century replacements, so nothing of historic value was lost.
Clarke Building
This brick Romanesque Revival building features elaborately vaulted windows and a brick cornice. Heavily altered, it received its garish McDonald’s-esque color scheme before 2007.
121 West Main Street
This Italianate retains its lovely original cornice, albeit with boarded-up windows. I wonder if the space in the middle used to be a niche? It’s very high for a window.
Olds Building/Old Masonic Lodge
The Olds Building dates to 1837, making it one of the oldest buildings in Circleville. Its simple expression and brick materiality marks it as a late example of the Federal style. When the NRHP listing for the Circleville Historic District was written in 1978, two of the stores inside dated from the mid-1800s, but they have since departed. The building remains largely intact beyond its storefront alterations, paint, and hood molds that do not match the original character. Circleville’s Freemasons occupied the third floor of this building from 1845 to the construction of their current building in 1875.
109-111 West Main Street
Another large Italianate building, this one shares a similar cornice with nearby 121 West Main Street. However, this building is grander in scale and features carved hood molds and string courses.
I like the bird statue within the central window:
107 West Main Street
This building has sat empty since 2007. I think it was designed as a theater or bank, due to the Beaux-Arts decoration and thin facade.
Peck’s Hall
Peck’s Hall, located at the corner of Main Street and Court Street, is a large early Italianate commercial building. It has recently been restored and converted into a wedding venue.
Looking at the Main Street facade with its neighbor:
This quick snap I took of the building’s name to remember for later somehow turned into a really nicely composed picture:
Odd Fellows’ Building
1938 photo of the Odd Fellows’ Building. (Library of Congress)
Another Italianate building, this structure sits on the opposite corner of Main and Court Streets. It was presumably built for Circleville’s chapter of the Odd Fellows, which has since relocated to a different building.
I think the portion on the left is an addition, since it has slightly different fenestration and hood molds, and there’s a noticeable line where the brick lines up.
The original decorative columns and small bracketed cornice are intact on the first floor, but the doors and windows are contemporary replacements. The space was painted black in 2023, which covered a chipping coat of green and red paint.
Detail of the columns and cornice:
The clock outside the building:
Zwicker Building
The storefront c. 1930s. (Scioto Post)
The Zwicker Building was built in 1909, as indicated on the cornice, and it is a rather bare and poorly proportioned Commercial style building with a classical cornice. What interested me about the building is the ghost sign on its side, which advertises a long-gone five and dime store.
The storefront has been restored, as it was paneled in wood beforehand (probably a 1970s-era modification). It currently houses the Zwicker House, an event venue.
Defenbaugh Wise Schoedinger/151 East Main Street
This funeral home is housed in a historic Italianate house. I think this part of Main Street was primarily residential until recently.
Fifth Third Bank
This is the weirdest trend I’ve spotted…all four of the Ohio cities I’ve visited as of writing (Newark, Sidney, Springfield, and Circleville) all have a similar Stripped Classical bank. Based on what I know about the other ones, this building was likely built c. 1930-1950.
The eastern end of the original circular plan is also just outside the bank:
125 South Pickaway Street
I know this house is off Main Street, but I don’t really have anywhere else to put it. This fancy Italianate house retains its original woodwork and (partially) its slate roof, but the brick and hood molds have been painted in modern colors.
215 East Main Street
This humble Italianate stands alone as the only commercial building east of Pickaway Street. It’s very intact, but its neighbors built more than a century later provide a stark contrast.
Part 2 covers the buildings across the street, on the north side of Main Street.
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/78002171.pdf
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