March 2025.
Springfield’s Lagonda Club is an example of Renaissance Revival architecture. (The NRHP listing refers to this as the “Louis Sullivan-Beaux-Arts School of Architecture,” which is odd, considering Sullivan despised classical ornamentation.) To me, it seems to be most influenced by the Renaissance with its palazzo expression and second-floor loggia.
The Lagonda Club is located at 150 East High Street, on the eastern edge of downtown Springfield, Ohio. It is bordered by a parking lot to the north, High Street and the Warder Public Library to the south, Spring Street and the High Street United Methodist Church to the east, and a Beaux-Arts building that formerly housed American Antiquities to the west.
History
Historic photo of the building. (u/HISTORICPODCAST on Reddit)
The Lagonda Club was a private social club for local businessmen and their sons, which was founded in 1893. The name comes from a Shawnee word for “buck deer,” just like Buck Creek, which was originally known as “Lagonda Creek.” The club commissioned a building by architect Frank Andrews, who was known for designing prominent buildings in Dayton and the state capitol buildings of Kentucky and Montana. It was built in the Renaissance Revival style but has also been attributed as an early Beaux-Arts work. The massing, features like vaulting and colonnade, and fenestration are common Renaissance elements. The interior was extremely lavish, the club owners sparing no expense on furniture or decoration.
The Lagonda Club itself was a very short-lived organization. The club left the building and was disbanded in 1923, when Victorian architecture fell out of fashion, and the building was sold to Springfield’s chamber of commerce. They occupied the building for the following 40 years, slowly removing the original interior decoration as time went on. The Chamber of Commerce moved to the Shawnee Hotel in 1963, which left the Lagonda Club building empty for a year until the Warder Library temporarily rented space on the first floor. It was purchased by George Raup around this time, and a business college occupied the second floor.
The Lagonda Club c. 1975. (NRHP)
By 1971, the Lagonda Club was empty. Raup moved his offices inside in 1974 and rented the first floor to a printing shop. He intended to revitalize the building and hoped its National Register placement, approved the subsequent year, would draw attention to it. However, finances were apparently a problem for him. The results of Raup’s plans are unknown, but evidently his drive for attention failed. Recently, the building was occupied by a similar organization (“Club Lagonda”), but it has since folded and the club remains empty. It is in rather sad shape, which is a shame.
Photos
I was lazy and didn’t get very many photos on the sunny day I visited, so most of these are gonna be poorly lit older photos. The diffuse light makes it look even worse for the wear.
The exterior is completely original and intact, but it is certainly aged. Nothing a good power-wash couldn’t fix, yet the soot adds depth to the carved ornament.
The east facade:
Both of my photos are shoddy--the older one is framed poorly, and it doesn’t expose the hole in the roof (note the sunlight creeping in on the third floor’s center windows), but this one is almost completely obscured by shadow. Anyways, the fenestration is mostly in the style of a typical Renaissance palazzo, except for the odd windows on the second and third floors.
I’ll use this one of the south facade since it’s free of cars:
The large central arch dominates here. I also like the two little oval windows on the second floor.
On the north side is this weird projection, which admittedly takes away from the sculptural purity a bit.
The “west facade” wasn’t meant to be exposed like this--a Beaux-Arts building stood next door when the Lagonda Club was built, but it was demolished by the 1970s.
You can see how the older building’s roof used to slope in section and that the Lagonda Club was built with a light court. The mural is old and fading. The “alley” created here is occupied by some derelict vehicles with flat tires.
Detail of the southeast entrance:
The portal has a high level of ornamentation across its mass. It takes the form of a simple entablature crowned with a large arch. I like the large sign in the middle. The date of the building’s construction is also inscribed here:
The northeast entrance is similar in form but simpler in decoration:
The vault above the entablature becomes a lunette window instead of a blind arch, and the area where the sign sits is still indented here. Note the presence of the original doors…I’m appalled that they’ve remained intact this long.
I adore this vaulted window on the east end with its stained glass and elaborate springers:
The one on the opposite side is similar but lacks the stained glass. Closely studying the historic photos shows this was how it was built, which is an odd decision. I thought the frosted glass was a cheap sticker at first.
I also believe these window frames are original, given the denticulation and their wood edges. It’s quite a shame the building is just sitting here and rotting.
Here’s a look at the second and third floor’s expression, as well as the cornice:
The third floor has diamond-shaped brick patterns, possibly influenced by Tudor architecture. Note that the cornice is original but highly damaged, missing many modillions.
I can’t get enough of this arcade:
The depth of ornament is astounding here. I like the Corinthian pilasters that support the entablature and the engaged columns from which the arches thrust. Every surface, including the column shafts and spandrels of the vaulting, is encrusted with organic motifs in classical styles.
I guess I completely forgot about the south side until I came back a week later. I was too lazy to switch out my lens, so these are all taken at 50mm at the most. Here’s the second and third floors:
Those oval windows are really cool. Unfortunately, the rest have been removed and boarded up.
This arched window is the most decorated of them all:
Maybe this is where the NRHP writer got the Sullivanesque idea from? Highly decorated arches were typical of his architecture, but he absolutely never used classical ornamentation. Regardless, this still achieves the same opulence and texture. It really pops in the sun:
Hopefully, Springfield’s revitalization efforts result in the restoration of the Lagonda Club, too. It is too architecturally significant and intact to be lost to the wrecking ball.
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001342.pdf
https://www.westcotthouse.org/gps/downtown/lagonda-bank-building#load
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