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The Schaaf Building is a commercial structure at 168 N. High Street in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The structure was completed in the early 20th century, and has seen numerous new facades installed facing High Street. From September 1924 to December 1963, the building held the Boston Store, a department store. Since 1995, the building has housed one of three offices of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio.[1]

Attributes

The building was originally designed in a decorative Italianate style by prominent Columbus firm Richards, McCarty & Bulford. It was built with a steel frame, iron clay brick walls, and an ornamental terracotta front. It was built to occupy its entire lot, 83 feet by 188 feet.[2] The facade of the building was modified numerous times over the 20th century.

History

The building was constructed in 1905 as the David C. Meehan Fireproof Building; it may have been a rebuilding of an earlier structure.[2] The Boston Store operated in the building until closing on December 28, 1963.[4] In 1964, the building was sold to a Columbus investment group and was converted into offices at a cost of approximately $250,000, and a new facade was installed at its front. The company, High Spring Corp., was led by president Frederick D. Schaaf, who the building was later named for.[3]

In 1995, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio relocated from the federal courthouse (now named for James Kinneary) into the Schaaf Building.[5]

Gallery

Sketch of the C.H.D. Robbins Company building, 1900Illustration, 1905The store in 1925

Midcentury facade on the building, May 15, 1959The building in 1986 (at left)In 2020

 

References

  1. "Boston Store". Columbus Metropolitan Library. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  2. "Largest retail Store Building In Columbus Now Under Erection". The Columbus Dispatch, p. 7, October 1, 1905. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  3. "Downtown Boston Store Building Purchased by Columbus Investors". The Columbus Dispatch, p. 32B, April 15, 1964. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  4. "Important Announcement". The Columbus Dispatch, p. 3A, December 27, 1963. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  5. "Federal Court Remodeling Cost Dwarfs Building's Construction Price". The Columbus Dispatch, p. 9D, February 12, 1995. Retrieved December 7, 2023.

External links

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