- Detail on the upper levels of the LeVeque Tower - Photo by Andrew Wood
The LeVeque Tower—the building with, by far, the most character in the Columbus skyline— has been sold to a new owner. Not that it should come as a surprise. The terra cotta masterpiece, designed by Detroit architect, C. Howard Crane, has been sold a few times over the years, often for less than its initial selling price.
In fact, that’s where the story of the LeVeque starts. It was originally commissioned by the American Insurance Union (AIU), switching hands only after a financial fall in the Great Depression—a time when the AIU had no choice but to sell the structure in an effort to pay off its policyholders. In 1945, namesake, Leslie LeVeque, and partner were able to purchase the building at a fraction of its original construction cost.
The iconic, 47-story tower has endured many changes since then; the latest of these was reported Friday, March 11th, by the Columbus Dispatch. The building has been sold to a consortium headed up by local commercial real estate developer, Casto. The LeVeque, while still in decent physical shape, has been fighting a high percentage of vacancy over the past few years. Company chief, Don Casto, told the Dispatch that plans may include converting some of the vacant space into luxury apartments, as well as a restoration for the façade and communal areas. The partnership picked up the building for around $4 million dollars, a stark contrast to the $8.5 million it sold for in 2005.
Let’s hope that Casto can give the LeVeque the boost it needs to remain the shining jewel of Columbus.
See It For Yourself:
Sources:
Columbus Dispatch– “LeVeque Tower, a Downtown icon, changes hands“
Columbus Business First- “LeVeque Tower bought for bargain; Casto to lead renovation“
Wikipedia- “LeVeque Tower“
Tags: Columbus, Renovations
Category Around Ohio |
- Terminal Tower in Cleveland by fusionpanda
Now that we have our team together we are working on coming up with interesting assignments to write about. We are looking to our readers to help come up with great places they would like to see us profile! Our first reader challenge; tell us what the most visually striking sky scraper in the state of Ohio is! We’re dying to know your opinions! To play, all you have to do is comment on this post and include the sky scraper you thing has the most dazzling architecture! Easy, right?
Category Around Ohio |
Some good news and some bad news to share with you. The bad news is we had no takers in our naming contest, unless you count that fact that Julia, one of our staff writers commented that she liked our current name. No matter, the name sticks and we’ve got our own domain up and running now at historicohio.net. Julia, are you technically the first place winner and I owe you lunch now?
Now that we have that out of the way I would like to officially introduce our staff to our crack staff. When I say crack, I mean they are the best. Really.
Brian Boylan – Author & Editor
Brian is a very gifted and knowledgeable fellow. He is considered a literary giant by his peers, most likely because of his trademark 36 inch platform shoes. He is an English major currently working on his doctorate as well as taking time out to teach. Brian will be writing general articles for us as well as special posts on haunting’s of Ohio. Contact him at brian@historicohio.net
Carrie. – Editor
Strangely enough Carrie’s. name actually is Carrie. (pronounced Period) . She is an avid reader and enjoys poetry, drawing and photography. In her free time she stalks NHL Bluejacket’s player Mike Commodore and builds Rube Goldberg devices. She is very adept with a red marker and does an excellent job of making us look like we have a writing level beyond first grade. Contact her at carrie@historicohio.net
Julia – Author,
Photographer,
& Researcher
Julia is our resident jack of all trades. She will be writing articles for the site, joining us on scouting trips, and of course taking pictures. In her free time she enjoys luring defenseless puppies into her lair and baking them into cakes. Wait, maybe that was “and” baking cakes. Eh, no matter. Contact her at julia@historicohio.net
Lauren DeVoe – Author,
Researcher
Often found under a stack of dusty books when at home or at work, Lauren DeVoe has been labeled eccentric by her friends and peers. This simply isn’t the case; psychotic would be much more applicable. Lauren will be helping out with research as well as writing articles. Lauren will have her own as yet unnamed feature about oddities of Ohio. In her free time she enjoys howling at the moon. Contact her at lauren@historicohio.net
Well that’s all the news that’s fit to print for today! If you are interested we still have positions available and would love to have you on board!
Category Site News |
- Three Columbus, Ohio Streetcar Motormen by Walter D. Nice
This just in, across the telegraph wire, Columbus has been voted the second manliest city in the United States. It’s no wonder, either, with daring young streetcar drivers and their thick furry coats!
The study, paid for by Combos, reached its conclusion by ranking the numbers of manly things per capita. Awesome things like motorcycles, steakhouses, hardware stores, and trucks.
Columbus managed to move up from 7th place last year. No other Ohio cities were included in the top ten. Charlotte, North Carolina managed to take top honors this year.
Source:
WBNS 10TV – “Columbus No. 2 In Manliest City Ranking“
Tags: Columbus
Category Around Ohio |
- From Flickr user darwinbell
The somewhat oppressive heat we’ve been experiencing this week got me to wondering if we were any where near the record temperature for Ohio. The answer, not even close. If you thought the sweltering sauna that we’ve been enjoying the last few days is hot, we’re still about 20 degrees shy of the top temp.
The all time record temperature was set on July 21st, 1934 near the town of Gallipolis Ohio and what was it? Try 113 degrees Fahrenheit! Suddenly 93 doesn’t feel quite so bad does it? Especially considering that residential sales of air conditioning didn’t really take off until the 1950’s. If you need me, I’ll be in my freezer!
Sources:
Info Please
Wikipedia
Tags: Gallipolis
Category Around Ohio |
