Louis Sullivan’s 6th jewel box slated for restoration

Photo courtesy of Joe Tebben, Emeritus Professor of Greek & Latin, The Ohio State University.
Author of forthcoming book entitled, The Old Home: Louis Sullivan's Newark Bank

In December 2013, one of Louis Sullivan’s eight “jewel box” banks was donated to a local community foundation with the purpose of its eventual restoration. In Newark Ohio, the Home Building Association bank stands on one of the more prominent corners downtown. Originally built as a bank, the building changed the hands of several owners and retailers throughout the past century, now leaving it in a bit of a disarray. Sullivan enthusiasts hope that the building will be restored and enlivened again for the public’s enjoyment.

Louis Sullivan was a fantastic architect, from Chicago around the turn of the past century, who also happens to be my number one inspiration for writing about architecture. While pondering whether or not to leave an architecture firm where I was practicing as a project manager, I was inspired by Louis Sullivan’s example. Sullivan is known for his architecture designs and for his writings alike. How many architects write prolifically? The architectural profession so desperately needs more architects, formally trained architects, to write about design theory and practical experiences.

The bank building in downtown Newark, Ohio is now facing a $1.3 million+ restoration project. We know so much about what Sullivan was thinking when he designed the building because of a few articles published under the Kindergarten Chats. The bank’s open, two-story floor plan was designed to allow the public to have unreserved access. Patrons were able to see throughout the entire building where not even bank employees were hidden behind office walls. When most bank buildings appeared to be Greco-Roman Temples, he wanted his bank architecture to be an icon of the town and the people that would inhabit it. Completely “democratic” and American in nature, the bank building also was inspired by surrounding buildings on the streetscape and mimicked their geometries and other details.  

Architects come from around the country to central Ohio specifically to make a journey to see Sullivan’s prized jewel box in Newark, just a half hour east of Columbus. Look for my full length article in The Architect’s Newspaper this winter 2014. If interested, consider offering donations to the Licking County Foundation.