Ohio State Office Building riverside view cutout

The Ohio State Office Building, located at 65 South Front Street was eventually renamed the Ohio Departments of State building, for a time, before becoming home to the Supreme Court of Ohio. It was designed by Henry Hake of Cincinnati in the Art Moderne style, a combination of the Modernistic style with Art Deco decoration. Groundbreaking took place on November 19, 1929 and construction began just after the collapse of the stock market, so delays were frequent. The building was completed in 1933 at a cost exceeding $6,500,000. Just before construction was complete, 11 people were killed and 50 injured during a natural gas explosion on April 14, 1932, which damaged the building all the way up to the 5th floor. Repairs cost an additional $750,000. The 14-story building is of Georgia marble, luxuriously decorated with metals, tiling, colored marbles, mosaics and numerous murals. The building initially housed the departments of: Aeronautics, Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Health, Highways, Public Welfare, Public Works, Industrial Relations, Taxation and the Industrial Commission. The Ohio State Library was located on the 11th floor and one of the largest of its kind in the country. The library and several of the hearing rooms, used as assembly halls, are adorned with panel murals of historical character, outstanding among them being works of John F. Holmer and H.H. Wessel of Cincinnati as well as Leroy Daniel MacMorris of and Rudolph Sheffler of New York. The building was used by the Ohio House of Representatives during the renovation of the Statehouse in the 1990's. In 1998, the Ohio General Assembly voted to bear the cost of the building's renovation. Renovation began in 2001 and was completed in January of 2004. The Ohio State Office Building was renamed the Ohio Judicial Center and was officially opened on February 17, 2004, winning several awards due to its superior architecture