Ohio State Office Building construction photograph

This photograph shows the construction site of the Ohio State Office Building, ca. 1930-1933. This image appears to have been taken during the demolition of an older building on that site. Sections of brick walls are visible among piles of lumber, window frames, and other debris. A view of South Front Street is visible in the background. Groundbreaking for the Ohio State Office Building, 65 South Front Street, took place on November 19, 1929. Construction began in October 1930, and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. An explosion damaged the structure on April 14, 1932, but the building eventually opened on March 27, 1933. The 14-story building was designed by architect Harry Hake, Frank Bail, and Alfred Hahn. The building later became the Ohio Judicial Center. In 2011 the state Supreme Court named the center in honor of the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who was the second-longest-serving chief justice in state history at the time of his death in April 2010. The Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center is considered an excellent example of architecture from the Art Deco period