Ohio State Office Building construction photograph

This photograph shows the site of the future Ohio State Office Building, Columbus, Ohio, during its excavation, ca. 1929-1931. A power shovel and a dump truck sit side by side. At center right, two men are watching the excavation. Above the excavation site is a fenced-off sidewalk that provides a vantage point for observers and passersby. Visible in the far background is a building bearing the name "Volunteers of America." 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. It 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