Lagonda Club Building - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Lagonda Club Building is a historic clubhouse in downtown Springfield

Springfield, Ohio

Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Designed by Frank Mills Andrews, a leading period architect who was responsible for the construction of the Kentucky State Capitol

Kentucky State Capitol

The Kentucky State Capitol is located in Frankfort and is the house of the three branches of the state government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky...

, the clubhouse is a three-story

Storey

A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...

structure with a large basement. Various materials are present on different parts of the exterior — while the foundation and first story are constructed of dressed limestone

Ashlar

Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...

, the second through fourth floors are built of brick; their only stone elements are stone trim

Molding (decorative)

Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...

around some of the windows.

Completed in 1895, the Lagonda Club is an early example of Beaux-Arts architecture. This style was favored by Andrews, whose work appears to have been influenced by Louis Sullivan

Louis Sullivan

Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...

's preferred style. After the Lagonda Club ceased to use the building, it became the headquarters of the local chamber of commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

. Today, the property is again owned by the club (now known as "Club Lagonda"), which seeks to rent most of its space to businesses. Because of its historically significant architecture and its place in Ohio's history

History of Ohio

The history of Ohio includes many thousands of years of human activity. What is now Ohio was probably first settled by Paleo-Indian peoples, who lived in the area as early as 13,000 BCE. Later ancestors of Native Americans were known as the Archaic peoples...

, the Lagonda Club Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1975; at the same intersection is located another landmark, the former Warder Public Library

Warder Public Library

Warder Public Library was the main branch from 1890 to 1989, of the Clark County Public Library in Springfield, Ohio, United States. A robust example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, the building was a gift to the city from industrialist Benjamin H. Warder...

Further reading