A state panel on Friday endorsed Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s old headquarters to the prestigious National Register of Historic Places.
The recommendation was approved by the 17-member Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board at a meeting in Columbus.
The nomination covers Goodyear’s old headquarters building at 1144 E. Market St., historically known as Plant 1.
The oldest portion of that plant dates to 1909. It was used for manufacturing until 1962 and then turned into the company’s world headquarters. It opened on Goodyear’s 75th anniversary in 1973.
Goodyear finished moving 2,000 workers out of the offices by May and into its new $160 million headquarters complex on nearby Innovation Way.
The old Goodyear building is to be redeveloped by California developer Stuart Lichter and his company, Industrial Realty Group, as part of a project being called the East End.
In March, the state panel approved a National Register nomination for the six-story Goodyear Hall and the adjoining two-story Ohio Savings Bank building.
The Goodyear site was one of eight nominations. Also nominated are two local schools: Mantua Center School in Mantua in Portage County and Green Township High School in Smithville in Wayne County.
The Mantua school was built in 1914 to consolidate Mantua Township’s one-room schools into a single, centralized facility at 11741 Mantua Center Road.
It was nominated for its role in the history of education in Portage County and for its local significance of the Neoclassical-style architecture.
The Wayne County school, now the Green Middle School, is a Smithville landmark at 484 E. Main St. (state Route 585).
It was built in 1939 and served as the high school from 1939 to 1969. It has been a middle school since then.
It was nominated for its role in the history of education and for its Collegiate Gothic style.
The state committee will recommend to Ohio’s State Historic Preservation Officer, Burt Logan, that the three local nominations be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places for her consideration.
The National Park Service oversees the National Register.
The state and federal designation provides prestige and federal tax credits. Buildings still could be altered or razed, but federal funds would not be used for the demolition.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.