Brunswick Club Building

From Licking County Library's Wiki!
Jump to: navigation, search
Photograph taken of the Brunswick Club Building in 2020.
The “Brunswick Club” building at 26 South Third Street has some striking features: the red brick and red accents make a striking contrast with the rest of the block, and the small, yet eye-catching, mansard roof caps the tall, three-storied structure. Its origins began, as its name suggests, with the Brunswick Club. The Brunswick Club incorporated as a social club in Newark in 1883. It had 22 members and $900 in capital at the time. After an initial period of changing locations, the club occupied a new building—the "Brunswick Club" at 26 South Third Street—in January 1884 [1] Among its first officers and directors were M. A. Baker, H.C. Strong, R.F. Collins, C.R. Shields, W.A. Sprague, W.A. Robbins. [2] The Club’s membership had expanded to 60 by 1886 with notable citizen—such as Judge Samuel Hunter, Judge Jerome Buckingham, Charles Kibler, Lucius Wing, and others—joining its ranks [3]

The Club’s primary social activity of choice? Billiards. [4] Much of the space in the narrow building was dedicated as a pool hall, though it also possessed a bedroom and kitchen [5] The Club's events were often featured in the newspapers of the day, including a billiards competition held between the Brunswick Club and the Calumet Club in January 1888. [6]

The building also had commercial space available on the first floor. An early tenant was the McGinnis Shoe Store, which opened in 1887 [7] The Brunswick Club, for reasons unknown, appears to have dissolved sometime in 1888 or 1889, though there is a passing reference to a relocation from 26 South Third before the Club's final dissolution. [8]

After the club departed, a new institution—the Home Building Association—moved into the site. The Home Building Association, organized in 1888, occupied their offices in the Brunswick Club building on April 1, 1891 [9] The Association grew during the 1890s and 1900s, becoming the second largest bank in Newark. This growth precipitated the move of the Home Building Association in 1915 to the corner of Third Street and Main Street into the bank building designed for the company by architect Louis Sullivan. [10]

The Brunswick Club building suffered significant damage, including a lightning strike and severe water damage, but has survived largely intact. [11] The structure underwent renovations in 2016 and 2017. Historic Preservation tax credits enabled the owner to perform restorations that preserved the original look and design of the building. [12] Over the years the building was also home to the McMichael Music Store, Mound City Cleaners and Upham Insurance Agency. [13] The building was occupied by Evo Design in 2021.

J.G.


Return to Historic Sites and Buildings



References

  1. ↑ Newark Daily Advocate, Nov. 22, 1883, 4
  2. ↑ "Election of Officers," Newark Daily Advocate, Jan. 11, 1884, 4
  3. ↑ “Club Chatter,” Newark Daily Advocate, (Dec. 16, 1886), 1
  4. ↑ “Billiards,” Newark Daily Advocate, Apr. 20, 1887, 4
  5. ↑ Jeffries, A. "Brunswick Building to be Renovated," The Advocate, Dec., 17, 2015, A:1
  6. ↑ "Downed," Newark Daily Advocate, Jan. 28, 1888, 6
  7. ↑ Newark Daily Advocate, Sep. 28, 1887
  8. ↑ Newark Advocate, Feb. 28, 1920, 4
  9. ↑ Newark Daily Advocate, Apr. 1, 1891, 4
  10. ↑ Tebben, J., The Old Home: Louis Sullivan's Newark Bank, (2014), 11-14
  11. ↑ The Advocate, Nov. 25, 2018, S:1
  12. ↑ Jeffries, A. "Brunswick Building to be Renovated," The Advocate, Dec., 17, 2015, A:1
  13. ↑ Sickkinon, G. Ohio Historic Inventory, LIC-76-16
Retrieved from "http://wiki.lickingcountylibrary.info/index.php?title=Brunswick_Club_Building&oldid=5009"