Sullivan Building

The Sullivan Building, Newark, Ohio

In 1914, Emmett Melvin Baugher of the Home Building Association Company on South Third Street in Newark commissioned famous architect Louis Sullivan to build a new building on the north corner of Main and Third Streets. It was the second largest banking institution in Newark by 1907 and had outgrown its facility.

On August 25, 1915, the [Sullivan Building], one of only eight “jewel box banks” designed by the architect, opened its doors to the public as the location of The Home Building Association, also known as The Old Home Bank. The Old Home Bank merged with the Franklin National Bank in 1928, changed its name to the Union Trust Company, and became the largest financial institution in Licking County.

Over the years the building has served many purposes including a butcher shop, a jewelry store and an ice cream parlor. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Sullivan Building's edifice is an easily recognized and remembered landmark in downtown Newark. According to the Licking County Foundation, "With each new tenant the interior was altered, but the building's historic and architectural significance never changed." The Licking County Foundation was gifted the building in by Stephen Jones, a Newark native, and Team Sullivan (a battalion of community volunteers) have been working on developing a plan for the restoration and reuse of the building. "The vision has always been to create a valuable space that is financially self-sustaining and open for the public to enjoy, celebrate and study."

As of October 2017, the building is set to be the new home offices of Explore Licking County, the area’s convention and visitors' bureau. While the official date for the completed renovation and move has yet to be set (possibly not until 2019). The Columbus-based architectural firm of Rogers & Krajnak has been retained to spearhead the restoration and repurposing of the building.

R.K.