I found this postcard and was rather intrigued by the building, having never heard of it in my times in Ohio and years attending OSU. The card is postmarked November 14, 1910. The Knowledge Bank at OSU has the following abstract:
The Armory was located immediately west of Mershon Auditorium (Bldg. 055). For indexing purposes, this structure was arbitrarily assigned the address 60 North Oval Drive. This structure was never officially named by Board of Trustees action. The Armory was also known as the Gymnasium and Armory, the Armory and Gymnasium, the Naval Armory, the Gymnasium, the Auditorium, the Military Department Building, and the Gymnasium, Armory and Drill Hall.
This aerial view of the Oval from 1948 shows its location at North High Street and 15th Avenue. Records show that the cost of the building was $115,000 and that it was first occupied in January 1898.
The following photos are also from the Knowledge Bank:
These photos were taken during construction. The photo at left is dated 1897. The photo at right is undated.
How it appeared in 1908.
The interior photos above are dated 1918 (left) and 1913.
Aerial view taken in 1947.
The building was severely damaged by fire on May 17, 1958. The final demolition and site improvement work was done by the Cuyahoga Wrecking Co. The work was completed on March 12, 1959.
Interior fire damage.
Demolition of the site in 1959.
More information can be found at the John H. Herrick Archives, Documenting Structures at The Ohio State University
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