World’s FairsFound, not built?
Old WorldOhio Statehouse
Ohio Statehouse
Ohio Statehouse: Judiciary Annex of the Ohio Statehouse photograph - DPLA - 5208fcee435a2cc88f7a5864c2d43059
Ohio Statehouse: State Capitol - DPLA - a1876def3a4f00bc9b85f2e030a744b2 (page 1)

Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

Capitol · Columbus, United States

Ohio StatehouseSuspected

On the globe
Dated
Dated 1839–61
Declared purpose
Seat of the Ohio government
Today
Survives, still the statehouse
Build time
About 22 years (1839–61)
Region
United States
On the list as
Suspected

Why it's on the list

It has a flat-topped drum where a dome would be, and its design passed through several architects and a competition.

Hidden history

Found, Not Built

A Greek Revival capitol with a flat-topped drum instead of a dome. Prisoners from the Ohio Penitentiary helped quarry and haul its limestone.

  1. Why researchers flag it

    It has a flat-topped drum where a dome would be, and its design passed through several architects and a competition.

  2. No dome

    Its cupola is a flat-topped drum, unlike almost every other capitol.

  3. Prison labour

    Convicts from the state penitentiary worked on the stone.

  4. Many hands

    Several architects worked on it from the 1838 competition on.

Questions worth asking

  • Was a dome ever planned for the drum?

Possible original uses

  • Capitol

What the photos show

Sources

Further viewing

Episodes from My Lunch Break (Michael Kruse), the main lens for this app. They open on YouTube.

Compare with

City hallPhiladelphia City HallPhiladelphia · USADated 1871–1901 · Survives, still the city hallCity hallMilwaukee City HallMilwaukee · USADated 1893–95 · SurvivesCity hallBuffalo City HallBuffalo · USADated 1929–31 · SurvivesCity hallSan Francisco City HallSan Francisco · USADated 1913–15 · Survives