The Odd Fellows Hall is one of the oldest non-residential buildings in the city of Hilliard,

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. Located in the center of the city, it was constructed long before Hilliard's rapid growth of the twentieth-century. It has been named a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

. Hilliard's Odd Fellows built the present hall in 1883. At the time, Hilliard was just a small farming community, radically different from its present condition as a city within the Columbus metropolitan area. Typical of small commercial structures erected at the time, the hall is a simple

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

building. It is one of just two nineteenth-century brick commercial buildings in the city that survive in anything close to their original condition.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1.

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ce ...

: Somerset, 1999, 479. Built of brick on a

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limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, the hall is covered with a metal roof, and it features exterior elements of brick and wood. Two

stories Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

tall, it features a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

with paired

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

at the base of the roof. The design takes advantage of the building's location at a street corner: although the first-story windows and entrances are concentrated on one side, both street sides are divided into four

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

with four tall arched windows on the second story.,

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, 2007. Accessed 2010-02-25. Inside, the first story is divided into a pair of shop spaces, while the Odd Fellows' second-story meeting room has experienced minimal modification. Still remaining are the original hoodmolds over the doors and windows,

wainscoting Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...

, wooden floor, lights, and ornamental metalwork covering the ceiling. On May 6, 1988, the Odd Fellows Hall was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, qualifying because of its historically significant architecture. On the same day, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

gave the same designation to three other Hilliard buildings, the Hilliard United Methodist Church, the Dr. James Merryman House, and the Winterringer Building and House.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Buildings and structures completed in 1883 Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Ohio Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Italianate architecture in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Ohio Hilliard