Abandoned School Building in OH Converted to Senior Housing
John H. Lehman High School, Canton Ohio
The John H. Lehman High School ("Lehman School"), at the time of its construction in 1921-23, was the first public school building in Canton, Ohio originally constructed as a junior high school, and is currently the second oldest remaining public high school building in Canton, after the Old McKinley High School (1916-21). Lehman consists of a school building and concrete stadium bleachers overlooking an athletic field on the front lawn.
Lehman School's site occupies an entire city block in a residential area near the Vassar Park of Canton. As noted in the 1914 Sanborn map, Lehman's environs was along the northern fringe of the Canton corporation limits. This part of Canton has changed very little since Lehman's construction, as the area is still predominately residential and composed of homes from the early 20th Century. Lehman itself is mostly intact, with a section of concrete bleaches and athletic field; the north elevation features a compatible addition from the 1960s.
Canton is located in northeastern Ohio, approximately 60 miles south of Cleveland, in Stark County. Canton is the county seat. Stark County blossomed in size since Canton's founding in 1805. The county population was just 2,734 in 1810; grew more than ten-fold to 39,878 in 1850; and by the last decade of the 19th Century more than doubled in size to 84,170. The county population in 1920, around the time Lehman School was built, was 177,218, again more than doubled in size. By 1960, around the time the addition was constructed, Stark County had grown to 340,345 as recorded in the census.
After Canton was established in 1805, it was incorporated as a village in 1822, and became a city in 1838, although not incorporated as such until 1854. Canton was an important manufacturing center, steadily growing as railroad lines were added. Canton's population was only 1,257 in 1830, doubled by 1850 to just 5% of the county population, and continued steady growth until the turn of the 19th Century. In 1900, the city's population was 30,667, almost half the population of Stark county, and ten years later rose to 50,217.
The marked rise in population resulted from the prospering industry at the time, such as Timken Roller Bearing Company, including its Steel and Tube division, which moved to Canton from St. Louis in 1901, and was growing during the 1910s and 1920s and was the largest employer in Canton from the 1920s through the 1950s. Already a supplier to the automobile industry, industrial applications, and the railroad, in 1917 Timken constructed a steel mill, and in 1919, Timken had become the supplier of bearings for Ford's Model T. Other thriving industries included: Diebold Incorporated (moved to Canton from Cincinnati in 1872), manufacturer of bank safes and vaults; The Belden Brick Company (founded in 1885 as the Diebold Fire Brick Company); Dueber-Hampden Watch Company (moved to Canton from Kentucky and Massachusetts in 1888; bankrupt by 1927); Canton Stamping & Enameling Co. (founded 1902); Canton Drop Forging & Mfg. Co. (founded 1903); and Electric Suction Sweeper Company/Hoover Company in North Canton (founded 1908).
By 1920, around the time Lehman School was built, Canton had 87,091 residents. With approximately half the county's population residing in Canton, the population continued to steadily increase, reaching a peak of around 115,000 in the mid-1900s, almost half of the county's population at the time. Following the population boom in Canton, student enrollment ballooned around 1920. The number of students enrolled in the public school district increased sharply, from 9,221 in 1900; 13,547 in 1920; 17,483 for the 1921-22 school year. To relieve overcrowding in schools, half-day sessions were introduced, 15 "portable" buildings of classrooms were added, and the Junior High School idea (Grades 7-8-9) was championed by superintendents such as J.K. Baxter (1905-1918). Although Lehman and another junior high school a couple of years later (Lincoln) were built, the policy was never fully carried out, even into the 1950s the 8-4 plan was favored over the 6-3-3 plan.
Towards the end of the 19th century, a series of federal and state laws affecting school attendance led to increased construction of schools throughout Ohio. In 1877, the state passed a law requiring children ages 8 to 14 to attend school at least 12 weeks of the year. This was the first time that attendance in schools was mandatory, but there were exceptions for children who were mentally deficient, needed for labor on the family farm, or lived more than two miles from a school. In 1878, Ohio passed a law requiring boards of education to provide free education to everyone and nine years later, a law that had established segregated schools was overturned. In 1890, the Compulsory Education Law passed by the Ohio Legislature obliged children under 14 years of age in cities to attend school 20 weeks per year. Starting in 1902, state law required school districts to transport its qualified students to a high school, and to cover the cost of tuition.
The building of Canton public schools reflects the increase in population and broad educational patterns. A larger brick and stone Queen Anne style Central High School (1887, razed 1938) replaced the earlier Union School that was razed in 1880. Following the Compulsory Education Law requiring attendance under the age of 14, elementary schools were constructed in Canton in the mid-1890s and included: South Market Street School (1896, demolition date unknown) and North Cherry Street School (1897, closed 1960, demolition date unknown). The two story North High School (1904, razed 1923), originally built as a private school by German Baptist Brethren, was purchased by Canton Public Schools in 1910, becoming the second public high school in the city (Grades 9-11, with 12 going to Central). Following the increase in population, additional elementary schools were constructed: Gibbs Avenue School (1914, 1926, demolished 2004), Ira M. Allen Elementary School #1 (1915, closed 2007), and Daniel Worley School (1918, demolished 2003). As the population of Canton ballooned, there was not enough room for high school students at Central and North, so the brick and stone Neo-Classical style McKinley High School (closed 2015, now McKinley HealthCare Center) was constructed in 1916-1921. McKinley replaced Central and North high schools, which in 1917 were repurposed as junior high schools (grades 7-9), before declared obsolete and demolished in 1923 (North) and 1938 (Central). They were no longer needed for the lower grade levels once Lehman was constructed.
The date of construction of Lehman Junior High School coincides with a 1921 legislative act in Ohio, the Bing Act, which required all children aged 6-18 to attend school, compounding the challenge of accommodating the population increase. Ifa rural district did not have a school, children were required to attend school in a nearby district, thereby adding to Canton's school enrollment.
Also relevant to Lehman School at this time, standards for junior high schools were codified, as well as a certification program for junior high teachers. The concept for the Junior High School was introduced in 1907 by a committee of the National Education Association (NEA), one member of which was the Ohio State University Superintendent of the College of Education, A.B. Graham. The Junior High as proposed would take the place of the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades that were formally divided between the grade school (7th and 8th) and the high school (9th). The first Junior High School in the nation was completed in 1909 in Columbus, Indianola Junior High School, making Lehman only about a decade younger.
In 1923, physical education became an important area of emphasis in the curriculum, as legislation required 100 minutes of physical education weekly and an examination from a physician; "parents to be notified of any defects needing correction". Also, the predecessor to the National Football League was founded in Canton September 17th, 1920 and locals exuberantly supported their local team, the Bulldogs, which won the first two championships. Consequently, a "state of the art" school at the time would include features that remain intact at Lehman, such as boys and girls locker rooms; designated bicycle rooms; and the school's focus on the athletic field with permanent, concrete bleachers. It was not unusual that students rode bikes to and from school around the time of completion of the construction of Lehman School, as illustrated in an advertisement from the late 1920s. Too, as a result of Canton's position as a leader in manufacturing, specifically of bearings for transportation equipment through the Timken Roller Bearing Company (1901), as well as Canton's location just south of Akron, a leader in the tire and rubber industry with BF Goodrich (founded, 1870), Goodyear (founded, 1898), Firestone (founded, 1900) and General (founded, 1915), it is no surprise that any form of transportation involving wheels was encouraged, down to the youngest citizen who could maneuver a bicycle. In fact, the Goodyear history on the company website states "Since the first bicycle tire in 1898, Goodyear pedaled its way toward becoming the world's largest tire company, a title it earned in 1916 when it adopted the slogan 'More people ride on Goodyear tires than on any other kind, becoming the world's largest rubber company in 1926."
Lehman School, opened 1921-1923 as a Junior High, was joined by brick and stone Neo-Classical/Renaissance Revival style Lincoln Junior High School in 1926 (Vernon Redding & Company of Mansfield, now Heritage Christian School); these junior high schools were just two of several schools constructed in Canton during the 1920s. According to E.T. Heald in a 1953 radio broadcast, the early 1920s in Canton "saw the completion of a tremendous building expansion under [Superintendent Wilson] Hawkins [tenure 1918-1928], during which 24 schools and additions were built at a cost of about $6,500,000, including three general high schools, McKinley [senior high school], Lehman [junior high school], and Lincoln [junior high school]". By 1928, $8,513,293.45 had been invested in Canton public school properties, the majority of that in buildings. Elementary schools constructed during the late 1910s and the 1920s include: Clarendon Elementary School (1918); Daniel Worley Elementary School (1918); Washington Elementary School (1924); Garfield Elementary School #2 (c.1920); Bezaleel Wells Elementary School #3 (c. 1920); Archibald McGregor Elementary School (1921); Henry S. Belden Elementary School (1921); Horace Mann Elementary School (1921); Cedar Elementary School (1923); South Market Street Elementary School (1924); Fairmount Park Elementary School (1926); and John K. Baxter Elementary School (1928).
Lehman School is a three-story masonry structure with a raised basement. The west wing, including the gym and auditorium, was completed in 1921, and the east wing was completed in 1923.
As early as July 8th, 1919, the North High School property was under consideration for the new junior high school that was to be Lehman, when there was a motion during a board meeting to consider the land west of the existing school. In September 6th, 1919 the overcrowding situation was becoming dire. Headlines read "City needs five more buildings … School very badly congested despite portables and basement rooms." The school district was short 75 rooms. The situation in Canton was noted to be typical of other cities: "Canton is no worse than any other growing city, as they are all having difficulty in taking care of the rapidly increasing number of school children, but something should be done in the way of erecting school buildings immediately … Five new buildings would take care of the situation as it is today, but would not take care of next year's increases" reported Superintendent Hawkins.
Originally the architects mentioned in connection with the junior high school were Eastman and Dawson, according to a September 16th, 1919 article. But a December 21st, 1919 article identifies that "Thayer and Thayer, New Castle, PA were selected as architects for the new building." In this same December article, the board adopted a resolution to name the new junior high to "replace North High school" the "John H. Lehman High School." Plans were "accepted" by the board of education in mid-February, 1920 according to a February 15" article. Plans included an athletic field for football and baseballs. A narrative description of the building and programmatic elements is provided in April 11th, 1920 in the Canton Daily News. In anticipation of growing enrollment, the article noted that "The building will be built in such a way that additional wings can be put on the 15th street side of the building." Further, Lehman would be "the most pretentious school building in the city with the exception of the McKinley High School." This article also mentions Johnston for the first time in connection with Thayer.
Lehman was built at the same time as two elementary schools, also by Thayer and Thayer: the Horace Mann Grammar School and the Henry S. Belden Grammar School. These two elementary schools also each had an auditorium, gymnasium, domestic science, and manual training rooms.
The 1920 cornerstone of Lehman, originally a Junior High School until 1932, was laid on the site partially occupied by North High School, explaining why Lehman was constructed in two phases. When the west wing of the new Lehman school was complete, the old North High School was demolished, making way for the as-designed east wing, completed in 1923. Original drawings by Thayer & Johnson Architects depict a T-shaped building with east and west projecting wings. A historic rendering shows the front elevation as designed with its full array of bleachers. Two historic photographs from the 1950s show an aerial view and south elevation as built.
Lehman Junior High School was named for John House Lehman to honor his great efforts to advance Canton's public school system. Lehman was the first Canton school to be named after a living person, instead of honoring one deceased. Mr. Lehman was born in 1846 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and came to Ohio in 1859. He was Canton's first superintendent of schools, serving for twelve years from 1876 to 1888. He also served on the Board of Education from 1902 to 1918, and as Board president from 1904 to 1916. Lehman published the three-volume Standard History of Stark County, Ohio, an important reference cited often.
For construction of the property, R.H. Evans & Company was contracted on June 1st, 1920 and completed the west wing in 1921 for the sum of $700,000. Evans also served as builder for McKinley High School, Vicary Building, and Archibald McGregor School.
$700,000 was a large sum of money for a new school building in the 1920s. In fact, the school board came under scrutiny over frivolous spending of taxpayer's money to build Canton's new schools. The Canton Real Estate Board posted a letter from the Canton Real Estate Board in the Canton Daily News in September 25th, 1921 criticizing the board:
Lehman is specifically called out as "already cost[ing] over $750,000 and has only 16 class rooms," with the other wing yet to be constructed.
Students occupied Lehman, as well as the new Mann and Belden Schools, October 15th, 1921, relieving the over-capacity conditions of Canton schools. On October 17th, 1921, Melbourne Brothers Company was retained to build the east wing, completed in 1923 for the sum of $275,000, making the total for the two wings approximately $975,000. Originally separate bids were requested for the athletic stadium (consisting of a 270 foot-long expanse of concrete bleaches and athletic field with baseball diamond, football field, 100 yard straight-away, and cinder track); kitchen/cafeteria equipment; lockers; scenery and stage equipment; auditorium carpet and draperies for Lehman as well as Henry Belden and Horace Mann Buildings. The end cost for the construction of Lehman was $1,107,935, which included 29 classrooms and fixtures, as well as an auditorium, a gymnasium with indoor running track, 800-seat concrete stadium bleachers, and two tunnels to connect the building to the athletic field. The dedication ceremony took place November 21st, 1923.
The expansion of Canton's public schools slowed during the 1930s in the wake of the Great Depression, and the focus was on supporting the students in the schools already constructed. In 1935, when municipalities were having trouble collecting enough tax revenue for schools, the Ohio legislature instituted the "School Foundation" program to establish baseline funding at the state level for each child. Instead of only the previous means for funding schools based on local property taxes, the School Foundation program supplemented school districts with revenues from a new 3% retail sales tax. Under this program, the State became responsible for approximately 50% of revenues required by school districts. Also at this time, standards in teacher certifications were modified to include the following progression: "a one-year temporary certificate, a four-year provisional certificate, an eight-year professional certificate, and a life certificate in nine categories from kindergarten teaching to county supervision".
Lehman served as a junior high school with grades 7 through 9 until 1932 when it transitioned to a high school to relieve the increasing student population of McKinley High School (1918-1921), which housed 4,000 in a building with a capacity of 3,000. In 1932, 10th grade was added to Lehman; and in 1936 and 1937, the 11th and 12th grades were respectively incorporated. The first graduating class from Lehman High School was in 1938 and included 187 students. Also in 1932, the brick and stone Art Deco style South High School was constructed to accommodate the increasing high school population in the southern section of the city which had been attending McKinley High School in the northern part of the city. In 1938, the stone Art Deco style Timken Vocational High School/Senior High School was constructed to further relieve the high school student population in the northern part of the city, with an emphasis on teaching vocational trades. By the time Lincoln Junior High School (1926) became a high school in 1942-43, Canton was home to five high schools: McKinley, Lehman, Timken, and Lincoln in the northern part of the city, and Canton South High in the southern part of the city.
Lehman's architecture was reportedly given accolades in the American Builder, Art Supplement of Notable Architecture, October 1925, as well as the United Alloy Steel Corporation's United Clan publication in September 1923. The 1923 publication commended the brick and sandstone school as "one of the most beautiful school buildings in the country". Typical of masonry construction of this period, Lehman was built with steel lintels over masonry openings, and other structural steel elements that span and support brick or stone.
Lehman was designed by Thayer & Johnson Architects. Albert L. Thayer was born in Cortland, Ohio in 1876 (the date of his death unknown). Thayer was schooled in architecture at the University of Illinois, graduating in 1898 and joined in a partnership with his father, Charles C. Thayer who began his architecture practice in 1891 in New Castle, Pennsylvania, approximately 18 miles from Youngstown, Ohio. As Thayer & Thayer, the firm obtained public commissions in both Pennsylvania and Ohio, including a high school in Indiana, Pennsylvania (1907) and another high school in Greenville, Pennsylvania (1919). These school buildings precede Lehman, and while rooted in traditional Jacobean and Collegiate Gothic Revival style, are not particularly innovative or groundbreaking and are typical of school construction at the time. By contrast, the Lehman School was ambitiously constructed in two phases in order not to close the school that existed on the same site. In comparison to these schools, Lehman was realized on a more monumental and progressive scale that reflects emerging emphasis on physical education, and specialized classrooms designed to accommodating growing enrollment in Canton.
In Canton, Thayer and Thayer also designed the Horace Mann Grammar School (closed) and the Henry S. Belden Grammar School (demolished). The contractor for these two schools was G.H. Whike of Canton. The Horace Mann School is T shaped in plan, three stories, and red brick with fanciful details suggesting Spanish Renaissance Revival/Moorish Revival architecture through the voluted pediment, stylized pilasters of a spiral design, and decorative terra cotta. Although smaller than Lehman, with only 12 classrooms, it still reportedly cost nearly half a million dollars to complete.
By 1920 Charles C. Thayer retired, leaving the firm to his son Albert, who soon moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he joined in a new partnership with Rowland M. Johnson. Rowland M. Johnson (1890-1940) hailed from Riverside, California. The details of his education in architecture are not known. There is documentation that Johnson worked for the well-known Cleveland architects Walker and Weeks (founded 1911), however the dates of his employment at the firm is not recorded. In 1920, Johnson joined Thayer for design and construction of the property.
Rowland M. Johnson went on to design Washington Savings Bank (1923) and the Guardian Trust Bank Building (1930), both in in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1927, The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company published a volume of service stations designs intended for Goodyear dealers. Johnson oversaw the 21 different designs for inclusion in this volume.
Albert Thayer went on to design, among other buildings, the Eagles' Temple in Canton, Ohio (1927-28), built for the oldest chapter of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
Student population remained relatively stagnant, and slightly declined from the 1930s through the 1950s. While "enrollment practically doubled between 1918 and 1928, increasing from 11,000 to 21,067," in 1952, the year of the publication of a definitive history of Canton, there were 19,497 students. During that twenty-year period into the 1950s, the population of Canton reportedly shifted to the periphery of the city into the suburbs. Therefore, through the 1960s, Canton remained home to five high schools: McKinley, Lehman, Timken, and Lincoln in the northern part of the city, and Canton South High in the southern part of the city.
In 1960, 7th and 8th grade "ability" students were added to Lehman, and in 1961, Kent State University evening classes were added. Around the same time, an addition was designed by Cox & Forsythe of Canton to be constructed on the north elevation of the west wing, housing specialty classrooms for a biology laboratory and a band room.
Significant changes to Lehman High School did not happen again until the 1970s. With a decreasing population in Canton and lower enrollment in the high schools, in 1976, Lehman and Lincoln returned to use as junior high schools until a new Lehman Middle School was constructed at 1400 Broad Avenue NW, 1-1/2 miles west of the original Lehman building, and the original Lehman was closed in 2004. Lincoln eventually became home to Heritage Christian School in 1979.
With declining enrollment through the 1980s and 1990s, the perceived need for new, modern facilities caused the closure and replacement of many historic Canton public schools in the 2000s, including Washington (2000), Allen (2007), Baxter (2008), Fairmount Park (2015), and McKinley (2015); Timken merged with the new McKinley (1976) in 2015. South High School is scheduled to close in August 2017. The merging of high schools follows the reduction in Canton's population from a peak of 116,912 in 1950 to 73,007 in 2010.
Some Canton public schools were demolished in the 2000s, including Belden (c. 2000), Cedar (c. 2000), Clarendon (c. 2000), Worley (2003), Gibbs Avenue (2004), and McGregor (2007).
Only three historic public school buildings are currently still used as public school buildings: the brick and stone Neo-Classical style Barbara Schreiber Elementary School (the former Woodland Avenue School, c. 1925); the brick and stone Jacobean Revival style Belle Stone Elementary School (c.1930); and stone Art Deco style Timken High School (1939).
Lehman is part of a long list of historic Canton area public schools that have closed, and hence, are in danger of demolition unless new uses can be found for them. A select few schools, as noted, have been adapted for new uses. Historic Canton public schools that were constructed around the time Lehman was built and have closed include:
• 1909, 1924, Washington Elementary School, 1220 9th Street NE at Rowland Avenue (closed 2000)
• 1915, Ira M. Allen Elementary School #1, 11th Street SE at Gonder Avenue SE (closed 2007)
• 1916-1921, McKinley High School #1, 800 Market Avenue North (closed 2015); now McKinley HealthCare Center
• 1917, Henry S. Martin Elementary School, formerly East 8th Street School/3rd Street SE (closed)
• 1920, Garfield Elementary School #2, Garfield Avenue (closed)
• 1920, Bezaleel Wells Elementary School #3/South Plum Street School, 6 Street SW at McKinley Avenue (closed)
• 1921, Horace Mann Elementary School, 1731 Grace Street (Thayer & Thayer; closed)
• 1921-1923, John H. Lehman Junior High School/Lehman High School, 1120 15th Street NW (Thayer & Johnson; closed 2004)
• 1926, Fairmount Park Elementary School, 2701 Coventry Blvd NE (Charles E. Firestone, closed 2015)
• 1926, Lincoln Junior High School/Lincoln High School (1942-43), 2107 Sixth Street SW (Vernon Redding & Co., Mansfield, closed c. 1978); now Heritage Christian School
• 1928, John K. Baxter Elementary School, 13th Street SW (Charles E. Firestone, closed 2008)
• 1932, South High School, 600 Faircrest Street (closed August 2017)
Historic Canton public schools that have been demolished include:
• 1887, Central High School (became a junior high in 1917, demolished 1938 for Timken)
• 1896, 1924, South Market Street Elementary School (date of demolition unknown)
• 1897, North Cherry Street Elementary School (closed 1960, date of demolition unknown)
• 1904, North High School, formerly Bible College in the woods (became a junior high in 1917, demolished 1923 for Lehman's east wing)
• 1908, Stark Elementary School (date of demolition unknown)
• 1908, Summit Elementary School (date of demolition unknown)
• 1914, 1926, Gibbs Avenue Elementary School (junior high school 1938-1945; demolished 2004)
• 1916, Burns Elementary School (date of demolition unknown)
• 1918, Clarendon Elementary School, 412 Clarendon Avenue NW (demolished c. 2000)
• 1918, Daniel Worley Elementary School (demolished 2003)
• 1921, Archibald McGregor Elementary School (demolished 2007)
• 1921, 1926, Henry S. Belden Elementary School, Belden Avenue and Georgetown Road NE (Thayer & Thayer, demolished c. 2000)
• 1923, Cedar Elementary School (demolished c. 2000)
Building Description
John H. Lehman High School is a three-story masonry structure with a raised basement constructed between 1921-1923; the west wing, including the gym and auditorium, was completed in 1921, and the east wing was completed in 1923. A small, compatible addition was constructed in 1965, located in the northwest corner of the site, attached to the west wing of the original structure. The building is centered in the north half of the site and is "T"-shaped in plan, with the stem of the "T" oriented north. South of the building, the site slopes steeply where original concrete bleachers are built into the hillside and overlook the athletic field that is unusually located in front of the school instead of, more typically, in the back or side. The architecture is representative of Jacobean Revival, with gabled parapets, rectangular windows and stone mullions, and typical stylistic details. Although the doors and windows have been replaced, the historic openings are clearly readable. The interior retains its original gymnasium and auditorium with historic plaster and wood, as well as the original corridors, staircases, and classrooms with historic terrazzo and tile flooring, doors/ sidelights/ transoms, and wood cabinetry.
John H. Lehman High School is T-shaped in plan, three stories, and has a flat (low-slope) roof and masonry parapet punctuated by gables at each elevation's entry bay, as well as finials aligned with the semi-hexagonal pilasters. The exterior is clad in buff brick with light colored sandstone trim. The building's site occupies an entire city block in a residential area near the Vassar Park of Canton, which was the northwestern fringe of the Canton corporation limits as noted in the 1914 Sanborn map, and likely still the case around the time of Lehman's design about five years later. The site is bounded by 15th Street to the north, and 14th Street to the south. It is bounded by Oxford Avenue and Arnold Avenue on the east and west, respectively.
The building sits at the center of the north half of the site, atop a hill. The auditorium entrance faces north toward 15th Street and is identified by capital letters carved in stone, and the main school entrance faces south. The north side of the building site has open lawns with a few mature trees, and concrete walks leading to the entrances. The building has a paved drive that loops from 15th street at each end of the building around to the south side. To the south of the building, beyond the drive, the site slopes steeply and contains concrete bleachers built into the hillside that include two tunnels leading underground into the basement level locker rooms. The remaining concrete bleachers are the center third of the original set. The areas where the bleachers are missing are sloped earth with small trees, shrubs and brush. The south half of the site is a level open field, once used by Canton high schools for football, track and field events, and reportedly, baseball. The athletic field is surrounded on three sides by a low concrete wall, topped by a chain-link fence.
The structure's T-shaped plan is oriented with the stem of the "T" extending northward, and the top of the "T" spreading east-west across the site. The facades are symmetrically organized and feature Jacobean Revival details including a unicorn and Tudor rose motif in the gable over the main entrance. There is a stone belt course that distinguishes the first from the second and third floors. Exterior elevations emphasize verticality with dominant pilasters extending through a tall parapet and ending in decorative finials. The main entrances are centered on the north and south facades, with secondary entrances on the east and west elevations. The main facade, facing south, is divided into five sections, with the center section projecting approximately two feet.
The south entrance has a stone staircase leading to the entry doors within a projecting portico. The doors are flanked by pairs of fluted pilasters and lintel carved with a quotation from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, "SCHOOLS AND THE MEANS OF EDUCATION SHALL BE FOREVER ENCOURAGED." Although inspirational and/or educational quotations are typical features for the exterior of schools of this time period, this reference has particular reference to Ohio's roots in the late 18th century Connecticut Western Reserve through the 1787 Northwest Ordinance quote.
The two stories above the main entry are composed of groups of five windows separated in a 1-3-1 pattern by semi-hexagonal stone pilasters. The second and third floor windows are separated by stone spandrel panels with carved stone moldings. Like the windows, the spandrels are separated by stone pilasters. The entire center pavilion is topped by a Jacobean styled pediment with finials extending through the parapet at each end. The tympanum is ornamented with carved stone heraldic figures: a shield; an open book with the word "Truth" carved into the page; a five-pointed star; a unicorn; and Tudor roses. On each side of the center pavilion are five bays consisting of nine windows that are separated by pilasters. The basement level windows open into areaways that run the entire width of the five bays. Many of the basement level windows have been infilled, but the lintels, jambs and sills are still clearly visible. Much of the areaway is filled with mechanical equipment sheds. The north and south facing sides of each wing of the "T" have no windows but are consistent in articulating the masonry ornament. Like the center pavilion on the south elevation, the north and south facing sides of each wing project forward from the main facade.
The east and west elevations have centered entrances at the projecting ends of the "T" with similar ornament and details to the south facade. The center bays have a projecting entry at the first floor, and a plain pediment at the parapet. The north elevation was also designed to be symmetrical, with the auditorium wing occupying the central pavilion, and similar blind pavilions at each end. As shown on the original drawings, the auditorium dates to the same time period as the main school building. The separate entrance to the auditorium at the north elevation is distinguished by square, fluted columns, and a stone entablature. At the parapet is a stone panel carved with the words "John H. Lehman High School."
The overall architectural organization is also symmetrical inside, with a central double-loaded corridor in the basement through third floor, flanked by typical or specialized classrooms and offices. The separation between the typical corridor and main entrance or staircase features metal double doors, sidelights, and transoms.
The basement and first floors feature spaces that, according to the original plans, were designed to serve programmatic functions. In the basement, separate rooms are designated for Boys and Girls Bicycles as well as Boys and Girls locker rooms, kitchen, and cafeteria. Also according to the original plans, specialized rooms on the first floor included Manual Training, Drawing, Domestic Arts, and Domestic Science as well as the Principal's and Faculty offices. There is a second floor lobby accessed at the first floor on the north side of the building that connects to the second and third floor Auditorium; and the two-story Gymnasium occupies the center portion of the "T" on the basement and first floors.
At the second floor, particularly designated educational spaces shown include rooms labeled Typewriting, Commercial Department as well as typical classrooms and the Library. The Auditorium, Stage and Orchestra Pit are located at the second floor in the center of the "T" above the Gymnasium. The Auditorium seats 637 on its lower level, and occupies an upper level where tiered balcony seating accommodates approximately 208 persons plus an additional 40 feet of bleacher seating on each side.
The third floor includes two Laboratories, Study Hall and typical classrooms.
Typical classrooms are rectangular in plan, with a large historic wood desk for the teacher, a blackboard on most every wall, and, as labeled in the plans, a "wardrobe" for coats and books. Some of these wardrobes retain their original pull down doors. Typically, there is also historic cabinetry in the classrooms. Most classrooms retain their historic wood doors and transoms, woodwork and wood flooring, although some floors are covered in VCT.
The Gymnasium and Auditorium retain much of their historic integrity. The Gymnasium retains its overall rectangular plan and two-story height, historic plaster walls, beamed ceiling above the main space, and wood bleachers and flooring. The Auditorium retains its overall rectangular plan and two-story+ height, historic plaster walls, proscenium framing the stage, and decorative plaster-coffered ceiling above the main space. There is a smooth-finished, plain barrel-vaulted ceiling underneath the original balcony. The doors to the lower and upper lobbies are the original divided lite with arched divided light transom. The historic light fixtures, plaster walls and ceilings, and terrazzo and tile flooring are still in place in the lobbies.
At the west end of the north elevation is a small, compatible addition built in 1965. The addition is comprised of similar light-colored brick and stone trim. It was constructed to the north-facing end of the original school's west pavilion that had no windows. Built in a modern style that is compatible with the original building, the addition has rectilinear elements such as the two flat awnings with a simple metal fascia on the north elevation, both above the entrance and at the top of the third floor windows. The elevation's repeated brick reveals create texture; and the pilasters and bays emphasize verticality. The pilasters and bays, that echo those of the original building, terminate in brick dentils below a stone cornice on the east and west elevations.
According to original architectural drawings by Cox & Forsythe of Canton, Ohio dated April 20th, 1964, the original use of the addition was as another locker room in the basement; band practice space on the first floor; biology laboratory on the second floor; and classroom and study hall on the third floor.