Demolished Retail Arcade in OH

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The original Lind Arcade was built in 1928 by Sam E. Lind, a local theatre owner.

A 1936 thumbnail biography of Lind which appeared in a local newspaper held that "Zanesville's first arcade has answered a long-felt need." Five of the first six tenants of the new structure were physicians. One year after completing the arcade, Lind added a third story to house the Chamber of Commerce which remained here until the late 1930s. In the winter of 1939, radio station WHIZ broadcast its first program from the third floor of the Lind Arcade.

The Lind Arcade was the only such building that was ever constructed in the city of Zanesville. Architecturally, it is reminiscent of the Second Renaissance Revival, a style which, though popular in urban centers of Ohio, never saw widespread usage in this city. Its arcaded facade, with a somewhat rusticated stone treatment, the blind colonnades, and colonettes, hint at Renaissance prototypes, while the semi-elliptical arches of its storefront suggest Colonial Revival tendencies.

Building Description

The Lind Arcade is a 3-story structure, built of commercial brick and faced with a smooth-dressed facade of beige terra cotta. It was constructed as a 2-story building, but a third story was added one year after its completion The storefront features a 5-bay configuration with broad semi-elliptical arches, with a central entry into the interior. Both the second and third stories are distinguished by a series of round-arched windows which extend the length of the facade. Each of these windows on the second story rise from a blind balustrade and features a classically-inspired surround with keystone. The third story maintains the rhythm of the round-arched windows, but these are further articulated with polished marble pilasters that separate one window from the next. The building opens onto an alley at the rear.

The interior of the arcade consists of a series of shops with the original wood storefronts intact on the first floor. One unusual feature of this particular arcade is that the rooms on the second story open away from the interior court, rather than into the court, as in most arcades. The interior court is floored with the original quarry tile, and is lit by a gabled skylight which runs nearly the entire depth of the building. When the third story was added, it was built around the skylight, rather than having the skylight raised.