| LeVeque Tower | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Former names | American Insurance Union Citadel |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in Columbus from 1927 to 1974[I] | |
| Preceded by | Capitol Trust Building |
| Surpassed by | Rhodes State Office Tower |
| General information | |
| Type | Mixed-use |
| Architectural style | Art Deco[1] or Art Moderne[2] |
| Address | 50 W. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio |
| Groundbreaking | September 23, 1924 |
| Completed | September 21, 1927 |
| Cost | $7.8 million |
| Height | 555 ft 5 in (169.29 m) |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions | 188 ft (57 m) east-west and north-south |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 47 |
| Floor area | 353,768 sq ft (32,866.1 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | C. Howard Crane[3] |
| Website | |
| columbuslofts www | |
American Insurance Union Citadel | |
 Interactive map highlighting the building's location | |
| Coordinates | 39°57′44.550″N 83°0′7.513″W / 39.96237500°N 83.00208694°W |
| Area | 353,768 square feet (32,866.1 m2)[5] |
| NRHP reference No. | 75001398[4] |
| CRHP No. | CR-9 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | March 21, 1975 |
| Designated CRHP | July 12, 1982 |
The LeVeque Tower is a 47-story skyscraper in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. At 555 feet 5 inches (169.29 m) it was the tallest building in the city from its completion in 1927 to 1974, and remains the second-tallest today.
Designed by C. Howard Crane, the 353,768-square-foot (32,866.1 m2) Art Deco skyscraper was opened as the American Insurance Union Citadel in 1927 and at the time was the fifth tallest building in the world. Built at a cost of $8.7 million, the tower's design incorporates ornate ornamentation and a terracotta facade, and it was designed with 600 hotel rooms in two wings as well as an attached performance venue, the Palace Theatre. After the American Insurance Union went bankrupt in the Great Depression, the tower was renamed the LeVeque-Lincoln Tower in 1946, and later the LeVeque Tower in 1977.
The tower's office space saw mixed success in attracting tenants during its early history, but it became home to a number of state agencies and law firms. As development of Downtown Columbus peaked beginning in the 1960s and several other high rise buildings were constructed, the tower faced increasing competition from other major office buildings and its vacancy rates rose. Over the course of its history, the tower changed hands several times before being sold to a group of real estate investors in 2011. The current owners subsequently converted it into a mixed-use development, including a hotel, apartments, condominiums, offices and a restaurant, which opened in 2017.
- ^ Darbee, Jeffrey T. (17 July 2018). "LeVeque Tower". SAH Archipedia. University of Virginia Press. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ Darbee & Recchie 2008, p. 43.
- ^ Korom 2008, p. 358.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Owen 1999, p. 416.