A terrific town...which gets to keep its courthouse!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've never been to Tiffin but it looks absolutely gorgeous.  Except for that hideous Art-Deco clock atop their courthouse. 

Does Tiffin, O. have something to do with the Tiffin filters?

I've never been to Tiffin but it looks absolutely gorgeous.  Except for that hideous Art-Deco clock atop their courthouse. 

 

Dittos on the city, but the courthouse tower isn't terrible, on its own, but rather the juxaposition of the two wildly different architectural styles for the building's main poriton and the tower is very jarring and therefore creates a visceral reaction.

 

Also, the red brick building next to the courthouse:

 

 

I presume is a newer building (likely annex), but I am quite impressed with the compentency of the design's execution.  This is a good example of why it shouldn't be that hard for an architect to get the detailing and porportioning right when trying to employ historical building styles/forms.

Wow, this town is shockingly intact by Ohio standards.  Looks fantastic!

I've never been to Tiffin, but it looks like I need to pay a visit. This looks like one of Ohio's best small towns.

This should be added to the list I started about the best small towns in the state if it hasn't already. I forgot how nice this town looked.

Does Tiffin, O. have something to do with the Tiffin filters?

 

The filter maker is spelled Tiffen.

Except for that hideous Art-Deco clock atop their courthouse.

 

That's why they are replacing the original design during the upcoming renovation:

 

I thought about making a trip just to Tiffin when I first heard about the courthouse maybe being demolished.  I will have to sometime and visit some towns nearby.

Except for that hideous Art-Deco clock atop their courthouse.

 

That's why they are replacing the original design during the upcoming renovation:

 

 

If they can carry that off, maybe they'll inspire some other counties to fix their desecrated courthouses. As I recall, one or two J.C. Johnson designs had their towers and mansard roofs lopped off and replaced with featureless brick third storeys.

^That's the hope. They are going to pull it off, and I think the Toledo Blade deserves a lot of credit for all the media coverage. It's an example of journalism being an agent of positive change.

^That's the hope. They are going to pull it off, and I think the Toledo Blade deserves a lot of credit for all the media coverage.

 

Yep, the Blade was certainly does deserve a ton of credit. If Seneca County were in the coverage area of another major newspaper that did not push for the renovation (including surveys and lawsuits), you may have seen a different outcome.

 

The next county courthouse to watch is Defiance. Voters turned down an issue a couple years back to rebuild the courthouse and now the county is now enlarging the annex at the back of the property to move several departments out of courthouse. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to restore the old courthouse then, one of the altered J.C. Johnson courthouses Rob referenced.

nice work. i remember those cute fronts in tiffin.

 

amazing they are actually to the trouble of the courthouse restoration. i hope they save the deco clocktower too, just put it elsewhere, in a park or something.

 

trivia: tiffin means 'a midday meal' in olde english and tiffin english is supposedly the unaccented american english news broadcasters learn.

Pray for that courthouse.

Aren't there colleges here that help bolster the local economy?

Aren't there colleges here that help bolster the local economy?

Yes, Tiffin University and Heidelberg University are both located in Tiffin. I'm not quite sure what their economic impact is although I'm sure it helps. Growing up in Findlay, I never really got the perception that Tiffin was really a college town. Tiffin Univ. was more of a commuter school in the 90's although I've heard that has changed in recent years.

 

^That's the hope. They are going to pull it off, and I think the Toledo Blade deserves a lot of credit for all the media coverage.

 

Yep, the Blade was certainly does deserve a ton of credit. If Seneca County were in the coverage area of another major newspaper that did not push for the renovation (including surveys and lawsuits), you may have seen a different outcome.

 

The next county courthouse to watch is Defiance. Voters turned down an issue a couple years back to rebuild the courthouse and now the county is now enlarging the annex at the back of the property to move several departments out of courthouse. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to restore the old courthouse then, one of the altered J.C. Johnson courthouses Rob referenced.

Recently I read something about construction under way at Winchester, Indiana (Randolph County) to restore the tower on the 1875 J.C. Johnson courthouse there. That one lost its tower in 1955 and was slated for demolition and replacement, but an uprising among the citizens succeeded in getting the commissioners to reverse their decision; the original will be restored, and an appropriate annex will be built on the abundant land of the square. I took photos when it was under a demolition order, and should go back and see what's going on.