Ohio State School for the Blind

The Ohio State Institution for the Education of the Blind was established in April of 1837 and by July of 1837 began instruction in rented rooms. The first school building was built in 1839, and could accommodate sixty students. This photograph, taken ca. 1935-1943, shows the four-story sandstone structure in the Second Roman style of architecture with a Mansard roof. It is located on the corner of Parsons Avenue and East Main Street in Columbus, Ohio and first opened its doors on May 21, 1874. Early in the 20th century, the Ohio Department of Education assumed control and the name of the school was changed to the Ohio School for the Blind. In 1953, the school moved to its current location on North High Street near Morse Road. The building has undergone several renovations, and once had a central tower which reached an additional three stories, and pointed spires on the north and south ends. It has since been occupied by the Ohio Highway Patrol and then by Columbus Environmental Health.