Коламбус қаласының ЛеВек мұнарасы

Skyscraper in Columbus, Ohio

The LeVeque Tower is a 47 story skyscraper in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. At 555 feet (169 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 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 Lincoln LeVeque 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.

What would become the LeVeque Tower was commissioned by the American Insurance Union, a group formed in 1894 as a "fraternal insurance company, secret society and social club" by John J. Lentz, who would later become a U. S. Representative, and who served as president of the organization. Originally named the American Insurance Union Citadel, the tower was to be the headquarters for the organization and would replace a smaller building it owned on the corner of Broad Street and Front Street in Downtown Columbus, a short distance from the Scioto River. The tower was designed by Detroit, Michigan based architect C. Howard Crane, known for grandiose designs. Its construction took place during the first wave of modern skyscraper development in the United States. The original plan for the tower was to have three principal components: a 47 story tower flanked by a pair of 18 story wings, with a total rentable area of ; the 2,827 seat Keith Albee Theater (later renamed the Palace Theatre); and the 600 room Deshler Wallick Hotel. It was to measure 188 feet (57 m) along both Broad and Front streets, with 44 floors of occupied space, An octagonal bartizan was designed at the top of the building with long, narrow loop windows, and it was topped by a dome with heraldic imagery. Inside, the building contained marble imported from Italy and Belgium, and public spaces were decorated with bronze and mosaics. The building lobby was designed with a marble floor with a bronze plaque containing the building's horoscope and which shows the positions of the planets at the time that the building's cornerstone was laid. Following completion, the building was lit at night to accentuate its architectural features, and its four turrets were also lit with floodlights to make a landmark for aviators, which at times made it visible for up to 20 mile (32 km) as a navigational aide. The top of the tower was also designed to accommodate mooring for zeppelins. Later, it housed radio antennae. Elevators serving the building were a "micro self leveling type," automatically controlled by push buttons and which could travel at 900 feet (274 m) per minute, which rose to the 41st floor. A shuttle elevator ran from there to the observation deck. Water tanks for fire protection and plumbing were placed on the 23rd and 43rd floors, and the building was also designed with duplicate mechanical systems for redundancy. An executive dining room, termed the Mid Air Club, was built on the 43rd floor, sponsored by local businessmen and aviation enthusiasts. The 44th floor served as an observation deck that would be open to the public for 25 cents. The floor featured 24 floor to ceiling windows as well as an observation balcony on the 46th floor, which would be reachable only by ladder. In all, 60 construction contractor companies were named to build the structure, which cost a total of $7.8 million. Northwestern Terra Cotta Co. of Chicago supplied the materials wrapping the building. The American Insurance Union had a five story auditorium building at 50 W. Broad St. which was torn down in preparation for the new tower. Colonial Theatre, opened at 1909 at 40 W. Broad St., was also closed and demolished in 1924 to make way for the tower. At the height of construction, about 650 men would work on the structure at a time. Groundbreaking for the tower took place on September 23, 1924. Excavation commenced after that, with 44 caissons sunk 114 feet (35 m) into the bedrock for a foundation, through 80 feet (24 m) of water using air pressure. These tunnels were so deep that specialized crews of "sandhogs", who had gained experience building the Holland Tunnel in New York City, were brought in and the construction site had an on site hospital and decompression chamber for men suffering from decompression sickness. On January 26, 1925, an accident occurred underground that killed four workers when a toxic gas was accidentally released during the setting of the caissons, overwhelming them and causing them to fall into the foundation. A fifth construction worker was killed later in the building's construction after falling from its steel framing. On February 13, 1926, the AIU Citadel's cornerstone was laid. The building's frame would consist of of steel, and would be wired with 100 mile (161 km) of electrical wire, 137,000 feet (41758 m) of heating pipe for thousands of radiators, 67 electrical motors, 14,000 electrical outlets, and 1,756 windows. Construction of the building took 19 months. It was dedicated on September 21, 1927. When complete, it was the tallest building in Columbus and the fifth tallest building in the world, including being the tallest building between New York City and Chicago. Albert Bushnell Hart, who spoke at the building's dedication, likened the building to the French fortified city Carcassonne. Art and architecture critics spoke positively about the tower's design. Dudley Crafts Watson, director of Chicago Art Institute, highlighted it as one of five great examples of artistic achievement to come out of Columbus in the 1920s, calling it "the most original and American of skyscrapers" and "just an honest piece of magnificent construction." Writing in 1932 in the book Ohio Art and Artists, Edna Clarke called the building "a milestone in the growth of the city it signalizes the transformation from a large overgrown country town into a city. It stands out against the skyline so sharply it can't be ignored." Architectural Forum called it "splendid" and "impressive." The tower quickly became a symbol synonymous with Columbus and one of the city's most well recognized landmarks. It was the first landmark that was easily visible from around the city. The building's construction coincided with a rebuilding of the Columbus riverfront and creation of the Columbus Civic Center along the Scioto River following the Great Flood of 1913. In the 1920s and 1930s, the city saw a new Columbus City Hall built across the street, along with a new headquarters for the Columbus Police Department, a federal building and courthouse, and a state office building.

Floodlights were first installed on the LeVeque Tower in 1989, illuminating its top floors with white light from evening into the night. Later, the owners had theatrical gels installed to add colored lights as an option. During the building's 2012 17 restoration, the floodlights were replaced with computer controlled LED lights to save on energy usage and allow for a wider array of color options. The new lights, ranging from 6 inch lights to 3 square foot arrays, allow for 256 million color combinations. The building is now lit for events about six to eight times per year, including pink for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer organization in April and May; rainbow colors during the Columbus Pride weekend in June; red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July; purple for Purple Heart recognition in August; teal for ovarian cancer awareness in September; and red and green during the Christmas and holiday season.

After the tower's completion, the American Insurance Union occupied floors 19 and 20, with the remainder of the space available for rent to other office users. The construction of the building saw several significant cost overruns, prompting the American Insurance Union to dip into its monetary reserves to pay for the tower. Financial problems soon arose for the company, as the tower cost $800,000 more than its budget allowed for, and not all of the office space in the building filled up quickly. Katherine LeVeque took complete control of the building through a trust in 1977. The State of Ohio was a major tenant in the building for a significant part of its history. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services leased nearly 20 percent of the building until it moved in 2003, LeVeque turned the building over to the new ownership group in lieu of a foreclosure on a $16.2 million mortgage on the building, and at this point it was about a third empty. She had previously engaged an architect on a proposal to convert part of the building to residential use, but it was deemed not financially feasible at the time. Leasing there, though, remained poor and by 2009 its office space was still about a third empty, in spite of the change of leasing teams several times.

In 2011, the tower was purchased by Tower 10 LLC, a joint venture of Columbus real estate investors including Bob Meyers, Don Casto and Michael Schiff, for $4 million. By that point, the office building's vacancy rate had risen to 43 percent. The partners planned a $22 million project to fix cracked terracotta on the tower and convert it from an office building to a hotel and residential structure. In 2012, the owners announced the renovation would cost $26.7 million, including $5 million in tax credits from the State of Ohio for the renovation. The renovation project, completed in 2017, saw extensive work to repair the building's terracotta facade and modernize its interior. LeVeque Tower was redesigned as a mixed use development, with floors 5 to 10 of the building converted into a 150 room boutique hotel, the Hotel LeVeque under Marriott International's Autograph Collection brand, and with some event space. Floors 3, 4, and 11 18 were renovated as 160,000 square feet of office space, while the remaining 19 floors were converted into upscale residential units, a mix of 68 apartments and 12 condominiums, with two penthouse units on the top floors. A restaurant, The Keep, was opened by Illinois based First Hospitality Group Inc. on the second floor. In recent years, the building's third floor has held a U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office and detention center. The center has been the subject of numerous protests against unfair treatment of undocumented immigrants.

The building's two wings were used as an extra 600 rooms for the Deshler Hotel, which had been built at the northwest corner of Broad and High streets. Announced in 1912 and opened in 1916, the hotel already had 400 rooms, intended to rival the other luxury hotels of the world. The hotel was later leased by Lew and Adrian Wallick, hoteliers from Ohio and New York. Called the Deshler Wallick Hotel by the time the LeVeque tower opened, the 600 rooms were accessible by a "venetian bridge" linking the two buildings on the second floor. New York Mayor Jimmy Walker, who attended the opening, tried and nearly succeeded in having a ceremonial sip of wine in each of the 600 hotel rooms. The hotel would later host President Harry S. Truman in 1946 during a meeting of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ. He and Bess Truman would later stay at the hotel again in 1953. In 1947 the hotel sold to Julius Epstein of Chicago, apparently for $2 million, who again sold it five years later to the Hilton Hotels chain, which renamed the hotel the Deshler Hilton. In 1964 it was sold to a company owned by Charles Cole who renamed it the Deshler Cole. Cole eliminated the 600 rooms located inside LeVeque Tower and invested $2 million to remodel the hotel. The hotel rooms in the building's wings having been eliminated, the "venetian bridge" was demolished. The building was sold a final time to Fred Beasley in 1966 and renamed the Deshler Beasley before being closed in 1968 and demolished in 1969. Today the site is the home of the One Columbus Center, a tower developed in part by LeVeque Enterprises. In 1980, the theatre was renovated and restored by Katherine LeVeque using her personal funds, and began hosting a new set of acts. Among these, it brought in Red Skelton, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mickey Rooney, Tom Jones, Natalie Cole, Judy Collins and Tony Bennett. The venue has come to host Broadway theatre acts. Palace Theatre remains in operation with a main 2,827 seat auditorium, designed as a vaudeville house and movie theater. It was acquired by the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts in 1989. While the LeVeque Tower was designed by Detroit architect C. Howard Crane, who was noted for designing over 250 theatres across North America, the Palace Theatre within the LeVeque Tower was designed by another leading theatre architect, Thomas W. Lamb. Lamb was the preferred architect of the Keith Albee theatre chain.