Built in 1914: One of just eight community banks designed by noted architect Louis Sullivan.

August 25, 1915: The Home Building Association Company opens its new office at 1 North Third Street.

1928: The Home Building Association Company joins with Franklin National Bank to become the Union Trust Company.

1942: Union Trust Company merges with First National Bank.  Sullivan Building sold to William Camlin. 

1943-1946: Sanitary Meat Market occupies the building.

1946-1973: Symon’s Best Jewelry Company occupies the building.

1973: Building added to the National Register of Historic Places.

1979-1983: Mutual Federal Savings and Loan Association occupies the building.

1984-2007: Tiffany’s Ice Cream Parlor occupies the building.

Sullivan Building home to Tiffany's Ice Cream (Photo courtesy of Larry Harris)

2013: Building donated to the Licking County Foundation by Stephen Jones and preservation planning begins.

Giving New Life to "The Old Home"... 

Early 2014: “Team Sullivan,” a taskforce of local leaders, is formed to provide strategic guidance.November 11, 2014: An open house reintroduces the Sullivan Building to the region and potential program partners and donors.

April 25, 2015: Young Ohio Preservationists, a volunteer affiliate of Heritage Ohio, toured the Sullivan Building and designed a charrette around its reuse.

May 2, 2015: The Granville Studio of Visual Art’s adult art students exhibited their work at the Sullivan Building as part of Newark FAMFEST.

June 5, 2015: The Ohio State University’s Knowlton School of Architecture’s Camp Architecture high school participants spent the day at the Sullivan Building and also designed a charrette around its reuse.

August 22, 2015: The centennial observance of Louis Sullivan’s Newark jewel box bank is celebrated with programs at the Licking County Library and bank tours.

Planning a New Home for Explore Licking County...

June – October 2016: Basement rehabilitation is completed.

November 2016: A master plan and cost estimate are put in place for completing the restoration of the Sullivan Building.

2017: A capital campaign is launched to raise funds for transforming the building into the home of Explore Licking County - creating a tourism center and a public gathering place with meeting areas, exhibits, retail space and restrooms.

2018 - 2019: Restoration began on the exterior. Scaffolding went up and work began on cleaning and color testing the terra cotta, restoring the opalescent art glass windows on the second floor, and painstakingly restoring the colorful mosaic, including replacing missing tiles, one tile at a time.

2020: Restoration and renovation on the exterior was completed in September. This massive effort included cleaning, repairing, replacing and restoring sections of the building’s terra cotta pieces, a new rooftop with drain alarm system, replacing windows in the original size on the first floor and new oak doors on the front that match the originals.

2020-2023: In order to prioritize the needs of the community, Licking County Foundation suspends work on the campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
March 2023: Licking County Foundation kicks off the On The Old Home Stretch Challenge campaign with an exciting live auction featuring Chicago Cultural Historian Emeritus and world-renowned Sullivan expert, Tim Samuelson. The campaign is designed to raise $2.2 million and secure a generous $1.1 million matching grant from the Jeffris Family Foundation, the third from the Wisconsin-based funder for this project.

June 2024: Thanks to extraordinary generosity, Licking County Foundation meets the challenge to receive the Jeffris Family Foundation match!

July-August 2024: For the first time in a long time, The Old Home has a fully operational mechanical system. Demolition work begins in the LeFevre Foundation Annex, preparing for an elevator to provide access to all three floors of the Louis Sullivan Building of Newark.
 
September 2024: Licking County Foundation secures $2.6 million in state and federal historic preservation tax credits, a first. 

December 2024: New plaster is installed in the basement’s future Visitor Center corridor and in the second floor’s future Explore Licking County offices. Micropiling begins to reinforce the foundation for the Annex. 
      
January – February 2025: Plaster repair and replacement takes place on the first floor to ready surfaces for mural and gold leaf conservation, restoration, and reapplication. Volunteers step up to help complete the restoration of the first floor’s unusual safe, which was custom-built by Diebold Safe & Lock Company in Canton, Ohio. Serpentine stone is quarried, cut and polished in Vermont and travels to Newark for reinstallation on the walls and floor, just as it was in 1915.

March 2025: Newark philanthropist Louella Reese, a longtime and passionate supporter of public art in Licking County, provides a remarkable gift: contributions to the Licking County Foundation's Finishing Touches Challenge through November 1, 2025 will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $1 million by Mrs. Reese.

What’s next? Finishing Touches! Conrad Schmitt Studios begins cleaning and consolidating the paint on the hand-stenciled walls and ceilings. The first floor is scaffolded and isolated until the work is complete to avoid contamination of the artwork.