Museum-Quality Preservation of Ohio's Historical Artifacts

The Ohio History Connection’s responsibilities include the maintenance and operation of the state archives, collection of and preservation of natural history artifacts. The goal of the new collection facility project was the creation of “museum best-practice” storage space to accommodate 30 additional years of active artifact and paper archive collecting. The $17 million building features 16,500 SF of storage space and was optimized for the process of documenting, cataloging, and managing items coming in and out of the site.

It also was a goal of this project to increase public access to, and interaction with, Ohio’s collection of historic treasures. “Ohio has one of the largest state-specific historical collections in the United States,” said DesignGroup Senior Project Architect Jeff McCambridge, who served as technical and construction administration lead for the project. “Until now, many of those items were stored in various warehouses and other sites around the city. In the new Collections Care Facility, they are much better consolidated, protected, and accessible to historians and the public.”

Completed in spring of 2024, the building is set up for expansion to the north when needed. The building also achieved LEED Silver certification, a specific client request in support of their dedication to sustainability, equity, and employee well-being.