leveque tower, 1927
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Why was the LeVeque Tower built?

• The LeVeque Tower was built to be a home for the offices of an insurance company for working families.  This was the first purpose of the building. The tower once was known as the American Insurance Union Citadel (a citadel is a fort or a place of strength for defense). In the 1920s when the building was built only rich people could afford insurance to help their families in case the head of the family died. This insurance company made it possible for working families or average people to afford insurance. The insurance company was in a smaller building on this site, but the head of the company, John Lentz, had big dreams that his insurance company would grow.  He proposed a large building. He helped everyone in Columbus get excited about the project so people wanted it built to show Columbus was modern and growing. The LeVeque Tower also rented offices to other companies and created 600 rooms for the hotel next door, the Deshler Hotel. A small bridge that looked like bridge from ancient Italy connected the two buildings.  The second reason for the building is that it was built to be a symbol of civic pride. This means the city was proud to be able to build a modern skyscraper. Columbus’s first skyscraper, the Wyandotte Building, was a beautiful brick building across the street from the American Insurance Union Citadel but was smaller. When completed, the American Insurance Union Citadel was 555 feet and 6 inches tall—5 inches taller than the Washington Monument in Washington. D.C.  It was once the fifth largest building in the world, since it was finished before the Empire State Building in New York. The outside and inside were covered in symbols of art from around the world. Later the building was renamed the LeVeque Lincoln Tower for two later owners, and eventually renamed the LeVeque Tower for the remaining partner.   

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Why did workers (called sand hogs) often suffer from illnesses deep sea divers get?

• The foundation of the LeVeque Tower is very deep in the ground, and for the workers who excavated the foundation it was as if they were working deep in the oceans like deep sea divers. In fact, workers (sometimes called sandhogs because they had also worked in creating tunnels under the waters around New York) travelled so far down into the earth, they could suffer from decompression sickness (or bends) because their blood had more nitrogen than oxygen.  Workers could work only 30 minutes below ground before returning to street level. There was a hospital on site to treat workers who suffered from “bends” The deep foundation of the building was necessary because the LeVeque is located close to the river on soft soil. In New York City, the tall buildings are built into the rock of Manhattan Island. 

Did anyone die in the construction?

• Yes, five men died.  One was worker who fell from scaffolding. Four were workers who were overcome by “black damp” or a poison gas.

Why are there animals and figures on the outside (of the LeVeque Tower)?

• The style of the building is Art Deco which became popular from the 1920s through the 1940s. The style first appeared in France. The style is considered modern (ignoring older forms of architecture) and is geometric and ornate (richly decorated). The animals and figures were used to make the outside of the building more beautiful and to “show off” the style of the building. The building’s decorations include owls, eagles, ibis, cranes, and symbols from Aztec, Mayan, Christian, and other cultures—including different races of people.  All of the decoration made the building special and honored the purpose of the building—for the average working family.

What is terra cotta?

• Terra cotta is a baked clay title that is very durable.  The LeVeque is covered in many pieces of individual white shag oak bark terra cotta.  This means the surface of the building is covered in individual clay tiles that resemble the bark of a white oak tree. This made the building “self cleaning” because the rain washed the clay tiles clean.