Ohio Stadium - Columbus, Ohio
Posted by: 
Mr. 0
N 40° 00.177 W 083° 01.178
17T E 327605 N 4430038
Historic Ohio Stadium, the home of Ohio State University football. Nicknamed "The Horseshoe" for its U-shaped design
Waymark Code: WMBA6A
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 04/25/2011
Views: 9
Construction on Ohio Stadium was complete in 1922, and was first opened to the public on Oct. 7 of that year.
The stadium was built by E. H. Latham Company of Columbus, with materials and labor from the Marble Cliff Quarry Co. When it was finished, it was the largest poured concrete structure in the world. In addition Ohio Stadium was the first horseshoe-shaped double-deck stadium in the United States, and the largest stadium west of the Appalachian Mountains.
The lead architect, Howard Dwight Smith used numerous revolutionary architectural techniques while building the stadium. As a result he won the American Institute of Architects gold medal in public architecture. At the base is a slurry wall to keep out the waters from the Olentangy River; the stadium sets on the flood plain. Instead of building a large bowl like the previously constructed Yale Bowl, Ohio Stadium was designed to have an upper deck that would hang over part of the lower deck, giving Ohio Stadium its "A", "B", and "C" decks. Instead of employing numerous columns like those at Harvard Stadium, Smith designed double columns that allow for more space between columns. The rotunda at the north end of the stadium, which is now adorned with stained glass murals of the offensive and defensive squads that comprise the Buckeye football team, was designed to look like the dome at the Pantheon in Rome. The rotunda also features yellow flowers on a blue background, which, according to legend, is related to the outcome of the dedication game against the Michigan Wolverines in 1922.
Over the years there have been various renovations and redesigns but the stadium remains essentially the same. The biggest difference is the change in capacity from 66,000 when it was first built to over 102,000 today. As part of this expansion the formerly open southern end of the "horseshoe" has been mostly closed in.