11 Most Endangered Historic Places
Industrial Arts Building
Year Listed: 2010
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Current Status: Endangered
Threat: Demolition
Latest News
December 23, 2010: The National Park Service announced that the building has been listed to the National Register of Historic Places, putting to rest any debate over the historical significance of the building and also making it a candidate for incentives such as the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits. These incentives could help a private developer rehabilitate the building as part of the Nebraska Innovation Campus.
Significance
In the early days of the last century, the citizens of Lincoln, Neb. were eager to create a grand showcase for their city's most important export – agricultural products.
When a dramatic new 93,500-square-foot trapezoidal red brick exposition space was dedicated in 1913 at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds, local dreams were realized. With Palladian windows, natural skylights, intricate roof trusses and a 4-story fountained interior, the Agricultural Hall, as it was called, was a showstopper.
After a new hall was built in 1948, the old building, renamed Industrial Arts, continued to serve the community for nearly six decades – until 2004, when it closed due to disrepair. For nearly a century, the iconic Industrial Arts Building has showcased the best of Nebraska. Saving this handsome, well-built building and giving it a bright new future is what sustainability and innovation are all about.
In addition to its importance to Nebraska's agricultural history, the Industrial Arts Building has an aviation pedigree. Following World War I, the Lincoln Standard Aircraft Company used the building to assemble airplanes, including the plane in which Charles Lindbergh learned to fly.
Updates
August 2010: University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials have rejected the single proposal submitted for the redevelopment of the Industrial Arts Building. Learn more.
July 2, 2010: Fair Building Draws 1 Proposal
May 19, 2010: When the Nebraska State Fair elected to move from its longtime home in Lincoln, ownership of the Industrial Arts Building was transferred to the University of Nebraska, which plans to create a research park called Innovation Campus on the old fairgrounds site. Despite its long history of showcasing innovation, the Industrial Arts Building is not part of the university's master plan and will soon meet the wrecking ball unless a developer steps forward to rescue and reuse the building.
