We are excited at the venues we selected - here's some history about them we'd like to share:

The Ohio Statehouse serves as the state capitol building and the central hub of government for Ohio. Within its walls, you'll find the Ohio General Assembly, which includes both the Ohio House of Representatives and the Senate. Additionally, key offices such as those of the governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer, and state auditor are housed here.

The ceremony will be taking place in the Rotunda. Stretching 120 feet from the floor to the skylight, the Rotunda is filled with 12 different colors and distributes light to other areas of the building.

The floor of the Rotunda consists of nearly 5,000 pieces of hand-cut marble from around the world. The salmon stones are from Portugal; the black and green marble is from Vermont; and the white marble is from Italy.

There are two famous pieces of original artwork in the Rotunda. Perry's Victory, painted by William Powell of Cincinnati, commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie. The painting depicts America's effort commanded by Commodore Oliver Perry to reclaim control of Lake Erie from the British during the War of 1812.

Also situated in the Rotunda, the Lincoln-Vicksburg Memorial, sculpted by Thomas D. Jones of Cincinnati, consists of a white Carrara marble bust of Abraham Lincoln and a marble relief of the Confederate Army's surrender at Vicksburg. The bust is the only portrait statue that Lincoln sat for during his lifetime, and is considered a good likeness. When asked by the artist what he thought of the work, Lincoln replied, "I think it looks very much like the critter."

As you walk around the Statehouse, you'll notice there are probably more references to Abraham Lincoln than any other person and for good reason. As the Statehouse was nearing completion in 1861, the United States was on the verge of the Civil War. Ohio played a crucial role in his election.

Lincoln actually only visited the Ohio Statehouse three times. The first visit was in September 1859, this was before he became president. He spoke for more than two hours on the issue of slavery to a group of about fifty people standing outside on the east steps of the Statehouse. The second visit was on his way to Washington to be sworn into office in March 1861. He stopped in Columbus and spoke to a joint session of the Ohio Legislature in the House Chamber. Lincoln's last time at the Statehouse was four years and two months later, when his body returned for a brief stay after his assassination. The doors to the Ohio Statehouse opened April 29, 1865 shortly after 9 a.m. By 6 p.m. more than 50,000 people had filed through the Statehouse Rotunda to see the President’s coffin.

Since the early 1900s, this building has been integral to the Italian immigrant life in the neighborhood and is representative of the many manufacturing businesses that operated at one time on North Fourth Street. By 1921, the structure was the Columbus Welding Shop.

The neighborhood's decline after World War II led to neglect of structures, demolition of buildings, and population loss. Many of the industrial structures along Goodale Street were demolished to create 1-70, and many were demolished due to neglect.

By 1951, the Ellis was an electric service building that remained there until 2019. The building is now representative of the industrial architecture which once lined North Fourth Street.