The Bushnell Building: A History in Springfield Entrepreneurship

James (Jim) Lagos purchased the Bushnell Building, 14 E Main St., in 1993. Since then, he says he’s invested $25 million into the downtown structure. 

“It has been a challenge from day one over the last 32 years,” he says of the building.

Originally commissioned by Ohio Governor and Springfield business leader Asa Bushnell in 1893, the Bushnell Building was completed over multiple phases between 1903 and 1939. It is famous for serving as the law office of Harry Toulmin, a nationally recognized patent attorney who was responsible for filing five patents for aircraft controls for the Wright Brothers, and is best known locally for housing Wren’s Department Store, which operated from 1939 until 1987.

By the time Lagos toured the building in early 1993, it had been empty since the closure of Wren’s in 1987, despite being placed on the National Register of Historic Places in March of 1979. The building couldn’t fully be examined, as eight feet of water filled the basement, thanks to a blown meter inside, he recalls. 

“You needed flashlights to go in,” Lagos adds, explaining that the windows were blocked throughout the building with paint from its time as a department store. “It was like walking into a tomb.”

At the time, he admits his reason for purchasing the building was more parking for the Credit Life Building, which he bought in 1992, but reflecting on it in the present day, Lagos says, “[The Bushnell] turned out to be an incredible building.” 

After purchasing it, work on the building began with gutting five floors – from the attic to the basement. During this process, the original stonework caught his attention. He says this stonework sparked an interest in preserving and improving the building, leading to a Platinum LEED Certification in 2015 by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Throughout the renovation process, Lagos encountered many hidden challenges, such as the need to coat steel beams with fire-retardant paint, which cost upwards of $50 for every gallon.  The renovation process was gradual, over many decades, with a large-scale renovation in 2008. This was assisted by a $5 million Job Ready Sites Grant award with help from the City of Springfield that year.

One of his biggest challenges, he says, is the “enormous work of remodeling spaces.” He shared that during the COVID-19 pandemic, inventive solutions had to be put in place to continue work, such as keeping painting and construction crews working opposite shifts to abide by government pandemic regulations.

Between the Bushnell Building and the News-Sun Building, Lagos says he’s had 35 tenants over the decades, which he describes as “quite an eclectic group of tenants.” These have included legal firms, the Census Bureau, insurance agencies, the Stella Bleu Bistro, the Bushnell Banquet Center and other features of the Springfield business landscape.

Some of Lagos’ current tenants include Bushnell Event Center, Season’s Kitchen, Casa Centro, Stella Bleu, Junior Achievement of OKI Partners, and Mary Ellen’s Studio.

“I consider myself an advocate for small businesses,” Lagos says. He smiles as he mentions the Gary Geiss School of Dance. His involvement with the business started in 2008 when his daughters decided to begin taking ballet lessons. He helped the company with spring floors and dance studios.

The work in restoring the Bushnell Building has not gone unrecognized by the Springfield community. Lagos says he’s seen everyone from high school students taking their homecoming photos to wedding parties enjoying the decades-long beautification in the downtown area. He adds that he works with the Springfield Historic Landmarks Commission, the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, and the National Park Service in his preservation efforts.

On Oct. 12, James Lagos and his wife, Nike Lagos, were awarded the Special Citizens Award from the Community Beautification Committee. He says it was, “a total shock to me.”

He adds, “They surprised us.”

Much like the building’s storied history, Lagos’ history is also one of hard work, perseverance, wins, and losses. 

His grandfather founded the Olympia Ice Cream Company and inspired a family tradition of “saving every nickel you could.” Because of their economic success, the family decided to return to Greece in 1912.  

But back at home, the Lagos family experienced hardship. Jim’s grandfather was drafted to fight in the Balkan Wars. Then, his grandfather decided to convert the family’s money from U.S. dollars to Drachmas, and after World War I, when the Drachma saw inflation, the family fortune was ruined.

Harry “Anargerous” T. Lagos, Jim’s father, decided to return to Springfield in 1931, with only a little money in his pocket and speaking very little English. Jim explains that his father worked on commercial properties and in restaurants like the Elite Cafe until the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbour in 1941, and then he served in the U.S. Army

He participated in multiple campaigns, including in North Africa, Sicily and Anzio. Jim says his father suffered a shrapnel wound to his head and retired from the service as a staff sergeant.

Jim says his father saved several thousand dollars and purchased a farm, where he learned about hard work as a young boy. 

Born in 1951, Jim started attending Wittenberg University at age 19. He served six years in the Air National Guard between 1970 and 1976. He left the U.S. Air Force the same rank as his father – staff sergeant.

Jim says his own business enterprises began when he and his brother started their own law firm, Lagos and Lagos, in 1975, the same year they purchased their first property, another farm.

After that, his family began to purchase rental properties and various commercial facilities in the area, which is what eventually brought him to the Bushnall Building.

This story is made possible by support from Bushnell Event Center.