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Photo: User:OHWiki, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The Mansfield Art Center is an art center in the Woodland neighborhood of Mansfield, Ohio, United States. The art center is operated by the Mansfield Fine Arts Guild, which was founded as a non-profit arts organization in 1945. Prior to the opening of the center, the guild presented exhibits and classes in private spaces but demand increased and the guild had temporary homes throughout the 1950s and 1960s that included the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library, the Leland Hotel and Kingwood Center. H. Daniel Butts III was hired as the guild's first full-time director and he was tasked with establishing a permanent home for the museum, its collection and classes. The building opened in 1971 and was designed by architect Don Hisaka. In the same year, it was the recipient of a Progressive Architecture National Citation Award.
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47 acres of gardens on former estate, a favorite spot for orchardists, gardeners and photography.
The 1,600-seat theatre opened in 1928 as the Ohio Theatre and serves today as the largest performing arts center in North-Central Ohio.
Seen in The Shawshank Redemption, this 2-acre park features a playground, gardens and a gazebo which still functions as a city park for all. In Shawshank Redemption, Brooks (James Whitemore) sat here to feed the pigeons in hopes that "Jake", a crow he reared while in prison, would come by to say "hello." The bench where Brooks sat on is located towards S Park Ave in the southwestern part of the park. The listing marker is at the approximate location of the bench which is marked by an orange/white "Shawshank Trail" sign.
In the Historic Carrousel District in downtown Mansfield.
Peter Bissman built the Bissman Building in 1886 for his expanded wholesale grocery store. In the early 1930s, residents of Downtown Mansfield would wake up to the rich aromas of the store’s personal coffee blends and return home to the smell of roasting peanuts. The building possesses an early Romantic Gothic style that closely resembles the Ohio State Reformatory. Both were designed by same architect, built the same year and both are believed to be haunted. In Shawshank Redemption the exterior served as the Brewer Hotel halfway house where Brooks and Red went to after their release from prison. The room where Brooks & Red stayed in was filmed at the Ohio State Reformatory while the Food Way where they worked as a grocery bagger was filmed at the "Save A Lot" Supermarket which is listed among local grocery stores under "Eat" in the below. The front room of the Bissman Building served as the offices of the Portland Daily Bugle in the film where the editor received the warden's accounting ledgers accompanied by a letter explaining the warden's illegal activities. The Bissman Building is now vacant and is believed to be haunted.
The second oldest, and largest continually producing community theater in Ohio, the Mansfield Playhouse has been in its current location for over 40 years. With an aggressive season consisting of 6 Main Stage shows, 2 Youth Theater shows, and 2 Second Stage shows.