What's Happening in Newark, OH…

A historic Newark building has been transformed into a banquet hall.

The Skylight, located at 85 East Main Street, was built in 1916 and served as the Newark Post Office, as well as administrative offices for Newark City Schools. Last month, it was returned to its 1916 appearance, and will serve as a venue for weddings, parties, receptions and similar events.

When it was an administrative office for the city's schools, the building had carpeting throughout, dropped ceilings, small office spaces, additional interior walls, and an entry with a tiled floor. Renovation revealed that the original entry had a marble floor, and there were wooden floors in the banquet hall, which has a 22-foot ceiling and 18-foot windows. In addition, the building has a skylight, from which it takes its name.

Bentley Austin, who also owns The Vault, a banquet venue in Columbus, said The Skylight will provide precisely what he wants: a reception area that can hold 200 people, and a main room for dining and dancing with a 400-person capacity. Although he wanted to keep the project under wraps until it was complete, people kept visiting the site telling him they had worked in the building decades ago.

Austin might consider working with a banner printing company to create a colorful banner for the entrance to celebrate the opening of the building.