CROWN POINT | If the building hadn't been the location where bank robber John Dillinger escaped in 1934, the Old Sheriff's House and Jail would be just another jail in just another county seat.

That's not to say the building isn't significant outside it's Dillinger association.

It is the only example of second empire architecture in Lake County, said Tiffany Tolbert, director of the Calumet Regional Office of the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana. But outside of Dillinger, it's just an old jail that served its purpose holding criminals.

"It was a big part of the city's fabric (before Dillinger) just like any town that has a jail," said Bruce Wood, president of the Lake County Historical Society and the director of the county's historical museum.

John Heidbreder is the president of the Old Sheriff's House Foundation, the group that owns the building at 226 S. Main St. and is in the process of restoring it. He said all he's learned about the jail was gleaned from talking to people.

"The only documentation is words," he said. "It was pretty straightforward as a building."

The building was built in 1882, and expanded in 1908 and again in 1926. The basement always was used for storage, and the main building always was used as a jail and sheriff's residence until 1956, when Sheriff Jack West left the house and those rooms were turned into offices, Heidbreder said.

The building was vacated when the Lake County Government Complex was built in 1975.

At one time a barber's chair graced the basement and an area on the first floor was used as an informal dental examination area because of the good light from a nearby skylight, he said. A small area of the jail, west of the main stairs, was rumored to one time hold women, he said.

Tolbert said the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Courthouse Square District.

"It's a very prominent and important building, both because of its architecture and social history," Tolbert said.

The key feature of its second empire style is the tower in the front that has a mansard, or specially sloped roof, she said.

Besides its architecture, Tolbert said the jail is important today because it's a good example of how Crown Point has worked to preserve its historical buildings with foundations such as Heidbreder's.

"It's a good demonstration of grassroots preservation," she said.