The Pump House Center for the Arts is housed in the former Pump House of the Chillicothe Water and Sewer Co. The Pump House was constructed in 1883 as a municipal pumping station for distribution of water from the deep well field located in Yoctangee Park to a reservoir situated on Carlisle Hill. In March 1977, the Pump House was placed on the Ohio History Inventory. On November 15, 1979, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places kept by the U.S. Department of Interior. The Pump House was used by the Jaycees group for its annual Haunted House fund-raiser until it was condemned in 1984 as unsafe.
A group of artists, preservationists, and an attorney formed a coalition to restore and preserve the building. In 1986, City Council designated the Pump House as part of the city’s Preservation District. Coursework was replaced, bricks were repaired, floors were poured, electricity and water was installed, and the walls were rebuilt. The rooms were transformed into a beautiful art gallery where works could be displayed and a gift shop could help support the organization. The Pump House is an example of Victorian Gothic architecture, featuring a large central tower, Palladian windows, common-bond brick, and a low-pitched, hipped slate roof.