The Morrison Historic Preservation Commission (MHPC) has applied to nominate an appropriate portion of the community’s commercial district to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With the assistance of our consultants, the MHPC has spent months researching and writing the substance of our application. In the hopes that the community will find the information contained therein both interesting and informative, we will be running, one at a time, in no particular order, over the next year, the architectural and historical description of each building included. We hope you enjoy installment #52.
Note: The National Register of Historic Places is literally a listing of spaces, structures, or areas recognized to be of National historic, cultural or architectural importance. It is kept by the United States Department of Interior, but the program is largely administered by an individual State’s preservation authority. In Illinois, this is the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. The term “contributing” means that the structure lies within an historic district and adds to the architectural or historic significance of the same as a whole. If it is within the boundaries of the district, but does not so supplement, it is deemed “non-contributing.”
101 W. Lincolnway, The Ice Box, Date: 1948–“Contributing”
Description: This is a one-story corner, classic art deco brick building with blonde brick exterior. The entrance is at the chamfered corner with a glass and aluminum door, sidelights (butt corner glazing, short bulkheads), and horizontal, aluminum molding panels above. The main elevation (east) has a ribbon of six raised aluminum windows separated by mullions, with aluminum moldings above. The side elevation (north) is similar but is much shorter, with just two windows and an unglazed door to the west. Spanning both elevations and the corner is a tall continuous canopy with aluminum fascia and ceiling-mounted glass globe light fixtures. Above the canopy is a brick parapet with terra cotta coping.
History: The building was built and operated as a restaurant by the proprietors of the area’s highly successful retail dairy, “Goodenough’s.” The establishment was named “The Ice Box” and became an iconic local gathering place for the succeeding decades. In classic roadside diner style, the interior featured two U-shaped counters where patrons sat on anchored stools, and about seven booths flanked the easterly and southerly exterior walls. Covering nearly the entire west wall was a photograph mural of cattle grazing on nearby pasture land. Over time, the booths included wall mounted jukeboxes. “The Ice Box” was a popular gathering place for teens from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. The building’s current tenant is Exner’s Sportsmans Paradise.