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 have enjoyed this series. This is the last installment, #65.
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. Main Street, Date: 1857 —“Non-contributing”
Description: This three-story, concrete block, corner building has several of its openings presently covered with plywood. The main elevation (north) has a large storefront opening with visible structural steel members and an upstairs entrance to the west (shared with 103 W. Main.) The upper stories feature three segmental arch window openings per floor. The side elevation (east) has no first story openings and four window openings per each upper story. The rear elevation (south) has a center entrance flanked by two windows and three window openings per each story above. The building’s north, south, and east walls were rebuilt in 2009.
History: The historic brick building constructed in 1857 is part of the original “Brick Block” to its west and, as such, was the visible evidence that the then-young City of Morrison was a community here to stay. The building was built by William N. Spear in July 1857 as a dry goods and grocery store, which subsequently became William Spears and Sons, often called “Spears Corner” by locals. The business was then sold to a B. B. Temple on February 2, 1893, operating still as a dry goods business. In 1899 the building was sold to George Brown. In 1885, the City Library (later to become the Odell Library) was located in the rear of this building for a short time. The building housed a succession of businesses, including a dry goods store owned by Willis H. Null (1903); a successor dry goods store owned by Isaac Joseph (1920); Phillips Style Shop (1928); Smart Shoppe Ladies Furnishings; Sterling Gazette (1939); Sandrock Jewelry Company (1935); Mode-O-Day ladies clothing store (1977.) Other businesses included the Ladies Clothing Store (1983); Keith Frederick Insurance Company (1987); Mickley Insurance Company (2002); Tenboer Insurance Company from 1985 to 2008. In the 101 ½ W. Main Street upstairs portion of the building, documented businesses include an attorney (1923) and a chiropractor (1925.)
In 2009, to save the structure from imminent collapse, the walls were reconstructed on three elevations, with the interior and roof remaining intact. The property is currently owned by Morrison Trust for Revitalization, Inc., which is rehabilitating it to its historical integrity.