The Morrison Historic Preservation Commission (MHPC) announced that the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPC) has made its initial assessment of the proposed “Morrison Main Street Historic District.” IHPC concluded that the area meets the criteria for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
In so doing the Illinois agency, charged with the responsibility of being the gatekeeper for the United States Department of the Interior, has found that an appropriate section of the community’s downtown meets not one, but two, of the measures for listing.
It, says the IHPA, “…is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history,” and “…[it] embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction….” This is the first “official” recognition of the worthiness of the MHPC’s endeavors.
Commission Chair Tim Slavin, in announcing this penultimate determination, said, “The MHPC is absolutely thrilled that the IHPA sees the same historic, architectural and aesthetic value in our Main Street as we do! While only the first step in the adjudicatory process, it is obviously one of the most important ones. We just received the ‘green light,’ and now it’s full steam ahead. This gives our fellow citizens all the more reason to take pride in the community in which they live and gives even more hope for what lies ahead.”
In taking its all-important action, the IHPA also set the boundaries of that portion of the Morrison commercial section that it could support as being an entire listed section. Addressing the IHPA map, Slavin said, “My fellow Commissioners and I, along with our consultant, Darius Bryjka, are completely happy with the proposed boundaries of our proposed National Register listing. We had been urging the IHPA to include the old Farmer’s Elevator complex and the old Livery Stable, along with its former feed lot across Orange Street. Unfortunately, because of notions of commercial consistency, compactness, and contiguous boundary issues, we were unable to convince them to embrace those edifices and that space, but we are ecstatic at everything else that is being recognized.”
“If our nomination is ultimately successful, this will present financial rewards, reap a marketing harvest, and present options for continuing to upgrade the appearance of our ‘downtown,’ for the benefit of those who own buildings within the district and, by extension, all Morrisonites.”
The National Register is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Being within a National Register Historic District does not bring any rules or restrictions with it. In fact, studies show that property values within such a district increase, and that it encourages investment in structure rehabilitation.
The map of the Historic District shows the boundary and two classes of buildings within. Some are marked as “contributing” to the historic aspect of the area; other buildings are “non-contributing.”