The Morrison Historic Preservation Commission (MHPC) is applying 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 #11.
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.”
212 N. Genesee Street, Date: 1878–“Contributing”
Description: This two-story corner brick building has a painted brick exterior. The main elevation (west) presents a storefront with off-center doorway (historic, glass and wood), raised aluminum windows (non-historic, brick bulkheads and transom area), and quarter-round fabric awning with returns and valances. The upper story has six flattened arch window openings with stone keystones and sills. Windows are double-hung vinyl replacements. The side elevation (north) has one non-historic, raised window (aluminum, center mullion) and door (smaller than original, unglazed, steel.) Two other historic openings have been infilled with brick. The upper story has three flattened arch openings with replacement double-hung windows.
History: Erected by Leander Smith and J. A. (Duncan) McKay (north part) and T. R. King (south part). Smith Trust & Savings Bank (owned by Smith and McKay) was opened here on October 10, 1878, while King operated a butter and egg wholesale business. The Whiteside Sentinel had a ground floor printing press and office on the second floor, until it moved to the new building at 126 E. Main in 1888. The rival newspaper, The Record, had a ground floor office and second floor printing press in King’s building from 1894-1902. In 1902, the Smith Brothers took control of the south part and started the expansion of their bank, which eventually encompassed additional buildings to the south—204 N. Genesee and 100 E. Main. The structure has been primarily an office building, but a resale shop currently occupies the location.