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 #19.
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.”
122 E. Main Street, Date: 1896–“Contributing”
Description: This is a two-story brick building with painted brick exterior. The storefront of the main elevation (south) has three adjacent aluminum display windows with porcelain panel bulkheads (painted); the entrance is from 124 E. Main. To the west of the windows is the upstairs entrance (cast iron sill/step, historic, single light wood door, transom.) Above the windows is a shed-shaped, striped fabric awning with returns and valances, identical to 124 E. Main. The transoms above the awning and the entrance are prismatic glass (painted.) Above the storefront is a bracketed, sheet-metal lintel cornice with dentils. The upper story has three window openings with historic, wood double-hung windows, stone sills, and sheet-metal window hoods with brackets and triangular pediments. The main cornice is galvanized sheet-metal with brackets. The rear elevation (north) has a deep setback with a one-story brick garage and a second-story, enclosed porch setback deeper to the south.
History: The structure was built by A. C. Gossman for his cigar store (with a cigar factory in a separate building at rear.) The contractor was M. H. Canfield. Additional uses included a barber (1890’s); dry goods and grocery (1900’s); confectionery (Lazio and Sylvester, 1910’s); a men’s clothing store (Frost’s, 1950-59.) The current tenant is Fitzgerald Pharmacy.