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 #22.
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.”
105-107-109 E. Main Street, Peterson & Heiss Building, Date: 1902–“Contributing”
Description: This large, two-story brick building has an unpainted brick exterior. Two storefronts of the main elevation (north) have been largely modified, except for the rectangular cast iron columns with fluted shafts and four-pointed star capitals (maker’s mark reads “Taylor Bros, Clinton, Iowa.”) The west storefront (105-107 E. Main) is asymmetrical with two recessed full-glass wood doors, flanked by two full-glass display windows to the west and one display window to the east (wood, no bulkheads.) The transom area is covered with vertical wood siding. The east storefront (109 E. Main) is mostly covered with vertical wood siding, with a recessed entrance and two very small windows. Separating the two storefronts in the center is the upstairs entrance, the full-glass aluminum door smaller than the original, but retaining its historic transom. An exposed steel lintel spans the width of the building above the storefronts. The upper story consists of hydraulically-pressed tan brick and four semi-hexagonal sheet-metal bay windows with recessed panel bulkheads, double-hung windows, swag ornaments, and steeply-pitched roofs. All but the east bay windows are vinyl replacements. Above is a highly ornamental, bracketed, galvanized sheet-metal cornice with a central triangular pediment springing from a segmental arch. The rear elevation (south) is pargeted. The segmental arch window and door openings are a mixture of historic and modern materials, infill, and utilities.
History: It was built by Elizabeth Heiss and Louisa Peterson. In 1903 the stores were (from east to west) millinery, harness, another millinery, and boots and shoes. Later uses included a vast array of commercial functions, such as an electric company (Vandenberg, 1934-41), a variety store (1910’s), a number of cigar stores (1889-1931), a musical instruments shop (Diehl & Burch, 1916-17), confectioneries (1923-29), a paint store (Economy, 1930-32), a grocery (Dahm’s, 1943-48), Burn’s Downey Flake Doughnut Shop, various clothing stores (1939-88), a pair of tailors, a beautician (Janet’s Beauty Shop, 1942-48), a barber (Jay Vogel, 1935-39), a coffee shop (East End, 1950’s-60’s), restaurants (including a Maid-Rite), an art store (Rastede Art Shoppe, 1928-37), a realtor (Knox & Craddock, 1934-35), financial services, and a series of taverns (1949-2005). The second story occupants included a Justice of the Peace (Thomas H. Fraser, 1925), a trio of physicians (1915-32), a lawyer (Harry Ludens), a dentist (Harold Cramer, 1935), and a chiropractor (William Johnson, 1925.) Current tenants are Da-Bar and Russell J. Holesinger, Attorney.