The Morrison Historic Preservation Commission (MHPC) has applied to nominate an appropriate portion of the comunity’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 #36.
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.”
226 W. Main Street, United States Post Office, Date: 1934–“Contributing”
Description: This is a tall one-story, freestanding, corner brick and stone building. The red brick is laid in Flemish bond on all elevations. The symmetrical main elevation (south) presents a raised, projecting, central block with wings. Wide concrete steps, with center and side metal railings and brick sides with limestone caps, lead to a double door entrance (glass and aluminum transom) with very narrow sidelights, each opening with stepped limestone architrave trim. The words “Unites States Post Office, Morrison Illinois” are incised in a plain limestone frieze above. The parapet has a continuous limestone band with incised and relieved decoration, alternating courses of recessed bricks, and a reeded limestone coping at the top. The side wings are similar, with a brick and limestone water table and one window opening per wing (non-historic aluminum.) The window architrave trim has limestone at the top and stepped brick sides. A modern concrete ramp with metal railings (1998) is at the east corner, while the west corner has an incised cornerstone that reads, “Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury; James A. Farley, Postmaster General; Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect; George O. Von Nerta, Supervising Engineer; 1934.” The side elevation (west) is detailed similarly, with a large central block, slightly recessed wings of unequal width, and six window openings. To the north and setback from the side elevation is a two-story block (brick without limestone detailing) with a recessed entrance, loading dock along the rear elevation (north), tie suspended metal canopy, and double-hung windows above (three on rear elevation and two on side.) The other side elevation (east) faces 222 W. Main Street and lacks details present elsewhere.
History: Building construction started in 1934-1935 under the New Deal by the U. S. Treasury Department. It was constructed on the corner of W.t Main and N. Orange Streets at 226 W. Main Street at the cost of $35,000. Joe Wilson was the Postmaster at that time and remained Postmaster until 1946. A copper box with local information was placed behind the cornerstone by Postmaster Joe Wilson on May 2, 1935. The Government appropriated $52,754 for the new Post Office, of which $32,754 was for the building and $20,000 for the lots, furnishings, and administrative cost. The contract was let in the early winter of 1934 to the Weitz Company, Inc., of Des Moines, IA, and the Post Office was to be completed and ready for occupancy by October 8, 1935. J. J. Neil of Orono, ME, was the Superintendent in charge of construction for the contractor, and S. Wormolts of Pittsburgh, PA, was Construction Superintendent for the Government. Work on the building was officially started on February 11, 1935. The excavation was sub-let to Carl C. Stephens of Ashton, IL, who began that part of the job on February 14 and finished on March 14, 1935. Winter frost delayed work on the building’s footings, which were completed between March 1 and March 10, when actual building construction proper was started.