The Morrison Historic Preservation Commission (MHPC) has applied 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 #48.
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.”
203 W. Main Street, Date: c. 1870, 2013–Non-contributing
Description: This two-story brick building has an unpainted red brick exterior. Except for the galvanized sheet-metal cornice, the entire main elevation (north) is non-historic with new brick, a symmetrical storefront (recessed entrance, multi-light aluminum display windows), and three upper-story windows (six-over-six, aluminum, double hung, stone lintels and sills.). The rear elevation (south) is gabled and with newly-installed brick with aluminum and glass block windows.
History: This building has housed a number of uses including a harness shop (1880’s,) a furniture store (1890’s), Stiner Brothers Grocery (1903 to 1917), M. R. Thackberry Automobiles (1920), Palmer Woodson Automobiles (1923), the Knox Plumbing Company (1925), The Economy Store (1927), the Perfection Cigar Company (1928-1929), Riep Brands Home Electric Appliances and Sheet Metal Works (1930-1966), Brands Home Electric Appliances (1966-1968), and Brands Heating and Cooling (1968 to 2010.) From the 1950’s until 2010, 203 W. Main Street was one of three adjacent storefronts used by Brands Heating and Cooling. It has been rehabilitated as the Donnybrook Bakery Café and incorporated into its neighbors to the east and west with living space above.