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 #54.
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.”
102 W. Main Street, Architect, Samuel M. Ladd, Date: 1887, c. 1955–“Contributing”
Description: This is a two-story brick building with unpainted brick veneer. The entire main elevation (south) has been modernized, circa 1955. The storefront is asymmetrical with a large, angled display window (aluminum, center mullion, low bulkhead) and a recessed glass and aluminum door (transom.) To the west is a wood door to the upstairs with two offset horizontal lights. The storefront is clad in random coursed ashlar. Above the storefront are large polished metal panels. The upper story is blonde brick veneer laid in a common bond with end piers and limestone coping. There are two window openings (east with paired windows) with paired aluminum casements atop an awning window. The rear elevation (north) has a deep setback.
History: Designed by the owner, Samuel M. Ladd, and constructed for his jewelry and music store, it served these functions from its completion until 1923, when another jeweler, Casper Sandrock, established his store therein. Beginning shortly after the Great Depression, the building housed a women’s clothing shop and continued as such for the ensuing six-plus decades, including a half-century run as the “KEM Shop,” an establishment where many local women were outfitted for various occasions. Beginning in 1997, the building served as office space for several insurance agencies. Its current tenant is the Cornerstone Agency.