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 #55.
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.”
100 W. Main Street, Date: 1859–Non-contributing
Description: This is a two-story, brick corner building with vertical aluminum siding exterior. The storefront of the main elevation (south) consists of two large, aluminum, display windows flanking a slightly recessed entrance, with a full glass aluminum door (Kawneer) and narrow matching sidelights. A cast-iron storefront sill is in front of the door, while the transom area is covered with vertical aluminum siding. To the west of the storefront is an unglazed door to the upstairs. The upper story has four double-hung, vinyl windows. A shed-shaped striped fabric awning with returns and valances spans the entire storefront and wraps around the corner, above another display window on the side elevation (east). To the north is a full-glass aluminum door with a flat metal canopy suspended from two metal rods. The side elevation upper story has four window openings. The southernmost opening is shorter and wider, with a pair of historic, wood six-over-one, double-hung windows. The remaining windows are vinyl. Terra cotta coping is visible above the metal siding on both elevations. To the north is a small, one-story addition (c. 1902) with reverse board and batten wood siding, an entrance (non-historic, unglazed aluminum door), and a garage door opening (aluminum.) The roof is side-gabled with asphalt shingles, with a large air conditioning unit sitting near center of the east slope.
History: Not much can be discerned about this structure’s early years. The lot on which the 1859 construction took place was purchased by a Miss Cady. It is suspected that for ten years after the building’s construction, the building housed a saloon and billiards parlor. By 1873, the building housed a combined hat and cap store managed by S. W. Ely and C. D. Taylor’s jewelry store. In 1877, S. O. Merrill purchased Mr. Taylor’s business. In 1884, it became the initial location of the Samuel M. Ladd and Company jewelry store, before it was moved next door in 1887. Afterwards, it became a grocery store and continued as such through the 1940’s. In 1947, the building housed a hardware enterprise until 1958, when it became home to a series of three restaurants, the last of which was a 26-year run by the “Isle of Rhoades.” During the building’s existence, the second floor housed a local physician, Dr. Frank Fitzgerald; an attorney, Mr. W. A. Blodgett; meeting rooms of the Wa-Tan-Ye Club for a short while; in the late 1940’s, the offices of a pair of music teachers. It is presently vacant.