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 #57.
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.”
117-119 W. Main Street, Date: 1858, 1874–Non-contributing
Description: This is a two-story brick building with vinyl siding. The main elevation (north) presents a modernized, non-historic façade with two storefronts of multi-color brick, each with recessed residential-style doors and display windows consisting of paired vinyl casements. Above the storefronts is a continuous, shallow, shed-shaped, rigid canopy with asphalt shingles. The upper story has four double-hung vinyl windows with narrow shutters; the west pair has six-over-six applied muntin grid. The rest of the façade is covered with horizontal vinyl siding, with a shallow cornice-like projection at the top. The rear elevation (south) has a shed roof, while the wall cladding is vinyl and fiberboard siding (west) and pargeting (east.) The window and door openings are a mixture of historic and modern materials, infill, and utilities. A two-story, covered wooden porch with stairs spans the width of the building.
History: The built was by Ora B. Crosby and J. M. Cobleigh as one building with separate sides. It was heightened a story in 1874. The building’s earliest functions included, on one side or the other, a tailor, a lender and realtor, confectionery, millinery (1892 -1917), and a restaurant and a barber (1912-1947). The building housed a restaurant in 1972 and 1979 through 2006. Other businesses that have located in the building included shoe, watch, and tire repair, furniture and upholstery, health insurance, gifts, picture framing and sales, and, rather regularly from the late 1960’s to the present, five beauticians. Current tenants include Eizenga Tax Solutions and Beauty Hutch and Tanning Loft.