The Morrison Historic Preservation Commission (MHPC) is applying 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 #9.
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.”
125 W. Market Street, Date: 1895, altered c. 1920–“Contributing”
Description: This is a two-story brick building with pargeted exterior. The main elevation (north) presents, from-east-to-west, raised historic steel window (eight-light with center pivot sash), non-historic aluminum garage door, another steel window, non-historic single-light aluminum door, and glass block window. The upper story has two window openings (windows are non-historic, fixed aluminum sash over an awning) above the west first story openings. The parapet has terra cotta coping. The rear elevation (south) faces the railroad tracks.
History: The building was erected in 1895 as a poultry and egg warehouse for the Morrison Poultry Company, a subsidiary of the Morrison Produce Company. The current tenant is American Products, Inc.