George's Block | |
Location | Sycamore, DeKalb County, Illinois |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°59′2″N88°41′39″W / 41.98389°N 88.69417°W |
Built | 1857 |
Part of | Sycamore Historic District (ID78003104 [1] ) |
Added to NRHP | May 2, 1978 |
The George's Block, once known as the James Block, is a 19th-century structure located in Sycamore, Illinois, along Illinois Route 64 (State Street) as it passes through the DeKalb County seat. The Block is part of the Sycamore Historic District and as such is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The district joined the Register in May 1978. The building dates from 1857 when it was owned by Daniel P. James but by the 1860s the building has become known as George's Block. [2]
The George's Block began its life in 1857 and was then known as the James Block, after the owner Daniel P. James. James, a prominent citizen, lived in the nearby Jerkin-roofed D. B. James House, also part of the Sycamore Historic District. By the 1860s the James name was gone but the building was still known as a block. Many buildings of the period were known as blocks, usually multi-story and multi-business, the buildings contained retail and professional space or, in the case of George's Block, lecture halls or auditoriums. [2] The third floor of the George's Block, not in use as of 2007, contained a lecture hall where a wide variety of speakers from around the United States would come for presentations. In the first year the building existed such famous men as Horace Greeley, Charles Sumner and Bayard Taylor spoke there. [2]
The George's Block has undergone several changes through the years. Even before the turn of the 20th Century a partial balcony, that had been in place below the second-floor windows of the three-story structure, was gone. It is thought that this balcony probably crossed the entire State Street facade of the building. [2] After the turn of the century the balcony had been replaced with awnings. The original brick cornice remains intact. The first floor level once held a variety of storefronts, on both the State and Maple Street sides of the building. Today the building is mostly converted for use as a real estate office. Windows have been slowly replaced or removed over time. The real estate office windows are somewhat in the spirit of the originals and the areas where windows once were on the Maple Street side of the building have long since been bricked over. On the upper floors the double hung windows have been replaced with single pane sashes. [2] Of the 16 third floor windows only three are present, the other thirteen were boarded up through the decades. [2]
The Sycamore Historic District is a meandering area encompassing 99 acres (400,000 m2) of the land in and around the downtown of the DeKalb County, Illinois county seat, Sycamore. The area includes historic buildings and a number of historical and Victorian homes. Some significant structures are among those located within the Historic District including the DeKalb County Courthouse and the Sycamore Public Library. The district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 2, 1978.
The DeKalb County Courthouse is located in the county seat of DeKalb County, Illinois, U.S., the city of Sycamore. The Classical Revival structure sits on a square facing Illinois Route 64 as it passes through the city. The current courthouse was constructed in 1905 amid controversy over where the courthouse and thus, ultimately, the county seat would be located. The current building is the third structure to bear the name "DeKalb County Courthouse." DeKalb County's Courthouse still serves as the county's primary judicial center and is a contributing property to the Sycamore Historic District. The district joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. As the county's primary courthouse for over 100 years, the site has been host to many trials, including prominent murder cases.
The D. B. James House is located in Sycamore, Illinois and is part of the Sycamore Historic District. The district was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The James House is one of 226 properties located within the district boundaries. It stands on the corner of Exchange and Main Streets behind the DeKalb County Courthouse.
The houses in the Sycamore Historic District, in Sycamore, Illinois, United States, cross a variety of architectural styles and span from the 1830s to the early 20th century. There are 187 contributing properties within the historic district, 75% of the districts buildings. Many of the homes are associated with early Sycamore residents, usually prominent business leaders or politicians. Houses within the district are known by, either their street address or by a name associated with a prominent owner or builder. For most of the houses, the latter is true.
As of 2007 there are five church buildings in the Sycamore Historic District, located in Sycamore, Illinois, United States which are listed as contributing properties to the district. The Sycamore Historic District was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 1978. When it was nominated to join the National Register there were seven church buildings within the district. One of those included is a residential structure that was utilized as a church when it was first constructed; the Arthur Stark House was once home to the Sycamore Universalist Church congregation. In the time since its listing, two churches have been destroyed or demolished. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John was destroyed by fire in 2004 and the United Methodist Church in Sycamore is no longer extant, replaced by a modern office building.
The commercial buildings in the Sycamore Historic District, located in Sycamore, Illinois, United States, are mostly located in and around the city's downtown. The largest concentration of commercial contributing properties to the historic district are found along Illinois Route 64 as it passes through Sycamore. They include several buildings known as "blocks" which can consist of more than one adjacent and attached structure, as is the case with the Waterman Block, one of the Sycamore commercial buildings.
The Birthplace of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Graham Building, is located in an apartment on the second floor of a late 19th-century commercial building in Tampico, Illinois, United States. The building was built in 1896, and housed a tavern from that time until 1915. On February 6, 1911, the future 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, was born in the apartment there. The Reagan family moved into a house in Tampico a few months later.
Central House is an 1860s hotel building located in the 800-person village of Orangeville, in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The building was built by Orangeville founder John Bower and operated as a hotel from its construction until the 1930s, when it was converted for use as a single family residence. The three-story building was the first commercial brick structure in downtown Orangeville. Architecturally, the building is cast in a mid-19th-century Italianate style. Central House was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Alamo Plaza Historic District is an historic district of downtown San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It includes the Alamo, which is a separately listed Registered Historic Place and a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
The Cass Park Historic District is a historic district in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, consisting of 25 buildings along the streets of Temple, Ledyard, and 2nd, surrounding Cass Park. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and designated a city of Detroit historic district in 2016.
The Fayette County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located at 110 East Court Street in Washington Court House, Ohio. On July 2, 1973, it was added to the National Register.
The High Street Historic District of Hartford, Connecticut is a 1.1-acre (0.45 ha) historic district that includes three buildings typifying the architectural styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the city. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The buildings are located at 402-418 Asylum Street, 28 High Street, and 175-189 Allyn Street, and includes the Batterson Block and Judd and Root Building, each individually listed for their architecture.
The Renwick Building is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983, and on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties since 2000. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District. It is known locally for the large painted sign on the north side of the building depicting the Bix 7 Road Race.
The John Kendrick House is located on West Main Street in Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. It is a brick Tuscan villa house in the Italianate architectural style built in the 1860s, one of the last remaining on Waterbury Green from that period, after which many of the older houses were replaced with commercial buildings. In 1982 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places individually, after having been included as a contributing property when the Downtown Waterbury Historic District was created a few years earlier.
Woodburn Circle, also known as WVU Quadrangle, is part of the downtown campus of West Virginia University, located in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The circle, in reality a quadrangle grouped around an oval path, is a historic and distinctive architectural assembly of three collegiate buildings, which evolved in the late 19th century. In chronological order these are Martin Hall, Woodburn Hall, and Chitwood Hall. The largest of the buildings, Woodburn Hall, has become the best known and is a symbol of the university.
The Old Post Office Block is a historic commercial building at 54-72 Hanover Street in Manchester, New Hampshire. Built in 1876, it is a local landmark of Victorian Italianate commercial architecture, serving as the main post office, and as a newspaper publishing house for many years. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Harris Terrace is a heritage-listed terrace house at 68 George Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by J & G Cowlishaw and built from c. 1866 to c. 1867 by Mr Clarke. It is also known as Harris Court. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Plumb's Chambers is a heritage-listed pair of shops at 82 & 84 Fitzroy Street, Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. Despite being believed to be Queensland's oldest shop, No. 82 was demolished on 27 October 2014. However, a restoration of No. 84 commenced in March 2015. They were built from 1860s to c. 1910. It is also known as Medical Hall. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 November 1997.
The Portland Downtown Historic District is a primarily commercial historic district located along Kent and Maple Streets, between Academy Street and the Looking Glass River, in Portland, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Tumut Post Office is a heritage-listed post office at 82–84 Wynyard Street, Tumut, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 August 2012.