South Monroe Street Historic District

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South Monroe Street Historic District
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Lake Shore & Michigan Southern depot, c. 1904
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Location89-175 and 90-146 S. Monroe St. and 17 Park Ave., Coldwater, Michigan
Coordinates 41°56′13″N85°0′14″W / 41.93694°N 85.00389°W / 41.93694; -85.00389 Coordinates: 41°56′13″N85°0′14″W / 41.93694°N 85.00389°W / 41.93694; -85.00389
Area9 acres (3.6 ha)
ArchitectParker, Marcellus H.
Architectural style Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne
NRHP reference # 90001121 [1]
Added to NRHPJuly 26, 1990

The South Monroe Street Historic District is a primarily residential historic district located at 89-175 and 90-146 South Monroe Street, and 17 Park Avenue, in Coldwater, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. [1] It is the best-preserved section of modest houses constructed in Coldwater in the 1850s-1870s, and contains the former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern depot, constructed in 1883. [2]

Coldwater, Michigan City in Michigan, United States

Coldwater is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,945. It is the county seat of Branch County, located in the center of the southern border of Michigan.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.

Contents

History

South Monroe Street was part of the original section of Coldwater, platted in 1831 by Allen Tibbits and Joseph Hanchett. It is likely, however, that it saw little or no development until about 1850. It was that year that the Michigan Southern Railroad (later the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway) completed its line across Michigan and through Coldwater. The first depot in Coldwater was located at the foot of South Monroe Street, suddenly making this section of Monroe a highly trafficked area. A small group of hotels, stables, and factories were constructed near the depot. [2]

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway

The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833 and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinois, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana. The line's trackage is still used as a major rail transportation corridor and hosts Amtrak passenger trains, with the ownership in 1998 split at Cleveland between CSX to the east, and Norfolk Southern in the west.

After the construction of the depot, residential construction along Monroe also began. Early residents included workers and business owners who likely chose the neighborhood because it was close to their place of work. For example, John P. Stuart (133 South Monroe) was station master of the depot. Ranson E. Hall (89 South Monroe) was a senior partner in R. E. Hall & Son, a watch and jewelry store located nearby on West Chicago. Frederick Myers (140 South Monroe) owned the City Bakery and Restaurant, also nearby on West Chicago. [2]

New houses were constructed in the district through the 19th century. In 1883, the present depot was constructed by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway to replace the earlier 1850 depot. It is likely that some of the houses in the district were originally constructed elsewhere and move onto their current site - for example, both the Late Victorian house at 105 and the Greek Revival house at 108 South Monroe both appear to have been placed in the neighborhood in the early 1900s. [2]

Greek Revival architecture architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture. The term was first used by Charles Robert Cockerell in a lecture he gave as Professor of Architecture to the Royal Academy of Arts, London in 1842.

The South Monroe Street Historic District continues to be one of the most significant concentrations of early Greek Revival and Italianate buildings in the Coldwater area. Passenger service using the Coldwater depot ended in 1956, and the depot building was then used as a freight office and a gift shop. [2] It currently operates as the depot for a steam railway. [3]

Italianate architecture 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture

The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture.

Description

The South Monroe Street Historic District contains 31 buildings, most of which were built as single-family dwellings. It also contains the former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad depot, located at the foot of South Monroe. The houses are for primarily modest brick and frame Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne buildings set on small lots. Four lots also contain old frame carriage houses. Of the frame houses, the most distinctive are the turreted Queen Anne located at 104 South Monroe and the unusual dwelling at 126 South Monroe, the home of architect Marcellus H. Parker. Parker's house is an L-plan structure with steeply pitched gable roofs, and two-story bay windows. [2]

Gable roof may have eaves or parapet; no rake overhanging

A gable roof is the classic, most commonly occurring roof shape in those parts of the world with cold or temperate climates. It consists of two roof sections sloping in opposite directions and placed such that the highest, horizontal edges meet to form the roof ridge. The design of this type of roof is achieved using rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of the roof and the height of the gutters can vary greatly.

The former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad depot is a single, story, seven bay long Late Victorian brick structure with corbelled brickwork. It has a high gabled roof with broadly overhanging eaves supported by massive timber brackets. [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Robert O. Christensen (October 1989), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: South Monroe Street Historic District (note: large pdf file)
  3. ↑ "Home". Little River Railroad. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
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