Historic Structures

North Bend Plantation, Oscar Louisiana

North Bend is a rare surviving example of a large fully raised Creole plantation Creole dwellings once dominated the rural landscape of central and southern Louisiana, but today perhaps only 300 - 400 examples of these buildings remain standing outside New Orleans. Of these, the majority are small or moderately sized one-story houses, while only approximately thirty are members of the distinct group of substantial, fully raised plantation houses which are regarded as the apex of the Creole style. North Bend is one of these rare survivors. North Bend is a large raised Creole plantation house that stands on the south bank of the False River in a rural section of Pointe Coupee Parish. Originally constructed around 1835, the two-story brick and frame structure was enlarged twice before 1900.

White Hall Plantation House, Simmesport Louisiana

White Hall Plantation House was the home of Bennett Barton Simmes, the founder of the town of Simmesport it served as the Headquarters of the Department of the Gulf, Nineteenth Army Corps, United States Forces, under the command of Major-General Nathaniel P. Banks just prior to the campaign at Port Hudson, Louisiana. Bennett Barton Simmes purchased the plantation on July 17, 1852 from Samuel J. Norwood. He paid $27,970.40 for "A certain tract of land... with all the buildings and improvements thereon containing six hundred and forty acres more or less. . . slaves eighteen in number. . . together with all the mules cattle hogs and farming utensils appertaining to the above described plantation."

Federal Knitting Mills Building, Cleveland Ohio

Herbert G. (Goldberger) Goulder and Louis H. Hayes established the Federal Knitting Mills company in Cleveland in 1905. Within six months Louis L. (Seligman) Selden joined the company as a partner. The company, employing 75 people, was first located at a rented 10,000-square-foot loft at 600 Huron Road. Around 1910 the company relocated and became the sole occupant of a building at West 29^th and Detroit. The firm was incorporated in 1926 and by 1928, the firm employed 650 people. Over 100,000 pieces of knitwear were produced each week. Federal Knitting Mills made sweaters, bathing suits, caps, dresses, shawls, scarves, knitted headwear, and many knitted novelties. It also exported knitted lace for Spanish shawls that were sold to tourists in Manila. The products were wholesaled to jobbers (middlemen) and also through Federal Knitting Mills' own agency in New York City, which controlled worldwide distribution. The company's customers included well-known department stores and mail-order houses, including Marshall Field, Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, and Carson Pirie Scott. The Federal Knitting Mills continued to flourish during the Great Depression and sales reached a peak of $2,782,418 in 1932. That year the company had the best record of all issues listed in the Cleveland Stock Exchange. Production records were set in 1934 and bonuses continued to be given out as late as December 1936. In the summer of 1937, the plant was the site of union activities that were extensively covered in the newspapers. Unionization led to strikes, which featured "bitter rivalry" and jurisdictional disputes between unions. ILGWU (International Ladies Garment Workers Union) members at the plant went on strike, claiming management of the mill tried to block their organization campaign by inviting AFL (American Federation of Labor) organizers. The AFL had agreed on a contract with Federal Knitting Mills before it even had a single member in the plant. At one point, the ILGWU, a CIO (Committee for Industrial Organization) affiliate, picketed the mill, and the AFL and police escorted workers into the mill. The strike involved several locally notable names including Eliot Ness, who was safety director in Cleveland at the time, and Beryl Peppercorn, "one of the city's most influential labor leaders".

Dilger Store - West Rushville General Store, West Rushville Ohio

West Rushville links two hubs of Zane's Trace, Lancaster to the southwest and Zanesville to the northeast. A late-nineteenth-century county history referred to the early town as a prosperous community owing its success to both the travel and the tobacco trade. Although unexpected, Fairfield County experienced some success in its tobacco farming. In 1881, the county yielded 1604 pounds of tobacco from 8 acres. West Rushville served as a link in this tobacco trade. After storage, wagon loads of this tobacco were shipped east to Kentucky and Maryland. The general store served as a warehouse, and the odor of the tobacco is still present in the attic.

Ouachita Parish High School, Monroe Louisiana

The Ouachita Parish High School is located on Grand Street adjacent to the Ouachita River in downtown Monroe. The Interstate 20 overpass runs beside the property. Built between 1924 and 1930, the building consists of a 3 story rectangular classroom block with a courtyard to the south and a large auditorium to the north. The building is constructed of brick, hollow tile, and concrete. On the facades, the brick is laid up in Flemish bond.

Sidney Herold Mansion, Shreveport Louisiana

The Sidney Herold Mansion was designed by Edward F. Nield, an important early 20^th-century architect of the Shreveport area. His work includes numerous hospitals, schools, private buildings and most notably, the Caddo Parish Courthouse. In addition, the Herold Mansion is one of the grandest houses ever built in Shreveport, and probably the city's finest extant example of an early 20^th-century Renaissance Revival residence. A large number of substantial eclectically styled homes were built in Shreveport between 1900 and 1940. But these are predominantly boxy in character with restricted suburban lots. By contrast, the Herold Mansion has a broad palatial spread, with a three part central block and pavilion end wings.

Keachi Country Store, Keachi Louisiana

The Keachi Store stands far above other Louisiana country stores, most of which date from the late nineteenth century or later, and most of which are humble unpretentious structures with no architectural refinement. DeSoto Parish was settled principally in the two or three decades prior to the Civil War and is one of three parishes (other than New Orleans) considered to be major centers of Greek Revival architecture in the state. Although many examples from this architectural flowering have been lost, including the impressive Keachi Female College, an astounding number survive. DeSoto boasts about twenty residential examples of the style, four churches, a Masonic hall, and the Keachi Store. This special heritage represents the parish's architectural apogee, and the temple-fronted Keachi Store is an important part of this identity.

Shelburne-Cox House, Taylorsville Kentucky

Deeds suggest that the house was built for Mastin B. Shelburne in about 1840. Shelburne bought the four lots (#29 -31) which became associated with the house between July 1838 and March 1839 for between $50 and $65 apiece. It is very doubtful the house was on the property before this date. In 1845 Shelburne sold "the houses and lots whereon I now reside" to his brother-in-law, Daniel Stephens, for $3400. By 1850 Shelburne was back in the house, renting it from Stephens in exchange for boarding three of his Stephens nieces and nephews. Shelburne, who is listed as a farmer in the 1850 census, was one of Taylorsville's early settlers, one of the county's first Justices of the Peace, one of Taylorsville's first Trustees, its postmaster for many years beginning in 1817, and a prosperous landowner. He is listed with seven slaves in the 1850 census, more than most other people in Taylorsville. The house is an interesting exception to a pattern of antebellum house siteing in Taylorsville. Nearly all the early residences in Taylorsville were observed to be sited at the very front of their lots, close to the street. This pattern is also apparent in neighboring towns in the region such as Bardstown and Shelbyville. The Shelburne-Cox House, set back sixty feet from Main Street on what was originally one of the largest properties in town, does not conform to this pattern. Its commodious setting was no doubt an attempt, along with its relatively high Greek Revival styling, to identify it as an "important" property built by a very prosperous local citizen.

Shawnee Elementary School, Louisville Kentucky

Shawnee Elementary, like Shawnee High School, was named in honor of the neighborhood in which it is located. This "U" shaped building addresses its neighborhood by facing Herman Street and the neighborhood beyond. The school was built in 1915 with, additions made in 1927 and 1954. The school has been vacant for several years. Shawnee Elementary plays an important role as an architectural landmark in Louisville's west end neighborhood. It was designed in the Jacobean Revival style by J. Earl Henry, and serves as one of Louisville's finest examples of this style. Henry designed it while serving as the city architect for schools, borrowing architectural elements and detailing from historical sources. The two main entries to the building, for example, are framed by stone Tudor arches and surmounted by a stone parapet adorned with a crest flanked by quatrefoil cutouts and urns with wings. Crossed keys flanked by torches add symbolism to the crest. Educational symbols are in abundance throughout the design. Four human characters holding various decorative elements are located in a band below the parapet and include a book, globe, mortar and pestle and an open book with a torch. Elaborate stone carvings also embellish the parapet walls and side entries. Perhaps the most playful of Henry's decorative motifs can be found above the entrances facing east and west that are adorned with cherub-like portraits in stone, framed by a medallion, that remind us of the days when boys and girls used separate entrances. Henry is also responsible for designing both Male High School, and Brandeis Elementary School. Indeed, the architect has played a significant role in public and scholastic building architecture in the City of Louisville and has greatly enhanced the areas built environment.

Texas and Pacific Railroad Depot, Bunkie Louisiana

Bunkie literally came into being because of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, which arrived there in 1882. Being on a main line railroad made it possible for Bunkie to flourish during 1911-1940 as a cotton shipping point. Because of the rich alluvial soil in the area, agriculture has always been the mainstay of the economy, with cotton and sugar cane being the chief money crops. Local farmers relied upon the railroad to transport thousands upon thousands of bales of cotton to market. Bunkie's location on the railroad also enabled it to attract various cotton related industries such as compresses and cotton seed oil companies. The dependence of these industries on the railroad is graphically illustrated on Sanborn maps (1923 and 1931) showing their location next to the tracks. The Texas and Pacific Passenger Depot (1911) is a two-story brick building located adjacent to the central railroad corridor in the heart of downtown Bunkie.

Old Handleman Building, New Orleans Louisiana

In the various old business districts of New Orleans, the vast majority of commercial buildings are only two stories high and do not feature columns of any kind. Few received the kind of fully developed four-story "Palazzo" treatment seen at the Handleman Building. It was designed by the firm of Weiss and Dreyfous (later Weiss, Dreyfous, and Seiferth), probably the leading architectural firm in Louisiana during the 1920s. It is an elegant and restrained example of the application of Renaissance Revival architecture to a commercial building. It is particularly noteworthy for its use of the colossal order, which is unusual in a commercial building, in the area.

Union Station, Springfield Illinois

Springfield of the 1890s, unlike today, contained a great deal more industry and looked upon all growth as positive. It received Union Station as a symbol of civic pride by default. In 1895, the Chicago and Alton Railroad had constructed a new depot which was the finest in town. This came after local citizens boycotted the C & A for its poor facilities. Fearing a similar attack, Illinois Central Railroad (I.C.R.R.) officials constructed Union Station. Completed in 1898 at a cost of $75,000, it was truly intended to be a "Union" station as the I.C.R.R. leased space to four other passenger services serving east and west routes. In October of that same year, President William McKinley visited Springfield, arriving at the Wabash Station from Decatur. After speeches on the square, the President then left for Chicago from Union Station on the Presidential train pulled by "an immense piece of machinery of superior speed for use on special mail trains" and was specially decorated and engineered for the occasion.

Armstrong Cork Company, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Cork is a natural product, the porous outer bark of the cork oak, an evergreen tree grown primarily around the Mediterranean. Natural cork is harvested easily and can be processed simply, and has been used for fishing floats and as stoppers for containers since before the start of recorded history. For a variety of reasons, Pittsburgh became America's largest producer of commercial glassware in the mid-19^th century, especially glass bottles and jars. The growth in Pittsburgh's demand for cork for bottle stoppers and jar lid liners was a natural offshoot of the glass industry. Processed food manufacturers, such as Pittsburgh's H. J. Heinz Company, increased the local need for cork. Late in the 19^th century other uses for cork emerged, including linoleum and other patented flooring, acoustical and thermal insulation, gaskets for machinery, and stuffing for life jackets. Pittsburgh's Armstrong Cork Company evolved from a one-room workshop in 1861 where John D. Glass cut cork bottle stoppers. Thomas M. Armstrong, a $12 per week clerk in a local glass factory, apparently provided $300 to start the business. When Mr. Glass died in 1864, Thomas Armstrong quit the glass company, and with his brother Robert and a third partner began a full-time cork business named Armstrong, Brother & Company. The Civil War created a huge demand for cheap liquor and patent medicine bottles, many of which were made in Pittsburgh, and Armstrong's company provided bottle stoppers. The business was located in a three-story building at 122 Third Street in downtown Pittsburgh for a time, and then moved to a location on nearby First Avenue. Obtaining adequate supplies of cork was a problem, and starting in the 1870s Thomas Armstrong employed native European buyers, paid by commission, to acquire cork for the company. Thomas Armstrong also worked to establish a reputation for quality and fair dealing. Armstrong corks were branded with a trademark at a time when many similar products were packaged anonymously and sold by weight. A written guarantee of quality was included in every bag of Armstrong corks.

Fidelity Building, Benton Harbor Michigan

The Fidelity Building is the largest office building in Benton Harbor. Constructed in 1926 during an unprecedented period of growth and prosperity, it is located on a wedge-shaped lot at the city's historic and commercial core. The building overlooks the busiest commercial intersection in Benton Harbor and, in its heyday, was the hub of professional and business life there.

Darby Plantation, New Iberia Louisiana

Darby, one of the oldest structures in Iberia Parish, is located on Darby Lane approximately one-tenth mile outside the New Iberia city limits. The home is an excellent example of rural Louisiana colonial architecture, particularly that found in the Teche region of the state. Because of this rural character the house possesses less elaborate detailing, but remains a fine compliment to its setting amid giant live oaks and sugarcane fields. The immigrant ancestor, Jonathan Darby, an Englishman, sailed from France to Pensacola in 1719. In 1737, he married Demoiselle Marie Corbin Bachemin, a native of France. His grandson, Francois St. Marc Darby, inherited the Darby plantation from his father Jean-Baptiste St. Marc Darby. Darby House was built between 1813 and 1820 for Francois and his wife, Felicite de St. Amant, and remained in the possession of their pioneer family for more than 150 years.

Pennsylvania Depot, Mount Vernon Ohio

The Pennsylvania, Railroad Depot, located on South Main Street in Mount Vernon, Ohio, occupies a most strategic site, not only in view of present and future urban planning, but also with regard to the city and county's historical origins. The Kokosing River, which borders on the property, was the waterway that brought the first settler to the area nine years before the name of Ohio had been given to the territory. Mount Vernon's earliest commercial endeavors were via this river, which was then known as Owl Creek. Fittingly, railroads laid track parallel to the river, and at the turn of the 20^th century the Columbus, Akron, & Cleveland, and the Pennsylvania Railroad Companies were operating here in a joint venture. Because of this, it has been impossible to determine in what year this building was erected, but older residents in the area seem to agree that the station house went up in or around 1905. In the building's prime, it served as a center for information, commerce, and military departures. During the height of the whistle-stop campaigning, residents remember Franklin Delano Roosevelt coming through on a twenty-car non-stop journey to Columbus. The local paper records such events as Alf Landon speaking from the platform on October 12, 1936. Three thousand of Mount Vernon's townspeople were witness to that particular event. Building Description

Blume High School, Wapakoneta Ohio

Public secondary education in Wapakoneta dated to about 1867, with the first high school class achieving graduation in 1871. High School classes were held on the top floor of the Third Ward (Union) school building for almost 40 years, until growth in the student population and inadequacy of the old building made construction of a new high school essential. The site for the school was donated to the board of education by L.N. Blume, an Auglaize County native who was successful in both mercantile and banking businesses in Wapakoneta and who lived near the school site. Wapakoneta voters willingly passed a bond issue for construction of the school, which cost somewhat over $40,000, and the new building opened in the fall of 1908. Blume High School (Blume passed away in 1912) was the first school in the city designed as a high school. When it was completed, it was expected that the school would serve the city's educational needs for an indefinite period. However, rapid growth of Wapakoneta's school-age population meant that Blume was becoming overcrowded after just a little over a decade. The school board turned to the voters again, and a $100,000 bond issue passed in November of 1922 by a two-to-one margin. The school board engaged well-known Columbus architect Frank L. Packard, who had made a specialty of schools and other institutional buildings. The new addition, which was built as a public building for school use, was operated in an unusual cooperative arrangement with the local YMCA, which established a library in the front portion of the addition and recreational programs in the gymnasium. The rear block was given over entirely to classrooms.

Power Building, Cincinnati Ohio

The building was constructed in 1903 by the Power Building Company as a commercial venture established for the purpose of developing this building. The company went out of business shortly after its construction. It was purchased in 1904 by Anna Sinton Taft as a real estate investment. She was a member of the influential Taft family who was involved in state and national politics and who developed numerous downtown Cincinnati buildings by the 1920s. The building was designed for industrial use within which tenants rented space to produce a variety of manufactured or processed items. Early tenants included the Joseph Berning Printing Company and the American Book Company. Also included was Fechheimer Kiefer and Company, a company that was one of the largest clothing manufacturers in the American garment industry at that time. Shortly after its construction, the building housed a number of firms that specialized in clothing manufacturing, although the building did not exclusively cater to this type of industrial use. Throughout the years, the building continued to attract companies that manufactured clothing and leather goods. The last company to occupy space in the building, Polly Flinders, specialized in girl's dresses. The Power Building derived its name from the technological process of generating electrical power for use within the building and for its tenants. Located in the basement is a 240 horsepower engine and a 150-kilowatt generator. Steam that was produced from coal-fired boilers was transferred to run a reciprocating engine. The mechanical energy of the reciprocating engine was then transferred to the generator which changed the mechanical energy into electrical energy. The Power Building was not unusual with respect to producing its own electrical power, however, the process was not widespread. Several other buildings in downtown Cincinnati have been identified as doing this as well. By 1903, two other buildings were built that also produced their own power. The earliest of these was the Butler Building which was constructed in 1898. It was demolished in 1947. The second was the Commercial Tribune Building which was constructed in 1902 and demolished in 1970. Both were industrial buildings. The Power Building is the oldest surviving building that made its own electricity.

Richland Plantation, Norwood Louisiana

Richland plantation is one of the finest plantation houses in the Feliciana parishes. This can be seen in its wide central hall plan, its graceful winding stair, its colossal Tuscan order portico, its cut stone appearance, and its other classical features. The pedimented portico is particularly well proportioned, and is a relatively unusual feature in the grander Louisiana plantation houses, where the peripteral style predominated.

Execution Rocks Lighthouse, Port Washington New York

Established in 1850, this property has been an important local aid to navigation and has promoted maritime safety for more than a century and a half. Located approximately six miles from the confluence of the East River and Long Island Sound, it marks a rocky shoal that lies nearby an important route for nautical traffic. The shoal at Execution Rocks has been a notorious hazard to navigation since colonial times. Its dangerous character became especially problematic during the early nineteenth century when maritime traffic in the region increased in conjunction with settlement growth and economic expansion. These circumstances ultimately led to the Federal government's decision to construct a lighthouse at this location.

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