Central/North Commercial Historic District - St. Joseph, Missouri - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Central/North Commercial Historic District contains twenty-four buildings in an irregular pattern along Main Street, North Second Street, North Third Street, North Fourth Street, Faraon Street, Jules Street, and Francis Street in downtown St. Joseph, Missouri. Eighteen buildings contribute to the district and one has been previously listed. Through their location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, these buildings possess a high degree of integrity, and convey a sense of history from St. Joseph's commercial heyday as a nationally prominent warehouse/distribution center.

The nominated district is the northern remnant of what was once a large, continuous wholesale/commercial area, and is adjacent to the Wholesale Row Historic District (NR:9/19/77) on Fourth Street between Jules and Francis streets and across from the Buchanan County Courthouse (NR: 8/21/72). This district comprises a distinct section, related by use and style, in an area west of the central business district, east of the Missouri River, north of an urban renewal project, and south of a residential neighborhood. Urban renewal activities culminated in 1973 with the demolition of the Market Square area, a significant concentration of wholesale/commercial buildings in St. Joseph. A modern civic center, hotel, and vacant, undeveloped land now separate the Central/North Commercial Historic District from the South Fourth Street Commercial Historic District.

This district relates to the associated historic context, "Queen City of the West: Commerce in St. Joseph, c. 1865-1929," which is an amendment to the Multiple Property Documentation form, "Historic Resources of St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri." The buildings in this district represent three of the four property types defined in the associated historic context: warehouse/light manufacturing facilities, commercial blocks (small scale), and service-related facilities.

Buildings which are warehouse or light manufacturing in use dominate the district; four service-related facilities and two small scale commercial buildings also exist within the district. Dating from the last two decades of the nineteenth century through the 1920s, some of the buildings exhibit the architectural influence of the Italianate, Romanesque Revival, Classical Revival, Sullivanesque, and Commercial styles. Most buildings are not high style; many reflect typical period detailing, and are excellent examples of the established commercial property types. Virtually all the buildings are of brick construction and range in height from one to eight stories. Most of the buildings are rectangular-shaped, flat roofed warehouse structures; some are massive structures, occupying one half to a full city block. Much original detailing remains, although some of the buildings' entries and window openings have been modified. Despite these changes, the upper levels of the buildings remain essentially unaltered. The warehouse buildings along North Third and North Fourth streets contain excellent examples of decorative brickwork, stone and terra cotta details. As a whole, the buildings of the Central/North Commercial Historic District retain their historic and architectural character and integrity.

The 200 blocks of Main and North Second streets contain five buildings which date from 1885 to 1898 and are among the oldest in the district. These buildings represent the earliest extant period in the district's growth and include an example of the work of the prominent St. Joseph architect, Edmond J. Eckel.

Construction in the early twentieth century is well represented by fourteen buildings in this district, some of which were designed by Eckel, including 302 North Third Street (John D. Richardson Dry Goods Co.) which is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NR: 4/12/82). The buildings which belong to this time period are clustered along the 300 and 400 hundred blocks of North Third and North Fourth streets. Most buildings continue to be used for warehousing and light manufacturing purposes, much as they were nearly a century ago.