321 N Commercial - Emporia Downtown Historic District - Emporia, Ks.
Posted by: 
iconions
N 38° 24.128 W 096° 10.822
14S E 746220 N 4254198
This two-story red brick building is located at 321 N Commercial in Emporia, Ks.
Waymark Code: WMMA3C
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 08/19/2014
Views: 2
From the National Register application:
(
visit link)
"Commercial Building Status: Contributing
Address: 321 N COMMERCIAL ST
Date of Construction: 1915 (Estimated)
Parcel ID: 195-15-0-20-15-008.00-0
Historic Function: Commerce/Trade - Specialty Store
Current Function: Commerce/Trade - Specialty Store
Architectural Classification: Commercial Style
Description:
This brick two-part commercial block is three bays wide. Engaged brick piers on the upper-facade wall define the bays. The first-story storefront has a recessed, center-bay entrance flanked by non-historic high-set display windows. The street-level entrance to the second floor is at the south end and contains a non-historic door. Non-historic unpainted plywood and wood shingles clad the first-story façade wall, concealing the storefront framing, transom opening, and bulkhead. Historic character-defining features present include: the stone accents found in the form of parapet coping, simple pier capital and base blocks, and a belt course spanning the top of the storefront; the corbel and soldier brick courses embellishing the upper façade wall with a grid pattern motif; the single, large window opening centered in the upper-façade wall containing a non-historic four-part fixed sash window; and the engaged brick piers at each end of the façade that rise above the parapet wall.
History:
There was a one-story building on this lot by 1884. The building in its existing two-story configuration dates to ca. 1915, and first appears on Sanborn maps in 1923, when it housed a feed warehouse. The building's second floor was apparently functionally related to the adjacent building to the south as the upper floors of buildings on the three adjacent lots were labeled as a lodge. The first floor continued to house a feedstore until at least 1946.
Integrity:
Although the transom has been covered with a shingled awning and storefront has been partially enclosed, the storefront remains sufficiently open, with recessed entrance and display windows, and the upper level retains sufficient integrity to merit contributing status."