County of building: Franklin County
Location of building: Front St., mid-block, between Cedar St. & Olive St., south side, Washington
Built: 1915
Architectural Style: Craftsman - Romanesque
Classified: C-2 & commercial
Current Occupant: Paperbacks For Educators
District Map
"This l½ story masonry building has entrances at each end of the facade. At the NE corner of the facade double leaved doors while appearing to be period have been cut down to
fit the opening by removing wood at the bottom of the doors. An original multi paned transom above doors is fitted into a half sphere opening with brick arch. The door at the NW corner of the facade has been replaced by a new door and the opening
has been reduced in scale by frame infill. The transom has also been infilled by frame. Brick surrounds delineate both door openings. The central
portion of the building contains four regularly spaced multi paned casement windows. Arched transom windows containing four lights of glass are
in place above. The window opening is also delineated by brick surrounds.
Soldier's course brick work forms a band dividing foundation from building
and marking a water table at the level of window sills. This use of brick
work also spans the facade forming a stringcourse slightly below the roof
line. Under the eaves brickwork indicates there was some material attached
to bricks at this level which is now removed. Below the stringcourse the
words "Tibbe Power Plant" can be seen in cut white stone.
"While the west elevation is without openings the east elevation which
faces the Tibbe pipe factory has door and window treatment similiar [sic] to that
of the facade.
"The interior has a mezzanine on the north (facade) elevation. The building is roughly divided in the middle by a wall. The east section of the building
has a concrete slab floor while the west section has a dyed concrete floor
laid in a grid pattern. Interior woodwork is intact.
"Anton A. Tibbe continued operation of his father's pipe business after Henry
Tibbe died in 1896. He built this power house to provide power for his pipe co.
which is located directly east. Anton Tibbe brought electricity to Franklin
County. He sold plant and lines to Union Electric. This, his last plant, was designed by architect Theodore Link, the architect of Union Station in st. Louis." ~ DNR Historic Survey PDF page 58
"Revival Styles, circa 1888 - 1925. Coded C (Photos #
5, 16, 19, 20, 21,22, 23, 32). With a few exceptions the Revival styles are
expressed principally in detailing on commercial buildings, and in plan
or roof forms in domestic structures. Frequently an ornamental pressed
brick or metal cornice is the sole Revival feature on
commercial/residential properties, the buildings otherwise maintain the
standard planar, segmentally arched brick facades (Photo # 19, 3rd from
left). . ... Early 20th century Classical Revival
design is featured in the Calvin Theater of 1909 (Photo 822, left
foreground), the 1922 U.S. Post Office on Lafayette (Photo #23,
foreground), and the Tibbe Power Plant at 426 W. Front ... ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Industrial, circa 1865-1935, Coded 2 (Photos # 4, 5, 27 through 30).
The articulation of the twelve industrial buildings generally follows
materials, forms and detailing of commercial/residential properties
dating to the same period of construction. They are usually devoid of
stylistic ornament but occasionally exhibit generic corbeled brick
cornices. The earliest, a circa 1865 pork packing structure at 314
W. Front, features two-story brick pilasters and a raised parapet
illustrated by a group of Federal/Greek Revival buildings. Typically,
industrial buildings have brick masonry walls resting on stone
foundations, and have regular fenestration of segmental arches until
after the turn-of the century when soldier course brick lintels are
more often employed." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Commercial, Coded With Black Bar
This designation indicates that historically the building (or part of
it) was used for commercial purposes. Since very few properties were
constructed exclusively for commerce, the black bar code at the front of the property parcel generally refers to a first story storefront." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"4 TIBBE POWER BUILDING..........................426 West Front Street
Anton Tibbe brought electricity to Washington in 1893.This building, his
third plant, was designed by famed St. Louis architect Theodore Link. Link’s
most famous work is St. Louis’ Union Station.This structure dates to 1915."
~ Washington Historical Society, Self Guided Walking Tour