Hammond Historic District

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Historic Name: Hammond Historic District
Other Names: Hammond Historic District (Commercial)
City:  Hammond
Parish:  Tangipahoa
State: LA
Status:  National Register
Date Placed on National Register:  2/12/1980
Level of Significance: Local
Area of Significance:  Architecture, Commerce, Social History
Property Type: Historic District
Architectural Style: Multiple Styles
Theme: Anglo-American Architecture, Local History

The proposed historic district of Hammond encompasses fifteen square blocks and is located in the geographical center of modern Hammond. The boundaries were chosen to encompass only the commercial area of the town with structures dating from approximately 1880-1930. These boundaries are visually distinct due to the contrast between the older commercial area the modern commercial structures which have infiltrated the borders.

Within the district there is a strong unity of architectural style with the majority of structures being two-storied and built of brick. Most of the ornamentation on the structures is also of brick which has been positioned to give decorative relief and texture to the facades.

The district is dominated by the railroad corridor, which runs 30° west of a true north-south bearing and claims a 150-foot right-of-way. The dominance of this corridor is indicative of the importance the railroad once played in the development of the town. From this space one receives views of the town that reveal the predominant flatness of the landscape. The majority of the buildings in the district cluster on either side of the broad and open railroad corridor and Thomas Street. This street runs perpendicular to the railroad and conforms with the grid pattern of the original 1860’s street layout which was formed around the railroad tracks.

 

Some of the most significant architecture is seen in the following buildings:

1. The Columbia Theater (refer to #2 on “building numbers” map) has exterior decorative features on the front facade that are a fixture of Jacobean and Renaissance in character.  Composed of limestone and presumably catalogue-ordered, they contrast with the red  brick load-bearing walls of the building and are placed at various points on the facade with little regard for visual composition; they are interesting, however, for the variety they afford  this otherwise plain structure. The building’s size alone qualifies it as a visual landmark,  being three stories in height as opposed to the typical two-storied buildings of the area.  Most of the interior decorative work remains intact, with the most notable interior feature being the proscenium with the acanthus leaf pattern in the arch and spandrels.

2. A commercial building on the southeast corner of Cypress Street and Thomas Street (refer  to #7 on “building numbers” map) features corbelled brick lintels, with a double-corbelled table on the roof. A three-bay, two-story commercial building, it has on its facade an excellent example of the detailed brickwork that is characteristic of this area.

3. The old Guaranty Bank (refer to #18 on “building numbers” map) dates from approximately  1907. It has an elaborate cornice in pressed tin. In 1927 the first story was refaced in imitation Renaissance rustication which was formed of tile that had been stippled to  resemble marble. The windows, doors, and jack arches of 1907 were retained and treated with cartouches and acanthus leaf detailing.

4. The Boos Building (refer to #75 on “building numbers” map) situated on the corner of Cate Avenue and E. Thomas Street is urban Shavian Queen Anne Revival in character, with corbelling in very elaborate deep red brickwork that gives the impression of being a series of turrets and gables. Built in 1898, its location, color, elaborate detailing and striking silhouette make it a very significant landmark.

5. The Illinois Central Railroad depot (refer to #54 on “building numbers” map) is a broad, spreading Queen Anne revival structure dating from the turn of the century. Built of deep  brown-red brick, it has a dominant octagonal central tower with molded phinial mouchettes  and elaborate archways. The structure is in excellent condition, and both the exterior and interior have remained intact throughout the years. The interior boasts the original cove molded ceiling.

7. The Post Office (refer to #52 on the “building numbers” map) is located immediately south  of the Casa de Fresa, and also faces the railroad tracks. Dating from the 1920’s, its design  is Georgian Revival with Palladian window motifs and a balustraded parapet. The one-story brick structure boasts a very handsome Adamesque, four-column, pedimented portico.

8. Fagan’s Drugs (refer to #83 on the “building numbers” map) on East Thomas Street is the  sole structure within the district with a pressed tin facade. The intricate details are  Renaissance Revival in character and cover both stories. A modern facade addition obstructs the view of the lower story but this could be removed.

9. The Ford Building (refer to #32 on the “building numbers” map) sits on the southwest  corner of W. Thomas and Oak Streets. It is a two-storied buff brick structure with concrete  details, four large pilasters and full entablatures with a parapet showing details derived  from the Renaissance Revival style. The old Ford logo is incorporated into the details of the building.

10.  The old Saik Hotel (refer to #15 on the “building numbers” map) sits on the corner of  Cypress and E. Thomas Streets. It has Renaissance Revival style detailing with rustication,  pilasters, and jack arches with a brick frieze and a corbelled table cornice. Most of the building remains unpainted, revealing dark red brick.

11.  The Morrison building (refer to #80 on the “building numbers” map) is one of the few  three-story buildings in the district and also one of the oldest brick structures, dating from  just prior to the turn of the century. It is Renaissance Revival in design, with elegant arched fenestration.

The characteristics shown in these buildings are exhibited in various degrees in the majority of the buildings in the district. The number of modern intrusions is small, being four out of a total of ninety-three buildings, and even these intrusions are in keeping with the scale and proportions of the area.

 

SPECIFIC DATES   c.1880-1930

BUILDER/ARCHITECT

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The architectural significance of the Hammond Historic District lies in its cohesiveness and in the character of its buildings. The cohesiveness can be seen in the fact that a full 97% of the district’s structures are constructed of brick and 60% of these exhibit early twentieth century facades. Removal of modern metal facades would raise the percentage of visible early twentieth century facades to approximately 88%. In addition, 82% of the buildings are two stories high and 16% are one story in height. This lends a unified sense of scale. Proportions of the buildings are

unified as well.

Finally, most of the visible early twentieth century facades have some ornamentation, and a good number of key buildings are relatively richly ornamented. The style of this ornamentation is similar throughout the district.

Because of these unifying characteristics, the Hammond Historic district constitutes one of the most complete and visually evocative groupings of early twentieth century brick commercial vernacular structures in south eastern Louisiana.

The district also possesses social significance because it contains several buildings which were important in the town’s social life, such as the headquarters of several civic organizations, the Columbia Theater, and the Casa de Fresa Hotel.

The commercial significance of the area is clearly seen in the existing commercial buildings, which were built when the town was at the height of its importance as the center of the state’s strawberry industry. They have been altered very little since that time.

Legend has it that the main commercial street in Hammond’s proposed historic district is the original trail established in the 1820’s by Peter Hammond, the area’s first settler. 1 The Swedish immigrant may have used this trail in transporting the lumber and tar products he produced from the virgin pine forests of the area to their marketplace in New Orleans. 2

Peter Hammond’s isolated settlement might have remained that way had it not been for the coming of the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad in 1854. 3 Land speculation followed the establishment of “Hammond’s Crossing” as a regular stopping point of the railroad, and brought to the area men such as Charles Emery Cate, an entrepreneur originally from N. Hampshire. Cate purchased his first parcel of land in the area in the year of 1860, and moved there from New Orleans with his family in 1862. He chose the area to settle in at the outbreak of the Civil War because it seemed to him to be a place where he could “make his Confederate shoes and for a time feel safe from the Yankees.” 4 Due to Cate’s efforts, Hammond became the shoemaking center of the Confederacy. His operation at that time consisted of the shoe factory and tannery, built on the site of the present Post Office, and an adjacent sawmill. It was during the war that Sarah Morgan Dawson visited Hammond, and wrote in A Confederate Girl’s Diary that the town of Hammond consisted of “four buildings, one of which is a shoe factory”. 5 The family home was built behind the factory, on the site of the present Cate Square Park. The main house burned down in the 1880’s, but the kitchen remained and was incorporated into a house which still stands on the corner of Magnolia Street and Robert Street.

Despite the burning of the factory and loss of much other property at the hands of the federal troops, Cate continued to develop the area. In the latter days of the war he laid out streets in a grid pattern, following the axis of the railroad. He named several of the streets after his sons, and lined them with the oak trees for which Hammond became distinctive. 6

Growth of the young town was slow but steady until the 1880’s and 1890’s, when several important developments began to occur. In 1887 the Iowa and Louisiana Land Lot Company was formed, and with the aid of the Illinois Central Railroad, it publicized the area heavily as an excellent location in which to settle. This venture was very successful, bringing in so many Midwesterners that the town was described as being “in the construction of its dwellings typical of the North, and seems as if a Northern settlement had been boldly gathered up and planted in a southern forest”. 7 The railroad publicity of Hammond was augmented by the publicity given the town at the World’s Exposition of 1889. Held in nearby New Orleans, it generated much excitement for locating in Hammond. Hammond’s growth at this time was further aided by an influx of Italian immigrants. Barred from settling in some nearby towns, this ethnic group was permitted to establish their homes and businesses in Hammond, and the much needed services they provided became an attraction to the settlers around the Hammond area. 8 Physical reminders of the contributions made by this group can be seen in several of the nameplates of the downtown commercial buildings, which recall their Italian heritage.

The major reason, however, for the particularly large growth around the turn of the century was the development of a hardy variety of strawberry, one that withstood handling during shipment over long distances by rail. The appearance of the “Klondyke” variety made the strawberry industry possible in the area, and resulted in an economic boom which lasted several decades. 9

The close economic relationship between the railroad and the town is manifested in the layout of Hammond’s streets which surround the 150-foot right-of-way given by the federal government to the railroad when the tracks were first laid in the 1850’s. The commercial life of the town grew up around the point where the axis of the railroad tracks crossed the earliest established street in town, and these corridors became lined with the first commercial buildings.

As the strawberry industry brought money into the town, the early wooden commercial structures were replaced with brick buildings, usually two-storied and sometimes boasting elaborate brick detailing on the facade. They were built side by side on the sixty-foot wide streets laid out three decades before by Charles Cate. They formed a very cohesive architectural district which has survived to the present day.

Some of the earliest commercial structures were also the most elaborate. The Boos building, which stands on the corner of Cate Avenue and Thomas Street, has intricate brick detailing that gives the building the impression of having turrets (refer to #75 on map). It housed Hammond’s early soda fountain, and has always housed a barber shop. The first general store was housed in the Morrison building, one of the few three-story buildings in the district, and is distinctive due to its height and graceful arched windows. The Cusimano building still stands on Thomas Street, and is significant as one of the early Strawberry auction centers. 10

The home of Hammond’s first newspaper, the Hammond Vindicator, stands on Cate Avenue, facing the railroad tracks. The paper was first published in 1889 by a native Iowan, Mr. J. B. Adams. The paper was eagerly sought not only by residents, but by northerners wishing to learn more about the area as a potential site in which to settle. The success of the paper enabled Adams to afford a new building in which to house his enterprise, and the present structure was built in 1895. The original storefront can be seen on the lower story (refer to #20 on map). 11

Signaling entry into the district is the railroad depot, constructed in the early 1900’s. In excellent condition, the Queen Anne Gothic structure was the first building visitors saw when arriving in Hammond during the heyday of the town and the railroad (refer to #4 on map).

The visitor’s next stop was often the Casa de Fresa (refer to #53 on map). Originally known as the Oaks Hotel, it was a social center for both visitors and the local population. It housed the most glamorous social functions in the small city, such as fancy dress balls and symphonic concerts. Its importance to the town’s life style increased during the celebrations of the annual Strawberry Festival, when it was a focal point in this “Mardi Gras” of Hammond. Its social importance was compounded by its commercial importance, for not only was it frequented by the townspeople, but it was also used as the headquarters for the strawberry buyers and railroad moguls, who chose to lodge and socialize on the premises. They were joined by the tourists who came to live at the hotel during the winter months to escape the cold of their northern homes. 12

A social center used on an everyday basis was the old Tropic Cafe, an establishment still existing in the original premises on Thomas Street (refer to #17 on map). Begun at the turn of the century by a native Chicagoan, Allen Perry, it was known as the Imperial Cafe when run by a Greek entrepreneur during World War I. It has always been a daytime gathering place for Hammond citizens. 13

An important aspect of the social life of the town in its earliest years consisted of meetings of organized social clubs held in the buildings of the commercial district. The oldest building in the district, also the only remaining woodframe commercial building, is located on the corner of Oak Street and Thomas Street (refer to #40 on the map). It was once the meeting place of the King’s Daughters Association, a group of women who met when they accompanied their farmer husbands to bring produce into town from the outlying farmlands. 14

The clubs that met in the buildings presently located at 219-221 E. Thomas Street (refer to #87, #88, #89 on the map) were an integral part of the life style of early Hammond’s male citizenry. Only the physical remnants of these social clubs remain, seen in the concrete inscriptions prominently displayed on the facades. The initials “KOP” stand for the Knights of Pythias, and IOOF signify the International Organization of Odd Fellows. A third building once displayed “WOW”, standing for Woodmen of the World. 15

As the town grew larger, more elaborate and modern social functions took place, and were housed in the Columbia Theater on Thomas Street (refer to #2 on map). This theater has served as the principal entertainment center for the area since it opened its doors on September 7, 1928. The only theater in Hammond area to accommodate both cinematic and live performances, it introduced “talking pictures” to the area and at times drew crowds exceeding half the population of the town. 16

The distinctiveness of Hammond’s historic district is accentuated by the overall unity in architectural style of these buildings, and by the contrast seen between the district and outlying modern areas. The commercial district is immediately surrounded by an historic residential area which continues the pedestrian-oriented scale of the commercial area. Once outside this area, however, the scale of the modern districts change to an automobile orientation. The fact that this change is abrupt indicates that Hammond grew very slowly until recent years, and that the growth patterns of today are drastically different than those of the early 1900’s. However, it is this abrupt change that has made the downtown area visually distinct enough to be worthy of preservation. The district clearly bespeaks the town’s origins in its physical makeup, and for this reason should be preserved for its residents.

Significance – Footnote credits

1. Donna E. Robbins, “Buildings from Hammond’s Past”, Southeast Louisiana Historical

Association Papers, 2 (1975), hereinafter cited as Robbins, “Hammond Buildings”.

2. “Hammond”, Middle South News, November, 1949, Hammond Vertical File, Louisiana Room,

LSU Library.

3. Hammond Vindicator, October 1, 1954.

4. Souvenir Album of Hammond, Louisiana, Press of the Louisiana Sun, Hammond, La. 1897,

hereinafter cited as Souvenir Album.

5. Sarah Dawson Morgan, A Confederate Girl’s Diary, Bloomington, Indiana University Press,

1960, pg. 353-357.

6. Souvenir Album

7. Souvenir Album

8. Interview with James Brooks, November 15, 1978, Hammond, Louisiana. by Laurie Moon.

9. A. M. Hopper, “The Strawberry Industry of Louisiana”, M.A. Thesis, LSU, 1931.

10. Edna Campbell, “Hammond’s Historic Buildings”, unpublished paper, 1977, Hammond,

Louisiana, hereinafter cited as Campbell, “Hammond’s Historic Buildings”.

11. Souvenir Album

12. Robbins, “Hammond’s Buildings”. Confirmed by Louisiana News Digest, July, 1949, Hammond

Vertical file, Louisiana Room, LSU Library.

13. Campbell, “Hammond’s Historic Buildings”. Confirmed by interview with James Brooks,

November 15, 1978, Hammond, Louisiana, by Laurie Moon.

14. Interview with Mertie Lou Barnes, October 20, 1978, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by Laurie Moon.

Confirmed by Campbell, “Hammond’s Historic Buildings”.

15. Campbell, “Hammond’s Historic Buildings”.

16. Interview with E. H. Strickland, theater manager from 1928-1973. March, 1978, Hammond

Louisiana. Confirmed by Hammond Vindicator, September 8, 1977.

 

The purpose of this submission is to update the period of significance for the Hammond Historic District to the current fifty year cutoff (1944). At the time the district was listed (1980), buildings constructed or substantially remodeled past 1930 were considered non-historic. Also, the original submission was overly optimistic in dating some of the buildings. For example, several buildings were coded in the 1920-30 category, when, in fact, they are post-1930 (per a 1930 Sanborn map). Additionally, historic buildings that had received modern fronts were coded as historic. In short, had the buildings been coded correctly by date, the district in 1980 would have had a 44% non-contributing rate.

To improve the nomination papers, this submission includes a new inventory and an accompanying map. The boundaries were not changed. In a few cases buildings shown on the original map are no longer extant (hence the blank space immediately to the north of #54, immediately to the south of #95 and to the north of #12). Also, a new building has replaced an old one lost to fire (#16). Finally, there has been some new construction/remodeling since the district was listed.

Buildings were dated where possible using Sanborn Insurance Company maps (1896, 1904, 1908, 1914, 1930) and, in some instances, other primary sources such as dated photographs and newspaper accounts. Because the last 50+ year old Sanborn map was done in 1930, determinations on which post-1930 buildings were 50 years old had to be made in almost every instance on the basis of the architectural evidence. Exceptions were the Ritz Theatre, where an elderly resident remembered its construction, and in another case where a building’s erection was noted in a period newspaper.

As noted below, twenty-four percent (1 in 4) of the district’s buildings date from the 1930-1944 period. Hence these buildings make a contribution in sheer numbers alone. While most of them are plain, several have notable features, as detailed in the inventory. Of great interest is the relatively large number of carrara glass shopfronts in varying colors and sometimes distinctive designs. Three of the buildings in the 1930-44 category are landmarks: the Toggery Shop with its decorative brickwork, carrara glass shopfront, and prominent neon sign (#32), the Art Moderne Greyhound Bus Station (#18), and a 1935 Mission Revival gas station (#2).

 

BREAKDOWN BY PERIOD

c.1895-1914     9 buildings   10%

1915-1930   44 buildings  46%

1931-1944   23 buildings  24%

non-contributing  19 buildings  20%

INVENTORY

1. Contributing Element. c.1920 large two story corner brick building with shaped parapet and cast concrete jack arch lintels; shopfront largely original.

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3-5. Contributing Elements. 1920s. These three blond brick buildings read as three separate buildings, although historically it appears that they were all part of an auto dealership complex. The central one story building with a shaped parapet features the Ford logo in cast concrete. The complimentary flanking buildings are two stories. The one to the west has brick pilasters, while the one to the east features cast concrete lintels and other details. All three buildings are remarkably original on the exterior.

6. Contributing Element. 1930s plain two story brick building; original shopfront; windows on second story filled with metal panels.

7. Contributing Element. 1920s Nicolosi Building. Wide two story brick building with slightly shaped parapet displaying “Nicolosi.” Shopfront appears to be largely historic.

8. Non-Contributing Element. Small, modern one story brick office; recessed from street.

9. Contributing Element. Assumed present facade in 1930s. Buildings 9-11 were originally one very wide building with a shaped parapet constructed in 1922 (date and J. Cusimano Building visible on #10). In the 1930s the western half of the building was completely remodeled employing restrained Art Deco styling.

10. Contributing Element. Middle portion of 1922 Cusimano Building. Jack arch lintels, denticular cornice, shopfront modern.

11. Contributing Element. Eastern portion of 1922 Cusimano Building–same detailing as #10, painted a different color; shopfront level modern but not same as #10.

12. Contributing Element. c.1920 two story stucco corner building with tall arched openings with prominent cartouches on facade and side elevation; roundels in spandrels. Second story windows on front elevation covered over when building was plastered.

13. Contributing Element. 1920s two story brick building; slightly shaped parapet; overall simplicity is relieved by decorative brickwork.

14. Non-Contributing Element. Modern one story commercial building.

15. Contributing Element. Two story brick building erected sometime between 1914 and 1930 Sanborn maps. Shown on 1930 map as Telephone Exchange.

16. Non-Contributing Element. Large modern Neo-Georgian bank set on a city block occupied by Casa de Fresa, a historic hotel, when district listed on Register in 1980; hotel burned subsequently.

17. Contributing Element. c.1940 one story stucco building with curving entrance section in the Art Moderne style.

18. Contributing Element. Art Moderne bus station completed in February 1939, as reported in Hammond Vindicator. Originally symmetrical when viewed from Charles Street. Extended in the same style to the east within the last ten or so years.

19. Non-Contributing Element. c.1950 small one story brick building.

20. Non-Contributing Element. c.1950 small one story brick building.

21. Contributing Element. c.1920 one story brick Classical Revival post office with pedimented portico. Extended two bays to the north using same brick and styling (perhaps over 50 years ago). Modern additions to the north and south.

22. Contributing Element. Simple 1930s one story stucco corner building with shaped parapet. (A one story frame building was in this location on the 1930 Sanborn map.)

23. Contributing Element. 1920s one story brick building with shaped parapet. Although it reads as two identical buildings, each with a shaped parapet, it appears as one store on the 1930 Sanborn map.

24. Contributing Element. 1920s. Looks like it and #23 are one building, but appears as separate store with brick party wall on 1930 Sanborn map.

25. Contributing Element. 1920s two story brick building with shaped parapet. Shopfront with glass blocks in transom and dark blue carrara glass probably from 1930s.

26. Contributing Element. Small 1920s stucco gas station set at angle to Thomas Street. Appears on 1930 Sanborn map with projection–presumably to cover gas pumps.

27. Contributing Element. 1920s one story plain brick commercial building–stuccoed over.

28. Contributing Element. 1920s one story plain brick building.

29. Contributing Element. 1920s one story plain brick building.

30. Contributing Element. 1920s very narrow one story brick building with shaped parapet.

31. Contributing Element. Plain 1930s two story stucco building.

32. Contributing Element. 1930s two story building with decoratively laid brick, wine colored carrara glass shopfront and prominent projecting neon sign in the Art Deco style.

33. Contributing Element. 1920s large two story brick and stucco corner building with shaped parapet. Brick at shopfront level with plaster second story; brick detailing at top.

34. Contributing Element. 1930s plain two story stucco building with multi-colored carrara glass shopfront.

35. Contributing Element. Fairly plain 1920s one story brick commercial building.

36. Contributing Element. Well preserved Queen Anne brick railroad depot built sometime between 1908 and 1914 Sanborn maps. Long building whose central section features a turret. One of the most architecturally significant depots in Louisiana.

37. Contributing Element. Large 1920s one story brick triangular shaped corner building with shaped parapet. Appears on 1930 Sanborn map as a wine warehouse.

38. Contributing Element. Two story 1930s plain brick building; shutters added and altered shopfront level.

39. Contributing Element. Plain one story brick 1930s building.

40. Non-contributing Element. Two story modern brick building with curving walls. Although new, it was designed to be compatible with the district’s historic character.

41. Non-contributing Element. Historic one story building whose present brick facing and shopfront dates from within the last twenty years.

42. Non-contributing Element. Two story brick historic commercial building whose present brick facade dates from within the last twenty years. Wooden gallery also new.

43. Contributing Element. 1920s small plain one story brick building.

44-46. Non-contributing Elements. Series of three modern small one story buildings located on railroad corridor — hipped roof; similar in size and overall character.

47. Contributing Element. 1923 Stassi Building. Two story brick building with recessed panels.

48. Non-contributing Element. Narrow plain stucco building; altered older building.

49. Contributing Element. Two story brick building constructed sometime between 1914 and 1930 Sanborn maps.

50. Contributing Element. Graziano Building. Two story brick building with shaped parapet constructed sometime between 1914 and 1930 Sanborn maps; dark blue carrara glass shopfront. Modern corrugated metal awning.

51. Contributing Element. Two story brick building constructed in 1919 for Joseph and Sam Locascio; black carrara glass shopfront.

52. Contributing Element. Two story brick building with shaped parapet constructed sometime between 1914 and 1930 Sanborn maps.

53. Contributing Element. Two story brick building constructed sometime between 1914 and 1930 Sanborn maps.

54. Contributing Element. 1898. Boos Building. Large, prominent two story brick corner building with district’s most elaborate brickwork and silhouette. Shaped parapet gives the effect of crenelation; intricate corbelling which creates a blind arcade effect. Altered at shopfront level.

55. Contributing Element. 1930s plain two story brick building; shopfront level modern.

56. Non-contributing Element. One story older building with modern facade.

57. Non-contributing Element. One story older building with modern facade.

58. Contributing Element. Built sometime between 1914 and 1930 Sanborn maps. Two story brick building with cast concrete accents; glass blocks in transom and carrara glass shopfront.

59. Contributing Element. c.1905 two story brick building. Brick side elevation features decorative hood molded windows. One suspects that the front was originally brick as well; it is now stucco over brick.

60. Non-contributing Element. 1950s one story plain brick building (does not appear on 1952 Sanborn map update).

61. Contributing Element. 1930s small one story brick building with shaped parapet.

62. Contributing Element. 1930s one story brick building with shaped parapet.

63. Contributing Element. c.1940 small stuccoed concrete block building.

64. Contributing Element. c.1940 small stuccoed concrete block building.

65. Contributing Element. Morrison Building. Constructed sometime between 1904 and 1908 mans. Three story brick corner building with round arch windows on third story and jack arches on second. Historic photograph shows it originally had a fair elaborate cornice.

66. Contributing Element. 1930s plain one story brick building.

67. Non-contributing Element. Significantly altered historic building. Recessed building has modern one story addition in front; windows on second story enclosed.

68. Non-contributing Element. Fagan’s Drugs. Significantly altered historic building; if restored would be one of most significant buildings in Hammond. Two story building with elaborately ornamented pressed metal facade. Like #67, it is recessed from the street and a modern one story building has been attached to the front.

69. Non-contributing Element. One story historic building with modern facade.

70. Non-contributing Element. 1950s two story plain brick building (not on 1952 Sanborn map update).

71. Contributing Element. 1914 two story brick commercial building with shaped parapet; carrara glass shopfront.

72-74. Contributing Elements. Three identical two story brick commercial buildings built sometime between 1914 and 1930 maps. Each has a recessed panel at the top and jack arch lintels. (They appear as three separate buildings on Sanborn maps.) All three have replaced shopfronts, although they have a historic shape.

75. Contributing Element. Two story brick building built sometime between 1914 and 1930 maps. Cast concrete lintels and trim at top.

76. Contributing Element. 1930s one story brick building.

77. Contributing Element. Columbia Theatre. 1928 brick building the equivalent of three stories with extensive and often elaborate cast concrete detailing.

78. Contributing Element. 1930s two story plain stucco building with black tile and black carrara glass shopfront; windows on eastern side have been covered.

79. Contributing Element. 1920s two story brick building; shopfront replaced.

80. Contributing Element. 1920s two story brick building; shopfront replaced.

81. Contributing Element. 1920s one story brick building; shopfront replaced.

82. Contributing Element. Morgan Lindsey Building. 1930s stucco two story building; possibly remodeling of older building. Distinctive shopfront with black glazed tiles, tan carrara glass and “Morgan Lindsey” in red bands. Pressed metal on awning and covering ceilings features geometric shapes in the Art Deco taste. Building also retains its original Art Deco ceiling fixtures.

83. Contributing Element. c.1905 two story brick building with hood molded windows and elaborate corbelling at top.

84. Contributing Element. 1920s simple one story brick building.

85. Contributing Element. Same as #84.

86. Contributing Element. 1920s one story brick building with decorative panels.

87. Contributing Element. 1906 Masonic Lodge. Permit issued in early 1906 and building dedicated May 27, 1907, as reported in Hammond Herald. Three part round arch windows on facade bricked in as are segmental arch windows on side elevation. Elaborate brickwork immediately above round arch facade openings. Shopfront level replaced.

88. Contributing Element. Large rambling 1930s stucco building with shaped parapet.

89. Contributing Element. c. 1910 one story brick building with original shopfront featuring cast iron pilasters; elaborate corbelling.

90. Contributing Element. Ritz Theatre. According to Myrtie Lou Barnes, who was of high school age in the late ’30s, this building was remodeled to its present appearance “right before” World War II. Very plain facade with early ’40s marquee displaying name of theatre in curving section extending from the marquee to the facade.

91. Contributing Element. c. 1910 two story brick building with elaborate brick detailing and jack arch lintels. Building extends back toward Ritz; rear section remains unpainted and has carrara glass shopfront. Metal awnings on side elevation.

92. Contributing Element. 1930s two story stucco building; shopfront level replaced; boarded over.

93. Contributing Element. 1920s two story brick building with denticulated cornice. Shopfront boarded over below transom level; modern awning.

94. Contributing Element. Large two story bank built sometime between 1904 and 1908 maps. Because it was significantly remodeled in 1927, this date is being used for the purposes of this submission. Originally two story brick building with elaborate pressed metal cornice, cutaway corner entrance, round arch openings on the ground story, and windows with jack arches on the second story. In a 1927 remodeling, the first story received a rusticated treatment by sheathing it in tile stippled to resemble marble. Corner entrance was filled in and one bay added to south side. Handsome classical detailing is found in various places on the 1927 ground story — for example, the windows in the in-fill section.

95. Contributing Element. 1920s two story brick building with shaped parapet.

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