{"nrhp_refnum":"01001462","name":"Spivey Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"417 Missouri Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"East St. Louis","county":"St. Clair County","state":"IL","lat":38.628138156000034,"lon":-90.15863529499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-01-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A twelve-story commercial skyscraper at 417 Missouri Avenue in downtown East St. Louis, St. Clair County, Illinois, built in 1927 by developer A.T. Spivey to designs by architect Albert B. Frankel.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an excellent local example of a Commercial Style skyscraper under Criterion C. It was East St. Louis's first and only skyscraper and still dominates the skyline. Its exterior and many interior features, including terrazzo floors and a bronze stair railing, retain a high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Rising twelve stories above Missouri Avenue in downtown East St. Louis, this office building was completed in 1927 and remains the tallest structure on the city skyline. Newspaper owner and developer A.T. Spivey commissioned local architect Albert B. Frankel, with Wimmer Contracting Company as builder. A lease from Illinois Light & Power Company for the first two floors helped secure financing. The facade is divided into base, shaft and capital, with brick piers, terra cotta spandrels in a Sullivanesque pattern, granite trim at the entry and a crenellated parapet. Inside, terrazzo floors, a terrazzo staircase with a bronze railing and some marble and crown moulding survive. It housed professional offices, ground-floor retail and, at one point, a bowling alley. The building has been vacant since the mid-1980s, but its exterior is largely unaltered. It was listed as a local example of Commercial Style skyscraper architecture and as the city's first skyscraper.","period_of_significance":"1927","architect_builder":"A.B. Frankel, Architect; Wimmer Contracting Company, Builder","architectural_style":"Commercial Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Vacant since the mid-1980s and left to decay, though the exterior is described as in excellent condition with its original appearance intact; current function listed as work in progress.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.293697-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/26/8941/28894126/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/01001462.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001462/b3516ee1a8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001462/b3516ee1a8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Paparutzi","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spivey_building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Paparutzi</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spivey_building.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894126","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spivey_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16900417"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/st-clair-county/spivey-building-01001462/"}