{"nrhp_refnum":"06000674","name":"Barber-Colman Company Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"100 Loomis, 1202-1322 (even) Rock St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rockford","county":"Winnebago County","state":"IL","lat":42.25951094000004,"lon":-89.097937725858,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-08-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Invention","Architecture","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An industrial historic district of eleven contributing resources (fifteen structures, including lofts, factories, garages, a powerhouse and two gatehouses) on about 12 acres along the Rock River, roughly two miles south of downtown Rockford, Illinois. The buildings date from 1907 to 1948, with alterations through 1952.","why_significant":"The complex was the main industrial site of the Barber-Colman Company, which opened in Rockford in 1900-1902 and grew into a worldwide maker of textile machinery, machine tools, electrical products, overhead doors and heating and air conditioning controls. The buildings are a cohesive set of industrial types built in different periods. They show how the company expanded over about fifty years and are the dominant industrial complex in the South Main Street area.","narrative":"Barber-Colman Company's former manufacturing complex occupies about 12 acres on the west bank of the Rock River, south of downtown Rockford, Illinois. Fifteen brick and masonry structures, built between 1907 and 1948, remain from an original twenty industrial buildings and two gatehouses. Counted as eleven resources, they include mill-construction lofts, reinforced concrete and steel-frame lofts, truss-roofed factories, industrial garages, a powerhouse and two small gatehouses. The company numbered each building as a \"Section\" in order of construction, and several are joined by ground-floor connections or overhead walkways. Flat, bowed or sawtooth roofs and multi-light metal windows give the group a unified look. The company began in 1900 at Loomis and Rock streets and grew into a worldwide producer of textile machinery, machine tools, overhead doors, electrical controls and heating and air conditioning controls. Large vacant lots, once company parking, separate the complex from the neighborhood. The property is now vacant and fenced.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: Factory; Other: Industrial Loft","criteria":[],"status_note":"Current function is listed as vacant/not in use; the site is fenced with a locked gate on Loomis Street, and some historic structures have been demolished.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.251113-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/8944/28894425/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/06000674.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000674/004b56008e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000674/004b56008e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Section_5.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08</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:Section_5.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894425","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber%E2%80%93Colman_Company","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16980254"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/winnebago-county/barber-colman-company-historic-district-06000674/"}