{"nrhp_refnum":"100006479","name":"Kinston Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase)( Boundary Decrease)","other_names":["Queen--Gordon Streets Historic District (Boundary Increase)"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by East and West Caswell, West Gordon, North Herritage, East King, North McLewean, and South Queen Sts., Spruce Alley, and the railroad right-of-way","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kinston","county":"Lenoir County","state":"NC","lat":null,"lon":null,"geom_source":null},"listed_date":"2021-04-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Industry","Social History","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A commercial historic district in downtown Kinston, Lenoir County, North Carolina, made up mainly of one- and two-story brick commercial buildings, many dating from the first third of the twentieth century. It is an expansion of the earlier Queen-Gordon Streets Historic District and includes two individually listed properties, the Sumrell & McCoy Building and the Atlantic & North Carolina Railroad Depot.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the expansion area presents a cohesive collection of commercial buildings that continues the styles and forms of the adjoining district. It notes Art Deco and vernacular brick commercial design, and a shift toward automobile-related businesses in the 1910s through 1930s that reflects Kinston's commercial growth. Most buildings are described as contributing, with alterations noted for those that lost historic integrity.","narrative":"Downtown Kinston's commercial core is a grid of brick storefronts, most built in the first third of the twentieth century, and most one or two stories tall. The district extends along North Queen, North Herritage, West North and Blount streets, and it expands an earlier Queen-Gordon Streets district listed in 1989. Buildings sit flush with the sidewalk and share common walls, with concrete sidewalks and plantings throughout. Many storefronts keep original transoms, corbelled or stepped cornices, and multipaned windows. Art Deco influence appears in the 1935 Carolina Theatre, whose facade uses cream and black tile spandrels, and in the 1920s and 1930s buildings along North Herritage Street. The Cash Supply Store Building at 222 North Herritage, built around 1914, has a molded brick cornice and a relatively intact first floor. Several buildings reflect the arrival of the automobile, including the Overland Garage Company Building on West Blount Street and the Ellis Carriage Works, later an automobile showroom. The district is significant for its concentration of commercial buildings across this period and for how they document the town's growth.","period_of_significance":"c. 1896-1941","architect_builder":"Mallard, L. L. (architect of the A & P Food Store Building, 323 North Queen Street)","architectural_style":"Romanesque; Art Deco; Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Most buildings are described as in commercial use, with some vacant lots noted; several buildings have been altered with modern storefronts or facades.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:41.586211-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/7181/47718155/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/94000569.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718155","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/lenoir-county/kinston-commercial-historic-district-boundary-increase-boundary-decrease-100006479/"}