{"nrhp_refnum":"11000367","name":"American Felsol Company Building","other_names":["IOOF Building","Lorain YWCA Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"200 W. 9th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lorain","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.46282284100005,"lon":-82.17405492299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-06-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Health/Medicine","Invention"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick commercial building at 200 West 9th Street in Lorain, Ohio, built in 1909 for the Black River Lodge No. 680 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and later home to the American Felsol Company.","why_significant":"The building is significant for its link to pharmaceutical research and production by William C. Feicks, a German immigrant who developed Felsol, a mistletoe-derived remedy for asthma, pain and fever. It was Lorain's only pharmaceutical research, development, production and distribution facility and an early example of adaptive reuse in the city. It also tells a local immigrant success story.","narrative":"Built in 1909 and opened in 1910, this three-story brick building at 200 West 9th Street in Lorain was first a lodge hall for the Black River Lodge No. 680 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Architect John H. Prescott designed it, and Glick and Burgett built it. In 1937 William C. Feicks, a German immigrant and chemist, bought the building and converted it into a laboratory, factory and office for the American Felsol Company. Felsol, a mistletoe-derived remedy for asthma and hay fever that also relieved pain and reduced fever, was made there until Bayer acquired the operation in 1973. The company employed more than 45 people and was Lorain's largest non-industrial employer after city government and utilities. The building keeps its brick facade, original central entry with painted Felsol transom, tiled stair lobby and some old offices and a vault. Its upper floors were later altered for a YWCA and apartments. It was listed for its association with Feicks and the Felsol business.","period_of_significance":"1937-1961","architect_builder":"John H. Prescott (architect); Glick and Burgett (contractors)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Commercial Style","criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Currently owned and occupied by the YWCA; the building was renovated in 2007-08 and contains apartments on the upper floors and retail space on the first floor.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:06.804963-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/11000367.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000367/f7d2ec718b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000367/f7d2ec718b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"N8hawk","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Felsol_Co._Bldg_on_West_9th_Street_(now_home_to_Planned_Parenthood).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">N8hawk</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:American_Felsol_Co._Bldg_on_West_9th_Street_(now_home_to_Planned_Parenthood).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100007496","name":"Broadway Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/broadway-historic-district-100007496/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989877","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138508640"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/american-felsol-company-building-11000367/"}