{"nrhp_refnum":"12000060","name":"Centralia Commercial Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"126 W. Broadway to 331 E. Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Centralia","county":"Marion County","state":"IL","lat":38.52907214900006,"lon":-89.13400658315084,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-03-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A commercial historic district in downtown Centralia, Marion County, Illinois, covering about 19 acres and seven city blocks along Broadway and adjoining streets beside the railroad tracks. It contains 79 resources, mostly attached commercial buildings dating from about 1850 to 1958.","why_significant":"The district tells the story of Centralia's founding as a prominent stop on the Illinois Central Railroad and its growth into a transportation hub for south-central Illinois. Its buildings form a cohesive group that conveys its role as the commercial and social center of the city from 1850 through 1958. The buildings retain enough integrity of design, materials, setting and association to show this history.","narrative":"Downtown Centralia, in south-central Illinois about sixty miles east of St. Louis, grew up around the Illinois Central Railroad, which platted the town in 1853. This 19-acre district spans seven blocks along Broadway and nearby streets on both sides of the old rail yard. It holds 79 resources, of which 59 contribute, including a wooden water tower and a restored historic sign. The oldest buildings, dating from about 1850, stand on Locust and Oak Streets. West of the tracks, most buildings date from the 1890s to about 1910. East Broadway saw new construction and façade remodeling in the early twentieth century as the rail yard shrank, bringing Commercial Style buildings and Italian Renaissance and Classical Revival designs with terra cotta ornament. A few Art Deco and mid-century modern buildings also appear. Together they show how the area served as the city's commercial and social center from 1850 through 1958, with the latest contributing building dating from that year.","period_of_significance":"1850-1958","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian (Italianate, Romanesque Revival); Late 19th/Early 20th Century Commercial Style; Italian Renaissance and Classical Revivals; Modern Movement (Art Deco, Art Moderne, International Style)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Buildings are described overall as in good condition and retaining adequate integrity; several are altered, and current uses include business, specialty stores, restaurants, government offices, theater and meeting hall.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.52323-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/96/8935/28893596/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/12000060.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000060/42d2ee614c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000060/42d2ee614c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Broadway_in_the_Centralia_Commercial_Historic_District.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Broadway_in_the_Centralia_Commercial_Historic_District.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893596","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia_Commercial_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16826147"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/marion-county/centralia-commercial-historic-district-12000060/"}