{"nrhp_refnum":"12000062","name":"Fulton Commercial Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"4th St. between 10th & 12th Aves.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fulton","county":"Whiteside County","state":"IL","lat":41.86806043900006,"lon":-90.16581778666459,"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 of 33 contributing resources along 4th Street between 9th and 12th Avenues in Fulton, Illinois, on the Mississippi River. Buildings date from 1856 to 1956 and cover about 6.4 acres.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district was the commercial and social center of Fulton from 1856 through 1956, shaped by river, rail, bridge and highway traffic. It is also significant under Criterion C for its architecture, mostly locally made brick Italianate buildings mixed with Commercial Style, Classical Revival and some Modern Movement influence.","narrative":"Fulton's commercial core runs along 4th Street from 9th to 12th Avenues, close to the Mississippi River in northwest Illinois. The district covers about 6.4 acres and holds 33 contributing resources, including attached brick commercial blocks, a 1930s post office, a 1956 fire station, a 1927 war memorial and a World War II carriage gun. The earliest buildings date from 1856, and the Utz Block of 1870 is among the older examples. Most pre-1900 buildings are Italianate, built of locally made brick, with later Commercial Style and Classical Revival buildings mixed in. The district grew from the traffic of ferries, railroads, the 1891 Lyons-Fulton High Bridge and later the Lincoln Highway, which ran down 4th Street until the 1970s. Storefronts housed groceries, department stores and restaurants, supported by local manufacturing and freight handling. The district was listed for its role as the town's commercial and social center and for its architecture, which retains original massing and many character-defining features despite altered storefronts.","period_of_significance":"1856-1956","architect_builder":"Gottlieb Utz (Utz Block)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Italianate; Late 19th/Early 20th Century: Commercial Style; Late 19th/Early 20th Century Revivals: Classical Revival; Modern Movement","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Buildings are described as generally in good condition and retaining adequate integrity, though many storefronts and upper-floor windows have been replaced.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.563992-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/89/8942/28894289/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/12000062.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000062/815626c7bd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000062/815626c7bd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Boscophotos","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_Downtown_Fulton.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Boscophotos</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:Image_Downtown_Fulton.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894289","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_Commercial_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28153462"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/whiteside-county/fulton-commercial-historic-district-12000062/"}