{"nrhp_refnum":"73001415","name":"Perry-Payne Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"740 Superior Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cleveland","county":"Cuyahoga County","state":"OH","lat":41.49922309900006,"lon":-81.69827843099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-07-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An eight-story commercial office building at 740 Superior Avenue in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, built circa 1888 and designed by the architectural firm Cudell and Richardson.","why_significant":"The building was called the last word in commercial construction in 1888, and architects and builders from across the United States came to view it. Its large interior well, covered by a glass monitor on the roof, and its flexible, occupant-friendly design drew national acclaim, and many buildings were modeled on its concepts. Its location near the river and lake also made it a home for Cleveland's shipping and iron companies.","narrative":"Rising eight stories on Superior Avenue in Cleveland, this office building was completed around 1888 to designs by the firm Cudell and Richardson. Its south facade is paneled cut stone, with stone columns at the lower floors, bracketed cornices, and scroll-supported balconies, one carved with the name Perry-Payne. The center bay projects upward to a ninth-floor glass monitor that lights a large central well inside. Shops occupy the ground floor and offices fill the floors above. At the time it was built, the building was described as the last word in commercial construction, and architects and builders from around the country traveled to see it. Its flexible layout and attention to occupant comfort influenced other buildings. The firm gained wide recognition for the work. Its position near the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie suited the shipping and iron companies that anchored the city's late nineteenth-century economy. Later alterations replaced the original windows and changed the storefronts, but the building otherwise keeps its original appearance.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (built circa 1888)","architect_builder":"Cudell and Richardson","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and occupied; the store fronts have been converted to plate glass with aluminum frames, and the original windows on the second and upper floors were replaced with smaller aluminum-framed sash.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.315404-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/73001415.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001415/6f82f7bfc1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001415/6f82f7bfc1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"LeeG7144","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Perry-Payne_Bldg.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">LeeG7144</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:Perry-Payne_Bldg.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"82003558","name":"Cleveland Warehouse District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/cleveland-warehouse-district-82003558/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987494","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry%E2%80%93Payne_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15265996"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/cuyahoga-county/perry-payne-building-73001415/"}