{"nrhp_refnum":"75001497","name":"Conover Building","other_names":["American Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dayton","county":"Montgomery County","state":"OH","lat":39.75921223900008,"lon":-84.19128675999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-10-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A thirteen-story steel and concrete office and commercial building at 4 South Main Street, at the southeast corner of Third and Main Streets in downtown Dayton, Ohio, built in 1900 and designed by architect Frank Andrews. It is also known as the American Building.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as an important example of adapting classical motifs to a high-rise structure, in an eclectic Renaissance Revival style. It is also credited with contributing to the aesthetic character of downtown Dayton at its central intersection. It is tied to architect Frank M. Andrews, who gained national prominence and kept his studio on the top floor.","narrative":"Rising thirteen stories at the corner of Third and Main Streets in Dayton, this steel and concrete building was completed in 1900 for the descendants of early merchant Obadiah Conover, a blacksmith who had acquired the quarter block around 1811. Architect Frank Andrews divided the facade into three classical parts: a four-story rusticated stone base with arcades, a six-story yellow brick middle section, and a baroque upper tier with terra cotta ornament by the O. W. Ketcham works. Andrews, who opened his Dayton office in 1894 and became nationally known for work including the National Cash Register Company buildings, kept his studio beneath an art glass rotunda on the top floor. The building later took the name American Building. A third bay was added on Third Street in 1921 and three bays on Main Street in 1924. It is valued as an example of classical design applied to an early high-rise.","period_of_significance":"1900","architect_builder":"Frank M. Andrews (architect); terra cotta by O. W. Ketcham Terra Cotta Works","architectural_style":"Eclectic Renaissance Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in excellent condition and altered, on its original site, and occupied; present use is commercial.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.908746-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001497.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001497/94492343a0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001497/94492343a0-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Conover_Building_in_Dayton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Conover_Building_in_Dayton.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100004316","name":"Downtown Dayton Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/downtown-dayton-historic-district-100004316/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990432","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conover_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5162361"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/montgomery-county/conover-building-75001497/"}