{"nrhp_refnum":"75002142","name":"South Side School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"209 S. College Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Geneso","county":"Henry County","state":"IL","lat":41.451322412000025,"lon":-90.15916605399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-05-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"South Side School was a two-story brick and stone Romanesque school with basement and attic at 209 South College Avenue, Geneseo, Henry County, Illinois, built in 1889-1890 to a design by J.W. Ross and constructed by the Volk Construction Company of Rock Island.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it was one of the three most monumental buildings in Geneseo and one of the better Romanesque school designs of its type in Illinois. Its finely finished interiors survived in near-original condition. It was also the first building the local school system built specifically as a high school, and it was in use for eighty years.","narrative":"South Side School was a two-story brick and cut-stone school with a basement, attic, slate roof and a tower on its north side, located on South College Avenue in Geneseo, Illinois. It was designed by J.W. Ross and built by the Volk Construction Company of Rock Island between May and December 1889, then dedicated in March 1890 at a cost of $60,158. It was the first building the local school system built specifically as a high school. The nomination praised its Romanesque design, with contrasting stone and brick tones and picturesque massing, and its unusually fine interiors, including maple floors, wooden ceilings, varnished wainscoting, turned balusters and art glass. It was described as one of three monumental landmarks in the city and as tied to the memories of many residents after eighty years of use. It was entered in the Register in May 1975 but was demolished two months later.","period_of_significance":"1889-1890","architect_builder":"J.W. Ross (architect); Volk Construction Company of Rock Island (builder)","architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked unoccupied on the form. The building was demolished in July 1975, after listing, and was removed from the Register.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.826106-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/78/8929/28892978/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/75002142.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75002142/a9dbad58c3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75002142/a9dbad58c3-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"John W. Ross","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Side_School,_Geneseo,_Illinois.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John W. Ross</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Side_School,_Geneseo,_Illinois.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892978","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Side_School_(Geneseo,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7568493"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/henry-county/south-side-school-75002142/"}