{"nrhp_refnum":"79002716","name":"Wooster Block","other_names":["Sterner's Restaurant"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N side of Broad St. between Lodi St. and Washington Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elyria","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.36785992800003,"lon":-82.10897314699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-08-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story commercial building on the north side of Broad Street, between Lodi Street and Washington Avenue, in Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio. It dates from about 1870 and was built by the Wooster brothers.","why_significant":"The building is presented as a representative example of the visual variety and fine craftsmanship of late nineteenth century commercial architecture. It is also tied to the Wooster brothers, prominent local merchants who operated a store there. Its carved heads and Gothic-inspired details make it an unusual local building.","narrative":"This two-story commercial building on West Broad Street in Elyria dates from about 1870. Built of wood and masonry on a sandstone foundation, it has a three-bay front, a flat roof and a rectangular plan. Its most unusual feature is a set of four carved heads of the Wooster brothers, the merchants who built it and ran a store there. The heads sit between the first and second floors of the facade. Lancet windows on the upper floor and an arch motif at the cornice reflect Victorian Gothic and Carpenter Gothic styling. The storefront has since been remodeled, and some wooden ornament has been removed from the second floor. A gravel lot to the west marks the former site of the Lincoln Theater, whose interior wall still shows against the side of the building. The property was recognized as a representative example of the variety and fine craftsmanship found in late nineteenth century commercial architecture, though downtown redevelopment plans at the time threatened it with demolition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Wooster brothers (builders)","architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic - Carpenter Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair; the storefront has been remodeled and some wooden ornament stripped from the second floor. The form notes redevelopment plans showing the building being demolished. 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 02:53:12.985697-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79002716.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"00001663","name":"Elyria Downtown-West Avenue Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/elyria-downtown-west-avenue-historic-district-00001663/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985710","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/wooster-block-79002716/"}