{"nrhp_refnum":"79002718","name":"Century Block","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NE corner of Broad St. and Washington Ave. and N side of Broad St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elyria","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.36788757100004,"lon":-82.10610387699995,"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":"Century Block is a three-story Romanesque commercial building at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Washington Avenue in Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio, dated to about 1900 and attributed to H. E. Ford.","why_significant":"The inventory form praises the building's rich ornamentation, including pilasters, cornices and terra cotta trim. It calls the open rectangular light well one of the most distinctive features among commercial structures in the city. The corner location gives the side facade elaborate treatment.","narrative":"Century Block is a three-story commercial building at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Washington Avenue in Elyria, Ohio. Dated to about 1900 and credited to H. E. Ford, it is designed in the Romanesque style and built of brick, stone and terra cotta on a stone foundation, with a flat roof and a rectangular plan. The building is divided into two units by the neighboring Mussey's Block. Its style suggests construction well after an 1873 fire that destroyed this side of Broad Street. Pilasters, cornices and terra cotta trim give it rich ornamentation, and the side facade facing Washington Avenue receives elaborate treatment because of the corner position, while the rear facades are plain. An open rectangular light well makes it one of the most distinctive commercial structures in the city. The ground floor was badly altered in a remodeling, but the exterior remains in very good condition and the building is still in commercial use.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"H. E. Ford","architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as a commercial building; exterior condition very good, interior fair. The ground floor was altered in a remodeling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.651351-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79002718.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/71985698","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/century-block-79002718/"}