{"nrhp_refnum":"79003935","name":"Old Vermilion Banking Company Building","other_names":["Williams Law Offices"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5581 Liberty Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Vermilion","county":"Erie County","state":"OH","lat":41.421700015000056,"lon":-82.36567034999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-11-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story bank building of 1907 on the south side of Liberty Avenue, between Grand and Main streets, in Vermilion, Erie County, Ohio. It was later converted to law offices.","why_significant":"The inventory describes it as perhaps the most ornate and the narrowest building on Liberty Avenue. It is called one of the better examples of the richly ornamented classical style that banks once preferred, with excellent cast concrete detailing on a small scale.","narrative":"Built in 1907 as a bank, this one-story building on Liberty Avenue in Vermilion, Ohio, is a small but elaborate example of Beaux Arts design. Its facade is cast concrete painted white and carries classical ornament: Ionic pilasters, a pediment over a grand arch, a smaller pediment above the entrance, and a crowning parapet. The lot is only about 15 feet wide, and the building is squeezed between two larger neighbors, which makes it the narrowest on the street as well as perhaps the most ornate. It is cited as one of the better examples of the richly decorated classical style that banks once favored, and as a distinctive small-scale bank with excellent cast concrete detailing. A local law firm later acquired it for offices. The interior has been recently renovated and features high ceilings and skylights. A parking lot lies to the rear, and a small garden was planned behind the building.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Beaux Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Now used as offices; interior recently renovated and in very good condition, exterior in good condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.507452-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79003935.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003935/477d62a573-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003935/477d62a573-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"LeeG7144","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Vermilion_Banking_Company.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:Old_Vermilion_Banking_Company.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71984812","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137783949"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/erie-county/old-vermilion-banking-company-building-79003935/"}