{"nrhp_refnum":"80001390","name":"Post House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1516 State St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alton","county":"Madison County","state":"IL","lat":38.90606756500006,"lon":-90.19543058199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-05-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1 1/2 story Greek Revival house at 1516 State Street in Alton, Madison County, Illinois, built in 1837-38 for William Post. The front section is limestone and the rear addition is painted brick.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a superior example of early Illinois Greek Revival domestic architecture, built from local limestone and timber by local craftsmen. Its basic form is little altered, and it is associated with two prominent Altonians, William Post and James Patterson. Its setting above the street, behind a stone retaining wall, also enhances its design.","narrative":"Built in 1837-38 for William Post on the State Road north of Lower Alton, this 1 1/2 story house at 1516 State Street follows the Greek temple form. A pedimented gable front rests on a wide entablature carried by four fluted Doric columns, with porches continuing partway down each side. The original section is limestone with 20-inch walls, joined with mortised and pinned timbers. A brick rear addition was built after 1860 by James Patterson of the Patterson Iron Works, who bought the house in 1854. Post was a steamboat captain, tavern proprietor and twice mayor of Alton. Later the house was rented for years and fell into poor repair before William Hancock bought it in 1922 and altered the roof, dormers and stairway. The nomination values it as a well-crafted example of Illinois Greek Revival design in local materials, little changed in basic form and set above the street behind a stone retaining wall.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied as a private residence; described as in excellent condition and excellently maintained by its owners.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.339024-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/8935/28893552/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/80001390.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001390/c10cbac842-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001390/c10cbac842-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_House_in_Alton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_House_in_Alton.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893552","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_House_(Alton,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16898792"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/madison-county/post-house-80001390/"}