{"nrhp_refnum":"82001388","name":"Converse-Mertz Apartments","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"301-303 E. Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sandusky","county":"Erie County","state":"OH","lat":41.45619541800005,"lon":-82.70746107699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-10-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story brick Greek Revival apartment building at 301-303 E. Washington St. in Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio, built between 1848 and 1853 and attributed to Sheldon Smith, with Hancock as builder.","why_significant":"The inventory form argues it is significant as an early, large multi-family dwelling where many important Sanduskians lived for a time. It is also described as an impressive example of Greek Revival styling in an apartment house. The reviewer noted that alterations to the central bays were substantial but other features remained intact.","narrative":"Converse-Mertz Apartments is a four-story painted brick building at 301-303 E. Washington Street in Sandusky, built between 1848 and 1853 in the Greek Revival style. The design is attributed to Sheldon Smith, and the builder is recorded as Hancock. Charles Converse, a dry goods merchant, built it, and it originally served as a boarding house. Adrianna Van Deusen bought it in 1867 and ran the boarding house until her death in 1909. John Mertz, a stove and tinware dealer, then acquired it and remodeled it into apartments in 1912; his family held it until 1961. Features include a truncated hip roof with a square louvered cupola, wide cornices, plain stone lintels and sills, and a brick entry with stone columns. The original entrance appears to have been two stories high and recessed, with balconies above. The building was listed because it is an early large multi-family dwelling that housed many prominent local residents.","period_of_significance":"1848-1853","architect_builder":"Attributed to Sheldon Smith (architect); Hancock (builder)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as apartments; exterior condition listed as fair; located in a residential neighborhood that has deteriorated in spots.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.166702-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/82001388.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001388/ee85960cc7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001388/ee85960cc7-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Converse-Mertz_Apartments.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Converse-Mertz_Apartments.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71984773","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137771721"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/erie-county/converse-mertz-apartments-82001388/"}