{"nrhp_refnum":"82002532","name":"Masonic Temple Building","other_names":["Gilmor's Store","Scoville Square"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"119--137 N. Oak Park Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oak Park","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.88809357400004,"lon":-87.79484974899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-02-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A commercial and lodge building at 119-37 North Oak Park Avenue, on the southwest corner of Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street in Oak Park, Illinois, built mainly in 1908-09 from plans by Eben Ezra Roberts and developed by Charles B. Scoville.","why_significant":"The form argues the building is the only major commercial structure in Oak Park designed in the Prairie style, which matters in a community closely tied to the Prairie school. Its hipped roofs and arched upper windows also relate to the Romanesque-inspired work of architect Normand Patton. It further anchored the Oak Park Avenue business district that Scoville planned.","narrative":"Built mainly in 1908-09 at the southwest corner of Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street, this brick commercial and lodge building was designed by architect Eben Ezra Roberts for developer Charles B. Scoville. Roberts added two floors to a 1905 one-story store and built a four-story-and-attic entry block flanked by three-story wings under hipped roofs. Iron-and-glass storefronts, a limestone belt course, brick pilasters and arched top-floor windows give the facade a strong horizontal emphasis. The Masons used lodge rooms on the upper floors, with shops on the ground level and offices and apartments above. The building is described as the only major commercial structure in Oak Park designed in the Prairie style, and its roofs and arched windows echo Romanesque-inspired work by Normand Patton. Together with the Scoville Block across the street, it anchored the Oak Park Avenue business district. Later alterations, including a 1930s black glass front, were partly reversed in a recent rehabilitation.","period_of_significance":"1905-06, 1908-09","architect_builder":"Eben Ezra Roberts","architectural_style":"Prairie style, with Romanesque-influenced elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Major rehabilitation under way at the time of nomination, including restoration of the ground story, entrance vestibule and stairway; condition listed as excellent and altered.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.488577-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/8920/28892072/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002532.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002532/c8c959d532-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002532/c8c959d532-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masonic_Temple_Building_(7404143822).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masonic_Temple_Building_(7404143822).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892072","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_Square","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6783783"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/masonic-temple-building-82002532/"}