{"nrhp_refnum":"82002600","name":"Hickox, Virgil, House","other_names":["Norb Andy's Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"518 E. Capitol Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Springfield","county":"Sangamon County","state":"IL","lat":39.79809984600007,"lon":-89.64882824099999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-03-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Italianate house over an English (raised) basement at 518 East Capitol Avenue in downtown Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois. It grew through several additions from 1839 into the 1870s and is also known as Norb Andy's Building.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it Springfield's oldest and last single-family residence left standing in the central business district. It was home from 1839 to 1880 to Virgil Hickox, a storekeeper, attorney, railroad promoter, Canal Commissioner and Democratic state chairman who was professionally associated with Abraham Lincoln. Later uses, including the Sangamo Club headquarters and the Norb Andy Tabarin, tied it to state politicians.","narrative":"Built in stages beginning in 1839, this brick house at 518 East Capitol Avenue in Springfield began as a one-story frame or masonry dwelling and was gradually enlarged into a two-story Italianate residence with overhanging eaves, brackets, a low-pitched hip roof and arched second-floor windows. It sits over an English basement, and the bricks were fired on the site. Virgil Hickox lived here from 1839 until his death in 1880. A storekeeper and attorney, he helped bring the Chicago & Alton Railroad to Springfield, served as Canal Commissioner, led the state Democratic committee and had professional dealings with Abraham Lincoln. It is described as the oldest and last single-family residence left in the downtown business district. Later it housed the Sangamo Club, a funeral parlor, and various businesses, and the basement became the Norb Andy Tabarin, a haunt of legislators and governors. After standing abandoned from 1965 to 1980, it underwent a careful rehabilitation.","period_of_significance":"1839-1930","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Abandoned from 1965 to 1980; a major rehabilitation was nearly complete at the time of nomination. Upper floors were to serve as law offices, and the lower level remained in use as the Norb Andy Tabarin.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.473064-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/92/8940/28894092/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002600.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002600/e2a4812950-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002600/e2a4812950-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virgil_Hickox_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08</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:Virgil_Hickox_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894092","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Hickox_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19462301"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/sangamon-county/hickox-virgil-house-82002600/"}