{"nrhp_refnum":"83001971","name":"Pierce, Elijah, Properties","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"534 E. Long St. and 142-44 N. Everett Alley","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Franklin County","state":"OH","lat":39.966617050000025,"lon":-82.98663639399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-08-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two adjoining buildings on one lot in Columbus, Ohio: a 1954 barbershop-turned-art gallery at 534 East Long Street and a 1910 brick double house at 142-44 North Everett Alley, both tied to folk artist Elijah Pierce.","why_significant":"The properties are significant for their association with Elijah Pierce, an internationally recognized wood carver and a major figure in black American folk art. The barbershop is treated as an integral part of his artwork, holding his early carvings in the setting he arranged. The house was his home for 24 years, and both are among only three surviving Columbus sites linked to him.","narrative":"Two neighboring buildings on a single lot in Columbus's Near Eastside preserve the working life of folk artist Elijah Pierce. At 534 East Long Street, a stuccoed cement block barbershop built in 1954 still holds his original barber chair, sink and whittling table. A 1980 addition now serves as gallery space for his woodcarvings. Next door, at 142-44 North Everett Alley, stands a two-story brick double built in 1910, where Pierce lived from 1946 until 1970. Pierce, born in Mississippi in 1892, arrived in Columbus in 1924 and carved religious and secular scenes with a pocketknife, finishing them with bright house paints. The nomination argues that the shop and house matter because his works were made, displayed and interpreted in them. Most of the other places he lived and worked have been demolished, leaving these two and his later Margaret Avenue home.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific dates 1946, 1954)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Both buildings are in good condition. The barbershop is in use as the Elijah Pierce Art Gallery, and the former residence is occupied.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.830814-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/83001971.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988563","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Pierce_Properties","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105082164"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/franklin-county/pierce-elijah-properties-83001971/"}