{"nrhp_refnum":"83004301","name":"South High Street Commercial Grouping","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Bounded by Pearl, Mound, Main, and High Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Franklin County","state":"OH","lat":39.95564224800006,"lon":-82.99879332911806,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-12-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A district of eleven contributing late 19th century commercial buildings, two to six stories tall, in the southern end of downtown Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, along South High Street between Main and Mound Streets and Pearl Alley. The buildings date from before the Civil War to 1900.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the very few remaining intact, cohesive late 19th century streetscapes in downtown Columbus, with cast iron storefronts, bracketed cornices, and stone details. It is also the last remnant of the commercial area tied to the city's large German population in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Architecturally it ranges from distinctive buildings like the Southern Hotel and Theatre and the Schlee-Kemmler Building to simpler commercial blocks.","narrative":"This two-acre group of eleven commercial buildings sits at the southern end of downtown Columbus along South High Street. Most are two to three stories and date from the late 19th century, with details such as cast iron storefronts, bracketed cornices, decorative lintels, and stone piers. The Southern Hotel and Theatre, completed in 1896-97 with a Sullivanesque theatre entrance, and the 1895 Schlee-Kemmler Building, with its five-story rusticated sandstone facade, anchor the group. The Fresch Brothers Saloon at 350 South High, built in 1878, is a well-preserved Italianate example. The block matters for two reasons. It is one of the last cohesive, human-scale streetscapes left downtown, surrounded by parking and newer development. It also represents the German commercial district that once lined South High Street, tied to brewers, saloon keepers, printers, and insurance men who built and used these buildings. Most other German-associated landmarks nearby have been demolished.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899, 1900- (specific dates 1870s, 1914)","architect_builder":"Dauben, Krumm & Riebel (Southern Hotel and Theatre); Nicholas Schlee and Charles Kemmler (built Schlee-Kemmler Building); Tillman and Charles Fresch (built 350 South High); form lists builder/architect as N/A","architectural_style":"Late 19th century commercial, including Italianate, Sullivanesque, and Colonial and Georgian Revival elements","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Buildings are occupied, in good to fair condition and somewhat altered. The Southern Hotel and Theatre was undergoing rehabilitation, and the Schlee-Kemmler Building had been sensitively rehabilitated.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:15.17258-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/83004301.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004301/9d39d7111e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004301/9d39d7111e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Ɱ","credit_html":"Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_High_Commercial_Historic_District.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988461","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_High_Commercial_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q96625837"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/franklin-county/south-high-street-commercial-grouping-83004301/"}