{"nrhp_refnum":"84000291","name":"National Company Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"159 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rochester","county":"Monroe County","state":"NY","lat":43.156548851000025,"lon":-77.60791557599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-10-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story department store building at 159 East Main Street, on the southwest corner of Stone and East Main Streets in downtown Rochester, Monroe County, New York. It was built in 1924 to designs by J. Foster Warner by the National Company.","why_significant":"The building is cited as a distinctive example of early twentieth century urban department store design in Rochester, executed in the Neoclassical style by prominent local architect J. Foster Warner. It is also tied to the growth of retail trade in Rochester in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is one of six components of the Department Store Thematic Group.","narrative":"Rising five stories at the corner of East Main and Stone Streets, this 1924 department store was built by the National Company to the designs of Rochester architect J. Foster Warner. It fills its entire lot in the core of the downtown business district east of the Genesee River. The restrained Neoclassical design includes a roof balustrade, a projecting cornice, pilasters with stylized Ionic capitals, and stone and bronze ornament, alongside steel casement windows on the upper floors. Round arches on the ground floor mark the original entrances to the arcade where merchandise was displayed; that arcade was enclosed in 1981, though classical trim and the upper parts of the display windows remain visible inside. The National Store was less successful than Sibley's or McCurdy's but was known for quality goods and personal service. It closed in the late 1970s as banks replaced other retailers on East Main Street. The building is valued for its refined design and its link to Rochester's retail history. A later two-story west addition is non-contributing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect: J. Foster Warner; Builder: The National Company","architectural_style":"Neoclassical","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition rated excellent; the store closed in the late 1970s and the building now serves as corporate headquarters. The first-story arcaded storefront was enclosed in 1981.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:43.553365-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/84000291.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000291/5665a25253-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000291/5665a25253-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Warren LeMay from Chicago, IL, United States","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:National_Company_Building,_Main_Street_and_Stone_Street,_Rochester,_NY_(54420639956).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Warren LeMay from Chicago, IL, United States</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:National_Company_Building,_Main_Street_and_Stone_Street,_Rochester,_NY_(54420639956).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313606","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Company_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6971730"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/monroe-county/national-company-building-84000291/"}