{"nrhp_refnum":"84002293","name":"Sosnik-Morris-Early Commercial Block","other_names":["Thalhimer's"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"500 W. 4th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winston-Salem","county":"Forsyth County","state":"NC","lat":36.09212264200005,"lon":-80.25358561599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-04-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A pair of adjoining Art Deco commercial buildings on the south side of West Fourth Street in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina, built in 1929 as investments for Mrs. William N. Reynolds. They are a four-story furniture store (Morris-Early) and a three-story clothing store (Sosnik's).","why_significant":"The nomination argues the block reflects Winston-Salem's 1920s building boom, funded by tobacco, textile and other industrial wealth. Both buildings embody Art Deco characteristics and were designed by the prominent firm Northup and O'Brien. Together they form the only pair of Art Deco structures in the city and a unified Fourth Street streetscape. Raymond Loewy Associates remodeled the Sosnik's building in 1949.","narrative":"Two neighboring commercial buildings on West Fourth Street in downtown Winston-Salem, completed in 1929, make up this block. Mrs. William N. Reynolds, the former Kate Bitting, built them as investments, and the Winston-Salem firm Northup and O'Brien designed both. The four-story Morris-Early furniture store combined classical elements with Art Deco geometry, including terra cotta ornament, stylized Corinthian pilasters and cable molding around the windows. Next door, the three-story limestone-faced Sosnik's clothing store featured low-relief floral designs and vertical limestone columns. The two are described as the only pair of Art Deco buildings in the city and as two of seven such buildings left downtown. Sosnik's merged with Thalhimer's in 1949, and the New York firm Raymond Loewy Associates remodeled the store, streamlining its street level. Thalhimer's later took over the Morris-Early building in 1958. The block reflects the 1920s boom, when tobacco and textile fortunes financed downtown construction, and the whole block remains a department store.","period_of_significance":"1929","architect_builder":"Northup and O'Brien","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"The entire block is occupied by Thalhimer's department store; the Morris-Early facade was painted white, and the Sosnik's storefront and much of the interior were altered in 1949, though terra cotta Art Deco features remain.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.284729-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/87/7201/47720187/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/84002293.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720187","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sosnik-Morris-Early_Commercial_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21016203"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/forsyth-county/sosnik-morris-early-commercial-block-84002293/"}