{"nrhp_refnum":"85001642","name":"Riddle Block #5","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"141--145 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ravenna","county":"Portage County","state":"OH","lat":41.15776127500004,"lon":-81.24153258299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-07-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick commercial building at the northeast corner of East Main and Prospect streets in Ravenna, Portage County, Ohio, built in 1870 in the Italianate style and used originally as a carriage manufacturing building.","why_significant":"The building housed the Mertz and Riddle Carriage Works, later the Riddle Coach and Hearse Works, which had a national reputation in the hearse business. It was the first of ten buildings H.W. Riddle built in downtown Ravenna, and it best represents the firm that operated there from 1870 to 1926. Riddle's employment of European immigrant craftsmen altered the ethnic character of the community.","narrative":"Built in 1870 at the northeast corner of East Main and Prospect streets in Ravenna, this three-story brick building began as a carriage manufacturing plant and now serves as an office building. It has a flat composition roof, sandstone foundation, wood and stone trim, and long rectangular windows with stone lintels and sills. Rows of corbelled brick arches form an ornate cornice across the top. The storefront is covered with modern aluminum siding, though the original material beneath is reported undamaged. The building was the main structure of the Mertz and Riddle Carriage Works, later the Riddle Coach and Hearse Works, which Henry Warner Riddle acquired after two years. He built the firm into a business with a national reputation and used its proceeds to construct prominent commercial buildings in Ravenna. His employment of European immigrant craftsmen changed the community's ethnic makeup. This was the first of his ten downtown buildings and the site of the firm's work until 1926.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Used as an office building; interior and exterior condition both listed as good. The storefront has modern aluminum siding that is said not to have damaged the original fabric beneath.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.130506-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/85001642.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001642/e4cf398723-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001642/e4cf398723-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"JonRidinger","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Riddle_Block_No_5_view.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JonRidinger</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Riddle_Block_No_5_view.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986003","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138654721"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/portage-county/riddle-block-5-85001642/"}