{"nrhp_refnum":"86001930","name":"McKelvey-Higbee Co. Buildings","other_names":["Gallagher"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"210--226 Federal Plaza W and 18--26 N. Hazel St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Youngstown","county":"Mahoning County","state":"OH","lat":41.10155057450004,"lon":-80.65185480665002,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-07-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of connected former department store buildings on West Federal Plaza, Commerce Street and North Hazel Street in downtown Youngstown, Ohio, built in 1885, 1908, 1913 and 1917 for the G.M. McKelvey Co. and unified by a 1931 storefront.","why_significant":"The complex is significant for its role in the commercial development of downtown Youngstown from the late 19th century to 1983, as a local company that grew with the city. It is also significant as a collection of late 19th and early 20th century architectural styles, including an intact 1885 building and a 1917 white glazed terra cotta facade.","narrative":"This group of linked buildings in downtown Youngstown housed the McKelvey department store, later part of Higbee's. The oldest section, a three-story brick and stone building of 1885 on North Hazel Street, has a corbelled cornice, patterned brick panels and stone lintels. Additions followed in 1908, 1913 and 1917. The 1917 Federal Street building, six stories tall, has a white glazed terra cotta facade with floral spandrel panels and piers that rise above the roofline. In 1931 a polished black granite and glass storefront with Art Deco etched glass and copper canopies was added to unify the complex. G.M. McKelvey bought a dry goods business in 1883 and built it into one of the city's leading department stores, competing mainly with Strouss-Hirschberg. The company merged with Higbee in 1969, and the downtown store closed in 1982. The buildings were listed for their part in downtown commercial history and their architecture, and the inventory describes them as vacant and in need of reuse.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Charles F. Owsley (architect, 1917 building); G.M. McKelvey Co. (builder of the 1917 building)","architectural_style":"Classical Revival; Late Victorian (1885 building)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Inventory sheets list the buildings as vacant after Higbee's closed its downtown store in 1982; exterior condition is listed as good to very good.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.455101-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/86001930.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985820","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/mahoning-county/mckelvey-higbee-co-buildings-86001930/"}