{"nrhp_refnum":"87001193","name":"Bender's Restaurant-Belmont Buffet","other_names":["Belmont Buffet"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"137 Court Ave. SW","address_restricted":false,"city":"Canton","county":"Stark County","state":"OH","lat":40.79814730600003,"lon":-81.37619901699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-07-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick commercial building at 137 Court Avenue SW in the central business district of Canton, Stark County, Ohio, designed by architect Guy Tilden and dated 1899. The Belmont is now one of three adjoining buildings that make up Bender's Restaurant.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the Belmont is a Tilden design whose plain exterior marks the start of his move away from medieval designs toward more modern styles. Its interior has remained largely unchanged since 1908 and is called a significant example of turn-of-the-century taproom design. It was listed as part of a thematic group on Tilden's architecture in Canton.","narrative":"Bender's Restaurant occupies three adjoining buildings at 137 Court Avenue SW in downtown Canton, Ohio. The oldest and best known is the Belmont, a two-story brick building dated 1899 and designed by Canton architect Guy Tilden. Its exterior is rather plain, with wide leaded glass windows in the first-floor bays and arched windows above, though both sets are now covered. When the Bender family took over, in either 1903 or 1908, they expanded into two neighboring buildings that had been a livery and a barber shop. Those additions, built of rock-faced coursed ashlar and red brick, match the Belmont in scale, style and finish. The interior has dark wood paneling, marble wainscoting, coffered and beamed ceilings, original tile floors, murals and a separate ladies entrance. It has changed little since 1908 and is regarded as a significant example of turn-of-the-century taproom design. The plain facade also marks the point where Tilden began turning from medieval designs toward more modern styles.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Guy Tilden (architect); builder unknown","architectural_style":"No academic style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"In use as a restaurant; interior condition excellent and exterior good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.736399-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/87001193.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001193/f7afab0b10-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001193/f7afab0b10-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bender%27s_Restaurant-Belmont_Buffet,_137_Court_Ave.,_SW,_Canton,_OH_7-23-2010_12-46-12_PM.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanfranman59</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bender%27s_Restaurant-Belmont_Buffet,_137_Court_Ave.,_SW,_Canton,_OH_7-23-2010_12-46-12_PM.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986194","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bender%27s_Restaurant","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4887038"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/stark-county/benders-restaurant-belmont-buffet-87001193/"}