{"nrhp_refnum":"90001776","name":"O'Neil's Department Store","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"226--250 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Akron","county":"Summit County","state":"OH","lat":41.07953598200004,"lon":-81.52303535899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-11-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-story department store building at 226-250 South Main Street, at the corner of Main and State Streets in Akron, Ohio, built in 1928 in the Renaissance Revival style to designs by the Chicago firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White.","why_significant":"It was the flagship store of the M. O'Neil Company, Akron's largest department store chain, and the first major department store built in downtown Akron. Its construction and commercial success drew other businesses south and helped shape the expansion of the Central Business District. It is also the work of a prominent architectural firm.","narrative":"Rising six stories at the corner of South Main and State Streets in Akron, this department store opened on March 13, 1928, at a cost of $3.1 million. Chicago architects Graham, Anderson, Probst & White designed it in a Renaissance Revival style, with buff Indiana limestone on the lower floors, glazed terra-cotta above, shallow balconies and a deep cornice. Carmichael Construction of Akron built it. Additions followed in 1941, 1946 and 1948. It was the flagship of the M. O'Neil Company, Akron's largest department store chain, and the first major department store in the downtown. By drawing businesses such as Polsky's Department Store, the Akron Civic Theater and the Mayflower Hotel to South Main Street, it helped extend the business district south to Exchange Street. A 1984 renovation converted the upper floors to offices, but retail operations ended in 1989, and the form lists the building as vacant.","period_of_significance":"1928-1940","architect_builder":"Graham, Anderson, Probst & White Architects; Carmichael Construction Company","architectural_style":"Second Renaissance Revival (Neo-Renaissance Revival)","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Retail operations closed in 1989; the form lists current function as vacant. The upper floors were converted to offices in a 1984 renovation.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.995759-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/90001776.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001776/08d47e949e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001776/08d47e949e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Bruce Ford, photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ONeils_Akron_Ohio.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bruce Ford, photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ONeils_Akron_Ohio.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71991615","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138691022"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/summit-county/oneils-department-store-90001776/"}