{"nrhp_refnum":"91001416","name":"Cleveland Discount Building","other_names":["Superior Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"815 Superior Ave. NE.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cleveland","county":"Cuyahoga County","state":"OH","lat":41.50292114700005,"lon":-81.68999060699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-10-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 21-story fireproof masonry and steel office building at 815 Superior Avenue N.E. in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, built 1920-1922 and also known as the Superior Building. It was designed by Walker & Weeks for Josiah Kirby's Cleveland Discount Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a significant early 20th-century Neo-classical skyscraper that follows the 'base-shaft-capital' approach associated with Louis Sullivan. It is also a notable work of the Cleveland firm Walker & Weeks. It is tied to Josiah Kirby, a pioneer of mortgage banking and large construction financing.","narrative":"Rising 21 stories and about 240 feet on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, this office building was completed in the early 1920s for the Cleveland Discount Company. Walker & Weeks designed it with a granite base, four Roman Doric columns set in antis, and light glazed brick with white terra cotta above. Paired windows, alternating wide and narrow pilasters, and a large cornice give it a strongly vertical profile in the Sullivan tradition. For a short time in 1922 it was the city's tallest building. It is also linked to Josiah Kirby, who built the company into a major lender for large construction projects and helped develop the secondary mortgage market. His firm went into receivership in 1923, and he later faced fraud trials. Inside, the lobby has travertine walls and brass elevator doors, and the ground floor now holds shops. The building was listed for its architecture and its association with Kirby.","period_of_significance":"1920-1922","architect_builder":"Walker & Weeks, Architects; Craig Curtis Company, Contractors","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Still in commercial office use, with shops on the ground floor; the original three-story banking room has been divided into two floors and most of its detailing destroyed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.402582-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/91001416.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91001416/74463fc25f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91001416/74463fc25f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"LeeG7144","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Superior_Bldg.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">LeeG7144</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:Superior_Bldg.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"02000702","name":"Euclid Avenue Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/euclid-avenue-historic-district-02000702/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987530","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7643500"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/cuyahoga-county/cleveland-discount-building-91001416/"}