{"nrhp_refnum":"92001715","name":"Cedartown Commercial Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Hawkes Children's Library"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by East Ave. and S. Philpot, Gibson and College Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cedartown","county":"Polk County","state":"GA","lat":34.011117440500044,"lon":-85.25547072497457,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-12-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Transportation","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 30-acre historic commercial district in downtown Cedartown, Polk County, Georgia, centered on South Main Street and the courthouse square, with 67 contributing and 19 noncontributing resources built mainly from the 1870s to 1942.","why_significant":"The district is the intact historic commercial and governmental center of Cedartown and Polk County, laid out in 1851 and boosted by the railroad arriving in 1873. It is significant under Criterion A for its development as a business and government center, and under Criterion C for typical small-town commercial, civic and transportation buildings.","narrative":"Downtown Cedartown's commercial core is a grid of streets focused on South Main Street and a courthouse square, planned in 1851 when Polk County was formed. Most buildings are one- and two-story attached brick storefronts built from the 1870s to 1942, with corbeled cornices, arched windows, cast-iron columns and terra cotta trim. Landmark buildings include the 1914 Neoclassical Revival post office by Oscar Wenderoth, the 1919 Hawkes Children's Library by Neel Reid, the 1935 former city hall by Otis Clay Poundston, and the 1941 Art Deco West Theater, still used as a theater. Transportation resources include a 1910 arched concrete bridge, a 1920s warehouse beside the railroad, and several 1920s gas stations. The railroad arrived in 1873 and spurred commercial growth along South Main. The district was listed for its role as the business and government center of the county and for its representative small-town architecture. Later demolitions have left gaps, though facade improvements were underway.","period_of_significance":"1851-1942","architect_builder":"Oscar Wenderoth; Otis Clay Poundston; Neel Reid; A. L. and H. B. Clay","architectural_style":"Italianate, Late Gothic Revival, Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, Tudor Revival, Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Many buildings remain in use, including the West Theater, post office, and courthouse annex; some historic structures have been demolished and several facades were being restored under a Main Street Program.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:42.875901-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/92001715.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001715/bb8a0d7ff9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001715/bb8a0d7ff9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"The original uploader was Karlward at English Wikipedia.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Courthouse_of_Polk_County,_Georgia.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">The original uploader was Karlward at English Wikipedia.</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Courthouse_of_Polk_County,_Georgia.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209269","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedartown_Commercial_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16890162"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/polk-county/cedartown-commercial-historic-district-92001715/"}