{"nrhp_refnum":"95000180","name":"Opera House-Starnes Jewelers Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"127--133 W. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Albemarle","county":"Stanly County","state":"NC","lat":35.35038070200005,"lon":-80.19880474599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-03-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick commercial building with an attic-level balcony at 127-133 West Main Street in downtown Albemarle, Stanly County, North Carolina, built in 1907-1908 by contractor Locke Anderson Moody for Francis Eugene Starnes and Dr. Franklin Parker.","why_significant":"The nomination cites the building as the handsomest surviving commercial building of its generation in Albemarle. It holds a largely intact second-floor opera house and office suites, and its ca. 1939 Carrara glass storefronts are a modest local interpretation of Art Moderne. It is also tied to Starnes Jewelers, the oldest continuously operating business in Albemarle and Stanly County, and to local commerce and entertainment.","narrative":"Rising above its mostly two-story neighbors on West Main Street in downtown Albemarle, this brick building combines two storefronts at street level with an opera house and office suites above. Francis Eugene Starnes, a jeweler, and his father-in-law Dr. Franklin Parker had it built in 1907-1908, with Albemarle contractor Locke Anderson Moody doing the work. The Colonial Revival facade has five arched second-story windows with traceried fanlights and a keystone inscribed OPERA HOUSE 1907. About 1939 the storefronts were refitted with black Carrara glass and chromium, a local take on Art Moderne. Upstairs, the hall, offices, stage, dressing rooms and balcony survive largely intact, including painted canvas scenery from 1909. Starnes Jewelers has occupied 127 West Main since 1908 and is the oldest continuously operating business in Albemarle and Stanly County. The building was listed for its architecture, its role in local commerce, and its place in the town's entertainment history.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Locke Anderson Moody (contractor/builder); 1990 restoration architects Architectural Engineering Concepts, P.A.","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival; Moderne","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The form lists current functions as specialty store and vacant/not in use. The text describes Starnes Jewelers and a bridal shop in the storefronts, and the upper facade was restored in 1990.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.375975-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/54/7222/47722254/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/95000180.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000180/0a5a3ccf82-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000180/0a5a3ccf82-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DOWNTOWN_ALBEMARLE_HISTORIC_DISTRICT;_STANLY_COUNTY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</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:DOWNTOWN_ALBEMARLE_HISTORIC_DISTRICT;_STANLY_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722254","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera_House%E2%80%93Starnes_Jewelers_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19946127"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/stanly-county/opera-house-starnes-jewelers-building-95000180/"}