{"nrhp_refnum":"96001620","name":"Myers Block-Home Company Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1 E. main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ashland","county":"Ashland County","state":"OH","lat":40.866937766000035,"lon":-82.31464565199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-02-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story, polygonal Commercial Style commercial building at 1 East Main Street in Ashland, Ohio, completed in 1910 and built by Jacob Wolf of Mansfield for the Myers family.","why_significant":"It is significant for its long association with the Home Company, Ashland's premier department store, and as the most significant remaining local example of the Commercial Style. It met Criterion A for its role in Ashland's retail history and Criterion C for its architecture. It reflects early twentieth-century department store development and offered innovations such as the city's first elevator and a pneumatic cash carrier.","narrative":"Standing at the angled meeting of Main and Center streets in downtown Ashland, Ohio, this four-story brick building was completed in 1910 for the Myers family. Jacob Wolf of Mansfield built it. Its Commercial Style design features vertical window bays, brick piers, and terra cotta trim. The basement, first and second floors housed The Home Company, Ashland's leading department store, until 1970, while the upper floors held professional offices and tradespeople. Local newspapers of the time highlighted an elevator, electric lighting, and a pneumatic cash carrier, features modeled on the finest stores in Cleveland and Columbus. A local firm used the retail floors until 1975, after which the building sat vacant. Its windows are now boarded and its interior is badly deteriorated. It was listed for its role in the city's retail history and as the best remaining local example of the Commercial Style, standing apart from the surrounding Italianate buildings.","period_of_significance":"1910-1946","architect_builder":"WOLF, JACOB Builder","architectural_style":"Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as dilapidated and vacant for over 20 years, with windows missing or boarded with plywood and interior deterioration; the function is listed as work in progress.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.786534-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/96001620.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001620/3c4a745dcb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001620/3c4a745dcb-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Myers_Block-Home_Company_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Myers_Block-Home_Company_Building.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"93000397","name":"Center Street Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/center-street-historic-district-boundary-increase-93000397/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986629","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137593287"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/ashland-county/myers-block-home-company-building-96001620/"}