{"nrhp_refnum":"98000470","name":"Western Illinois State Normal School Building","other_names":["Sherman Hall","Western Illinois University"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1 University Cir.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Macomb","county":"McDonough County","state":"IL","lat":40.46417242100006,"lon":-90.68356277599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-05-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Sherman Hall, the original main building of Western Illinois State Normal School (now Western Illinois University) at 1 University Circle, Macomb, Illinois, built 1900-1906 and listed with the connected Garwood Hall and the Power House.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the building as the first on the campus of a normal school established in 1899 to train teachers for western Illinois. It is also described as a notable Classical Revival design by state architect Robert Bruce Wilson. Its significance rests on its role in education and on its architecture, and the form says its integrity has been maintained through restorations.","narrative":"Sherman Hall, originally called the Main Building, anchors the Western Illinois University campus in Macomb. Construction began in 1900, students arrived in 1902, and the work was finished in 1906. State architect Robert Bruce Wilson designed the three-story Classical Revival building, and Tri-City Construction Company of Davenport, Iowa, built it. Berea sandstone faces the front and sides, a tetrastyle portico with Corinthian columns marks the entrance, and an octagonal lantern rises from the roof. Inside are marble lobbies, terrazzo floors, ornate plaster ceilings and a third-floor assembly hall seating 1,500. An enclosed walkway links it to Garwood Hall, built 1916-1919, and a power house stands nearby. The school was created in 1899 through the efforts of Lawrence Y. Sherman, Speaker of the Illinois House and a Macomb lawyer, to train teachers for western Illinois. Later restorations returned much of the building's original appearance.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Robert Bruce Wilson, state architect (Sherman Hall); Tri-City Construction Company of Davenport, Iowa (builders); James B. Dibelka, state architect, and contractor A. W. Stoolman of Champaign (Garwood Hall)","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Sherman Hall remains the main administrative building at Western Illinois University; Garwood Hall is currently the art building. Restorations were carried out between 1978 and 1995.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.661891-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/20/8936/28893620/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/98000470.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000470/4a11054e63-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000470/4a11054e63-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sherman_Hall.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sherman_Hall.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893620","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Hall_(Western_Illinois_University)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7495178"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/mcdonough-county/western-illinois-state-normal-school-building-98000470/"}