Shelby Center Historic District

Shelby's downtown commercial core, running along East and West Main Street, forms a district of mostly two- and three-story brick buildings from the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century. Italianate design dominates, with bracketed cornices, tall windows and stone lintels, alongside Queen Anne, Neo-Classical and Art Deco examples such as the 1910 Citizens Bank and the 1902 Masonic Temple, the city's tallest building. Many storefronts have been altered, though the streetscape remains largely intact and many changes are reversible. The district was recognized because few North Central Ohio communities keep such a dense group of late nineteenth century commercial buildings, without large gaps for parking or vacant lots. Shelby grew as a rail junction after 1846 and expanded again when the Shelby Steel Tube Company opened in 1891, spurring much of the 1890s downtown construction. Every building in the district was reported occupied, and downtown still serves as the area's commercial center.