Petersburg Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: See Also:Petersburg Historic District
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Why it's listed
Completed in August 1898, the Smoot Hotel occupies the northeast corner of the Petersburg courthouse square. William C. Smoot, a wealthy local businessman and former county sheriff, had an earlier small brick hotel demolished to make way for it, and Aaron Thomas White served as contractor. The three-story, flat-roofed building of unpainted pressed brick has arched upper windows, a rusticated first level, corbelled brickwork, terra-cotta medallions and a metal cornice framed by corner towers. It contained thirty guest rooms, a lobby with an oak staircase, and ground-floor shops. The hotel hosted club meetings, banquets and political receptions, and it ran a shuttle to the nearby Old Salem Chautauqua grounds. For years it was the tallest brick building in town. Later owners shifted it toward weekly lodging and informal dining, and it closed in late 1978. The district boundary was extended to include the hotel because it was an intact, prominent building that the original district nomination had omitted.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the hotel is a highly intact late nineteenth-century commercial building and one of the architectural keystones of the courthouse square, overlooked in the original district nomination. It also represents the central-city commercial hotel tied to rail travel and has a historic link to the Old Salem Chautauqua movement.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 86000138, listed January 31, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Smoot Hotel, corner of Sixth and Douglas, Petersburg |
|---|---|
| County | Menard County |
| Listed | January 31, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86000138 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Contractor: Aaron Thomas White; original owner William C. Smoot |
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival touches (arched windows, rusticated lower level, suggested corner towers) |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The hotel has been closed since late 1978. Some entryways have been altered with metal-framed doors and low stone walls, described as reversible. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Petersburg Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.01146, -89.84813 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 86000138.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14688018
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.