Eldorado City Hall
Why it's listed
Built in 1924 on the site of the old Womack Hotel, Eldorado's city hall at Locust and First Streets was designed by H. E. Boyle & Co. of Evansville, Indiana, and constructed by Miller and Simpson using Albion shale brick. The 46-by-60-foot, three-story Classical Revival building has a hipped roof with wide eaves, brick quoins, a concrete stringcourse and triple windows across its front. When it opened, it held the jail and fire station on the first floor, council chambers and municipal offices on the second, and the court room and the town's first public library on the third. The council first met there in June 1924, and the dedication drew a crowd that filled the court room and corridors. Renovations in 1954 altered the front steps, fire station entrance and some windows, and the third floor later served as a teen gathering place. Its interior tin ceilings survive, and rooms are being adapted for museum, meeting and tourist information uses. It was listed for its role in local government.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is significant under Criterion A in the area of politics and government. It housed city offices, council chambers, the jail, the fire station, the city court and a public library from 1924 onward. It reflects the civic life of Eldorado, a mining and farming town, in the 1920s and after.
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 95001237, listed November 7, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1604 Locust St., Eldorado |
|---|---|
| County | Saline County |
| Listed | November 7, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95001237 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1924-1945 |
| Architect / builder | H.E. Boyle & Co., Architects; Miller & Simpson, Contractors |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed under current function as work in progress, with recreation/culture/museum use; rooms are being adapted as a meeting room, tourist information center, chamber of commerce offices and museum space. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 37.81240, -88.44225 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 95001237.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16890984
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.