Payjack Chevrolet Building
Also known as: Hartway Chevrolet Building
Why it's listed
Built in 1949 at 320 North Main Street in Medina, this one-story concrete block building was designed as a Chevrolet dealership and still serves that purpose. Owner Frank Payjack worked with local builder Frank Balcerzak and drew on the General Motors guide Planning Automobile Dealer Properties. The showroom shows Streamline Moderne features: smooth white stucco, a windowless upper facade for signage, and a symmetrical glass-and-aluminum storefront with curved corners. Behind it are an office, parts department, mezzanine storage, a large service area and a vehicle entry bay, with original rolled steel windows. Set back from the street behind a lawn, its modern look contrasted with Medina's older commercial buildings. It was listed for its role in the village's auto-oriented businesses, which clustered at the northern edge of downtown, and as a highly intact example of a postwar dealership built to General Motors' design principles. The period of significance runs from 1949 to 1962.
Significance in brief: The building is argued to be significant under Criterion A for its link to Medina's twentieth-century auto sales and service industry, as one of the few remaining businesses from a cluster of dealerships at the north edge of downtown. It is also significant under Criterion C as a highly intact 1940s dealership built following General Motors' post-war design guide, Planning Automobile Dealer Properties.
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 12000259, listed May 8, 2012. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 320 N. Main St., Medina |
|---|---|
| County | Orleans County |
| Listed | May 8, 2012 |
| Reference number | 12000259 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1949-1962 |
| Architect / builder | General Motors Corporation (listed on the form); the text also names Frank Balcerzak as builder, working with owner Frank Payjack, with no architect recalled |
| Architectural style | Moderne (Streamline Moderne) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a Chevrolet dealership (Hartway Chevrolet) with showroom, parts and service functions; the storefront glass was replaced about ten years earlier to match the original. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | New York State Barge Canal |
| Coordinates | 43.22454, -78.38769 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 12000259.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q23091990
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.