Union Block
Also known as: Beltone-Sportsmans Grill-Anthony Bros.-Unoccupied
Why it's listed
Union Block is a three-story brick commercial building at 28-38 Public Square in Lima, Ohio, dated to 1878. It occupies a prominent corner where Market Street meets the square, in the heart of downtown. The load-bearing brick walls have stone trim, iron posts on the first floor, arched windows with decorated lintels and radiating voussoirs, and a large projecting cast iron eave with brackets. Storefronts line the Market Street side, and an original cast iron railing and stair survive on the north side. Separate owners have treated the Public Square facade differently, while the Market Street side remains close to original. The building appears in an 1880 atlas and stands on the site of Lima's first hotel, run by the city's second white settler in 1831. It was listed as an outstanding example of Victorian commercial architecture from an early period of growth around the public square.
Significance in brief: The review comments call it an outstanding example of Victorian commercial architecture from one of the early periods of development that shaped the city's commercial center around the public square. The inventory also notes its original cast iron railing and stair on the north side. The site was earlier occupied by the first hotel in Lima.
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 82001355, listed October 7, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 28-38 Public Sq., Lima |
|---|---|
| County | Allen County |
| Listed | October 7, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82001355 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Victorian Commercial |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Inventory lists interior and exterior condition as fair; the present-name field includes "Unoccupied" alongside former tenant names, and the owner of one section was interested in converting upper floors to apartments. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.73972, -84.10479 (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 82001355.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7885428
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.