Beir, Anna, House
Why it's listed
This two-story brick house at 214 East Fourth Street in Greenville, Ohio, was built around 1865, at the end of the Civil War, by Conrad Beir, a tailor and part-time pastor of the German Methodist Church. It is a plain rectangular Victorian vernacular building on a stone rubble foundation, with a three-bay facade, six-over-six sash windows under stone lintels, and a stone doorway surround with a bracketed cornice. Its later significance comes from his daughter, Anna Beir, born in the house in 1873. She served 36 years as art supervisor in the Greenville schools and was the founding spirit of the Greenville Art Guild in 1937. After her death in 1939 the house passed to the City of Greenville as a bequest for an art museum. It remains city-owned and serves as a cultural center for the art guild, though the nomination noted the brickwork needed repointing.
Significance in brief: The house is a typical nineteenth-century middle-class tradesman's residence. It was also the home of Anna Beir, who founded the Greenville Art Guild in 1937 and supervised art in the city's schools for 36 years. She left the house to the City of Greenville for use as an art museum.
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 77001055, listed April 11, 1977. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 214 E. 4th St., Greenville |
|---|---|
| County | Darke County |
| Listed | April 11, 1977 |
| Reference number | 77001055 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Conrad Beir (builder, per the significance statement) |
| Architectural style | Victorian vernacular |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the City of Greenville; listed as occupied and used as a museum and cultural center (art guild). The description notes the brick needs repointing and the structure is seriously in need of maintenance. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.10222, -84.62979 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 77001055.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4766842
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.