Broom Building
Why it's listed
Standing at 701 Wheeling Avenue in Cambridge, Ohio, this three-story commercial building dates to about 1890. It is generally rectangular with a rounded southwest corner, and is built of common brick faced with press brick on the main elevations. Italianate in character, it combines flat-arched second-story windows with round-arched third-story windows, rock-faced stone sills and lintels, moulded brick trim, keystones, and a metal cornice with a panelled frieze, egg-and-dart moulding, consoles and foliated ornament. The word "Broom" appears in block letters on the corner below the cornice. The storefront has been heavily altered, though the upper exterior remains largely original. It was built for Adam Broom, a local grocer who ran his business there. In the early twentieth century it also housed the Practical Business College, and grocer William Harper operated from it from 1901 to 1917. It was listed for its architecture, as one of few remaining Italianate buildings on the city's main street.
Significance in brief: It is nominated for its architecture as one of very few Italianate structures left along the main thoroughfare of Cambridge. It shows typical Victorian Italianate features such as varied surface textures, tall windows, mixed flat and round arches, and a projecting cornice. Much of the city's locally important commercial architecture has been lost, so it represents late 19th-century building in the town.
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 83001976, listed February 17, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 701 Wheeling Ave., Cambridge |
|---|---|
| County | Guernsey County |
| Listed | February 17, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83001976 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1890 |
| Architectural style | Italianate (Victorian Italianate) |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as occupied and in commercial use; the storefront has been altered considerably, and a sensitive storefront redesign is planned as part of an overall rehabilitation. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Wheeling Avenue Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.02499, -81.59166 (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 83001976.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4975246
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.