Celina Main Street Commercial Historic District
Why it's listed
Downtown Celina's Main Street district is a compact commercial core of about six acres, made up of a county courthouse, a city hall and forty-six commercial buildings. Most are brick and range from one to three stories. The oldest is believed to be the 1872 Riley Building, and the newest is a 1954 building. A fire in 1894 destroyed the west side of Main Street between Market and Fayette, and most of that area was rebuilt by the end of 1896, giving the district its cohesive turn-of-the-century look. The buildings show Italianate, Richardsonian Romanesque, Queen Anne, Chateauesque, Renaissance Revival and Neo-Classical Revival styles. The 1922 limestone courthouse, designed by Peter Hulsken of Lima, anchors the north end, and the 1890 Municipal Building remains in original condition. The district reflects Celina's role as a regional center of medicine, law, banking and politics, whose prominent residents invested in Main Street. Vacant lots and altered buildings interrupt the streetscape in places, and five buildings are considered non-contributing.
Significance in brief: The district preserves a largely unbroken turn-of-the-century commercial streetscape, much of it rebuilt after the great fire of 1894 destroyed the west side of Main Street. It displays a wide range of late Victorian and early twentieth-century styles. It also reflects Celina's role as a regional center whose leading citizens invested in downtown buildings.
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 82001474, listed November 30, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Walnut, W. Livingston, Ash and Warren Sts., Celina |
|---|---|
| County | Mercer County |
| Listed | November 30, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82001474 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Peter Hulsken of Lima (county courthouse); Charles G. Gable (builder of the Heirholzer Building and Lininger Block) |
| Architectural style | Italianate, Richardsonian Romanesque, Queen Anne, High Victorian, Renaissance Revival, Neo-Classical Revival, Chateauesque |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Mostly occupied commercial buildings; two large vacant lots at Main and Fayette where two buildings burned in 1978, and an abandoned service station at Main and East Livingston. Five buildings are non-contributing. |
| Acreage | 6 |
| Coordinates | 40.54862, -84.57045 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 82001474.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.