Plymouth Downtown Historic District is a national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Marshall County, Indiana Marshall County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. Census 2020 recorded the population at 46,095. The county seat (and only city) is Plymouth. History The Indiana State Legislature passed an omnibus county bill on 7 February 1835 that a ...

, United States. The district encompasses 47 contributing buildings and one contributing structure in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of Plymouth. It developed between about 1870 and 1940, and includes examples of

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

, and

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

style architecture. Located in the district is the separately listed

Plymouth Fire Station Plymouth Fire Station is a historic fire station located at Plymouth, Marshall County, Indiana. It was built in 1875, and is a two-story, painted brick building with a 59-foot tall bell tower. It features round-arched pedestrian entrances and ba ...

. Other notable buildings include the Montgomery Ward Building (1929), Metsker Block (c. 1910), Rentschler Building (1910), Early Plymouth Post Office (1884), First National Bank-Plymouth City Hall (1879, 1916), Packard Bank Block (1879), Simons Building (1895), Wheeler Block (c. 1865), Bank Block (c. 1880), Bank Block-Masonic Temple (1901), Plymouth Post Office (1935), and Plymouth Motor Sales (1929). ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1998. The Historic District comprises approximately four blocks of the original plat of Plymouth, laid out in 1834. The town is situated on the high north and west banks of the Yellow River, and along the north-south alignment of the Michigan Road. The district consists of generally continuous facade lines of masonry constructed commercial structures built from about 1870 to 1960. With few exceptions, the buildings retain a high level of integrity to their original appearance.Plymouth Downtown Historic District; National Register of Historic Places Registration Form; Kurt West Garner, Plymouth National Register Committee, Marshall County Historical Society; United States Department of the Interior; National Park Service; Washington, D.C.; Dec 12, 1998

History

When Center Township was organized in February 1836,

was chosen as the county seat. It consisted of a few log houses. Growth was slow until the railroads arrived in the 1850s. Center Township's economy was based on agriculture which expanded with the railroads, and Plymouth developed as a commercial center. The Downtown Historic District reflects that development and growth. The

Michigan Road The Michigan Road was one of the earliest roads in Indiana. Roads in early Indiana were often roads in name only. In actuality they were sometimes little more than crude paths following old animal and Native American trails and filled with sinkhol ...

was built from the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, through

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

through Plymouth and

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

in the 1800s. It had a right-of-way of . In Plymouth, main commercial blocks formed along the line of the right-of-way. Michigan Street was and remains the principal commercial corridor.

Location and description

The district extends along the Michigan Road, now Michigan Street. The cross street at the southern end of the district is the LaPorte Trail or LaPorte Street, which runs between the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

Depot on the west and the East Laporte Street Footbridge (National Register) on the east, over the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

. Garro Street bi-sects the district. Just east of the district, Garro Street ends at the Yellow River, across from Lincoln High School, noted for its landscaping by

Jens Jensen Jens Jensen may refer to: * Jens Jensen (footballer) (1890–1957), Danish football (soccer) player who played one game for the Denmark national football team * Jens Jensen (landscape architect) (1860–1951), Danish-born landscape architect in Chic ...

. The north end of the district is along Washington Street. The width of Michigan Street allowed for wide sidewalks and angled parking. Over 90% of the buildings are two story structures, of in height. The facades are continuous, without a gap within the district. The eastern boundary (Water Street) and the western boundary (Central Street) have right-of-ways. Water Street consists principally of one story, twentieth century functional structures and is primarily commercial in nature.

Notable buildings

Buildings have been identified in order of significance: C = Contributing towards the historic character of the district; N = Notable for preservation and architectural style; O = Outstanding structure that may have significant historic values to be designated an historic property on its own. * West Garro Street (North Side) ** 124 Post Office; Colonial Revival, 1935 (Joe H. Wildermuth, architect) (C) * West La Porte Street (South Side) ** 111 - Centennial Opera House; Italianate, 109 1876 (N) * North Center Street (East Side) ** 108 House; Gable-front/Gothic Revival, c.1870 (N) ** 220 Plymouth Fire Station; Italianate, 1875 (Robert McCance and William P. Beaton, builders) (O) * North Michigan Street (West Side) ** 101 - Richard Building; Neoclassical, 103 c.1910 (C) ** 123 Lauer Building; Neoclassical, 1910 (N) ** 201-203 Bank Block/Masonic Temple; Neoclassical, 1901 (N) ** 205 Bergman Building; Italianate, c.1890 (C) ** 209-211 Rialto Theatre; Twentieth Century Functional, c.1920 (C) ** 213-215 T and B Block; Neoclassical, c.1910 (N) * North Michigan Street (East Side) ** 102 Rees Theatre; Art Deco, 1940 (Alves O'Keefe, architect) (N) ** 120 Commercial Building; Italianate, c.1885 (N) ** 124 First National Bank; Neoclassical, 1879/1916 (W. S. Mathews, architect, 1879 section) (O) (City Bldg 20160) ** 204 Rentschler Building; Neoclassical, c.1910 (N) ** 206 Reeve Block; Twentieth Century Functional, c.1910 (C) ** 210-212 Metsker Block; Neoclassical, c.1910 (N) ** 218- Disher-Shakes-Williams Building; 224 Neoclassical, c.1910 (N)

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Colonial Revival architecture in Indiana Romanesque Revival architecture in Indiana Italianate architecture in Indiana Historic districts in Marshall County, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Marshall County, Indiana

History

Location and description

Notable buildings

See also

References