Brown Building, also known as the Ream Building, is a historic commercial building located at Morgantown

Morgantown, West Virginia

Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...

, Monongalia County, West Virginia

Monongalia County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 81,866 people, 33,446 households, and 18,495 families residing in the county. The population density was 227 people per square mile . There were 36,695 housing units at an average density of 102 per square mile...

. It was designed in 1898 by noted Morgantown architect Elmer F. Jacobs

Elmer F. Jacobs

Elmer F. Jacobs was a Morgantown, West Virginia-based architect.He graduated from West Virginia University worked under J. I. Beatty, one of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's, best known architects. He came to Morgantown in 1893 and set up business. He was the leading residential architect in Morgantown,...

. It is a four-story eclectic style brick building. It has a flat roof and projecting cornice. It has a ball finial

Finial

The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...

s and parapet centered on the front facade. It features polychromatic brick detailing, accentuated bays and a triads of double-sash windows

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1985. It is located in the Downtown Morgantown Historic District

Downtown Morgantown Historic District

Downtown Morgantown Historic District is a national historic district located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The district originally included 122 contributing buildings and 2 contributing sites in the central business district and surrounding residential areas of Morgantown. ...

, listed in 1996.