The Knuessl Building is a historic mid-19th Century commercial building

Commercial building

A commercial building is a building that is used for commercial use. Types can include office buildings, warehouses, or retail . In urban locations, a commercial building often combines functions, such as an office on levels 2-10, with retail on floor 1...

 in downtown Ottawa, Illinois

Ottawa, Illinois

Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 18,786...

. It was built around 1868 by a local pharmacist. The Knuessl Building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

History

The Knuessl Building was built for Maxmillion Knuessl, a German-born Ottawan who came to the city in 1855. Knuessl was a trained druggist. The building served as his drugstore until his children later moved it in 1895, a few years after their father's death. The Knuessl Brothers Drug Store was in business into the 1940s. The structure has had many other uses through the years, including housing other businesses, churches, and storage.

Architecture

The Knuessl Building is 34 feet (10.4 m) wide by 80 feet (24.4 m) long and stands 54 feet (16.5 m) tall. It is the most prominent structure in a block of commercial buildings along West Main Street in Ottawa. The front elevation is divided by a center staircase leading to the upper floors and creating two storefronts. In 1912 the building underwent some alterations which moved the storefront entrances from centered, to either side, creating a single, large display area for each storefront. The Knuessl Building is an example of the transition from wood-framed building construction to masonry construction in the 1860s. The building represents a mid-19th century commercial building design meant to evoke the Italian Renaissance

Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...

 known as Italianate.

Historic significance

The Knuessl Building and the building adjacent it are the only two in the commercial block that retain much of their front facade details and ornamentation, especially their cornice

Cornice

Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...

s, arched windows and storefronts. The Knuessl is one of the most intact mid-19th century buildings in Ottawa. It is a locally significant example of a mid-19th century commercial design, Italianate, and was added to 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...

 on May 11, 1992.

External links

• Knuessl Building, Property Information Report, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
  Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
  The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is tasked with the duty of maintaining most State-owned historic sites within Illinois, and maximizing their educational and recreational value to visitors....
  
  , accessed May 16, 2008.