GREENVILLE

State agency backs downtown distinction

Downtown Greenville property owners would get a chance at tax credits and grants to restore their buildings, if the National Park Service follows the recommendation of the state Historical and Museum Commission.

The Review Board of the state Historical and Museum Commission this week recommended downtown -- or the Greenville Commercial Historic District -- be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, said John Robinson, commissioner press secretary.

The recommendation goes to the National Park Service, which will decide if the area is worthy of a listing on the register.

The recommendation is the result of a three-year effort by Greenville Historical Commission. Its chairwoman, Gwen Lininger, sought the review by the state Historical and Museum Commission and applied for the designation.

The district is centered roughly in the downtown portions of Main, Canal and Clinton streets. Rebuilding after destructive fires in 1871 and 1873 resulted in a distinctively strong influence of late Victorian architectural styles, the application said.

The application cites the Queen Anne/Gothic Revival style of the Masonic Building at the corner of Main and North Mercer streets, the Italianate style of the Packard Commercial Building at the corner of Main and Canal streets, the Art Deco style of the N.N. Moss Building, which began as a theater at the corner of Main and North Race streets, and the Neo-Classical style of the Post Office, which was a 1930s Works Progress Administration project. Also cited were the 1905 Bessemer and Lake Erie train depot on Canal Street.

There are not enough mid-20th century buildings to mar the concentration of late Victorian era buildings, the application said.

Besides the prestige, the possibility of a listing on the National Register of Historic Places comes as Greenville is about to undertake an urban landscaping project as part of a downtown revitalization effort. State grants are funding decorative street lighting, street and sidewalk improvements.

The borough wouldn’t see any more grants as a result of a listing, said Peter D. Nicoloff Jr., borough manager.

However, he said the designation will help the downtown work. Property owners can seek individual grants and tax credits to fix up buildings to conform with the historical district, he said.

If downtown Greenville gets the designation, a 1980s project may be revived. "We will be looking at revitalization the Main Street Manager program," Nicoloff said. The federally funded program provides grants for coordinated building facade restoration.