Details
- Historic Name: 114-118 Witherspoon Street
- Address: 114-118 Witherspoon Street
- Tax Parcel: 1114_17.02_54
- Historic District: Witherspoon-Jackson
- Historic Style: Vernacular
- Historic Street: Witherspoon Street
- Classification: Contributing
- Number of Resources: 3
- Number of Stories: 2
- Material: Machine Shingle
- Historic Function: Domestic
- Current Function: Commerce
Description
This property contains three buildings: a commercial/residential building at 114 Witherspoon Street, a residential twin at 116-118 Witherspoon Street, and a small garage behind 118 Witherspoon Street.
The commercial/residential building at 114 Witherspoon Street is a 2- story rectangular house with gable end facing the street. The first floor of the two bay structure is a few steps up from street level. There are two entrance doors on the first floor to either side of a shop window. The right hand door leads to a second story apartment. The house has painted wood shingle siding, replacement one over one windows on the second floor and an original two over two wood window in the gable end.
The residential twin at 116-118 Witherspoon Street is a 2-story, 4-bay frame building with a 2-story rear ell section. Its end-gabled roof is clad with asphalt shingles. The frame walls are clad with machined shingles. Windows are replacement 1x1 double hung sash units with a symmetrical arrangement. On the main (east) elevation, doors in the center bay open into the separate interior units. The front porch extends along most of the wall surface; it has a shed roof supported by three thin square columns and pilasters along the wall; the columns are attached by a low railing. The rear ell section is aligned with the north wall of 118 Witherspoon Street; it has the same cladding as the core. Its windows are primarily paired 1x1 units. The house has a stone foundation.
The garage is a small front end gabled building located behind 118 Witherspoon Street.
History
The two houses on the property were constructed c. 1880. The houses do not appear on the historic maps up to 1875. The maps of 1890 and 1898 show the buildings set too far off Witherspoon Street; however, they are shown correctly on the Sanborn Atlas of 1895. The houses appear on all 20th century maps, atlases, and aerials. The house at 114 is the third location of the Gale’s Dry Cleaning. Mr. William Gale had his dry cleaning establishment in two locations before moving to this building. (Sources: HPC information)