H.C. Pitney Variety Store Building | |
 | |
| Location | Tampico,Whiteside County,Illinois |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°37′53″N89°47′9″W / 41.63139°N 89.78583°W /41.63139; -89.78583 |
| Built | 1900 |
| Part of | Main Street Historic District (Tampico, Illinois) (ID882002602[1]) |
| Added to NRHP | June 3, 1982 |
TheH.C. Pitney Variety Store Building is acommercial building in downtownTampico, Illinois, United States, constructed in 1900. The building is part of a two-story commercial block along Main Street.
Between 1919 and 1920, H.C. Pitney operated the building as the H.C. Pitney Variety Store, and the second-floor apartment was occupied by the family of 40th U.S. PresidentRonald Reagan. It is listed as acontributing property to theTampico Main Street Historic District, which was added to the U.S.National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The building, consisting of two store fronts, was erected by Ray McKenzie in 1900.[2] The H.C. Pitney Variety Store occupied the property, under various owners, from 1911 until 1920.[2][3] H.C. Pitney owned the store from 1911 until 1914, when he sold it. During his first period of ownership, Pitney employedJack Reagan, the father of 40th U.S. PresidentRonald Reagan, as a clerk.[3][4] WhileJack Reagan was employed by Pitney, Ronald was born in the apartment over a bakery/restaurant building at 109 Main Street, across Main Street from theVariety Store.[5] After Pitney sold the store in 1914, the Reagans left Tampico.[3]
In 1919, Pitney returned to ownership of the Variety Store and Jack Reagan returned at the same time to work for him. Beginning on August 25, 1919, the Reagan family occupied theapartment above the commercial portion of the building.[3] After Pitney closed the store, the Reagans vacated the premises in December 1920 and moved toDixon, Illinois.[2]
The building once occupied by the H.C. Pitney Variety Store is part of a commercial block and it stands connected to the building next to it. Of the two structures in the block the Pitney Store is the newer; the other building was built a year earlier. The two-story brick building features a metalcornice and two storefronts listed at different addresses. The first store front, at 124 Main Street is 3 bays wide and the second, at 122 Main Street, is 4 bays wide. The building's windows are flat headed and have stonelintels andsills. The storefronts are still intact but the original windows have been boarded over and painted.[2]
The family ofRonald Reagan occupied the second floor apartment at the H.C. Pitney Variety Store from August 1919 until December 1920. The building was listed as a "significant"contributing property to theTampico Main Street Historic District when it joined the U.S.National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 1982.[1]
