State & Main Building
211 W. State St. Rockford, IL 61101.
State & Main Building
Rockford's downtown was built in brick by the 1880s, and this two-story block at 211 West State was already standing when the city's fire insurance maps were drawn in 1887. It was put up as a commercial block with its upper floor over the street, in a row of buildings that filled the north side of West State between Main and Wyman.
It carried the name Stein's Block for years. Like most State Street storefronts, it was built on iron posts rather than solid masonry at the ground floor, which is why the front could be taken off and replaced so many times without touching the building behind it. The Art Deco face it wears today is one of those changes — the brick block it covers is the original.
Urban Equity Properties has brought the building back into use. A Starbucks anchors the ground floor, with further shops and loft offices to follow.
