"The Central/North Commercial Historic District contains twenty-four buildings in an irregular pattern along Main Street, North Second Street, North Third Street, North Fourth Street, Faraon Street, Jules Street, and Francis Street in downtown St. Joseph, Missouri. Eighteen buildings contribute to the district and one has been previously listed. Through their location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, these buildings possess a high degree of integrity, and convey a sense of history from St. Joseph's commercial heyday as a nationally prominent warehouse/distribution center.
The nominated district is the northern remnant of what was once a large, continuous wholesale/commercial area, and is adjacent to the Wholesale Row Historic District (NR:9/19/77) on Fourth Street between Jules and Francis streets and across from the Buchanan County Courthouse (NR: 8/21/72). This district comprises a distinct section, related by use and style, in an area west of the central business district, east of the Missouri River, north of an urban renewal project, and south of a residential neighborhood. Urban renewal activities culminated in 1973 with the demolition of the Market Square area, a significant concentration of wholesale/commercial buildings in St. Joseph. A modern civic center, hotel, and vacant, undeveloped land now separate the Central/North Commercial Historic District from the South Fourth Street Commercial Historic District.
This district relates to the associated historic context, "Queen City of the West: Commerce in St. Joseph, c. 1865-1929," which is an amendment to the Multiple Property Documentation form, "Historic Resources of St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri." The buildings in this district represent three of the four property types defined in the associated historic context: warehouse/light manufacturing facilities, commercial blocks (small scale), and service-related facilities."