50-60 W Market St

From the National Register nomination

Tudor Revival/Art Deco two-story building of L form with a principal south facade on W. Market St. and a secondary west facade on S. Liberty St. Most visible brickwork is American bond. On the now-exposed west side the brick changes from brown on the first story to red on the second story, either an indication of different periods of construction or of the use of different brick lots. The south facade is defined by façade piers that rise from grade or from the top edges of three large segmental arches over the first-story showroom windows. At the parapet level the piers are banded, and there are stucco or concrete panels between them. The panels have blue and gold glazed tile borders and accents which survive in part. The second-story industrial metal-frame windows on this facade and others have been replaced with modern plate glass. The segmental arches are heavily molded granitic terra cotta. Under them are translux transoms with Rockingham Motor Co. spelled out in medieval letters in blue stained glass. In the center of the transoms are cruciform figures with Tudor roses at their centers and the ends of their arms composed of white, green, red and blue stained glass. Below the transoms are replacement aluminum and plate glass windows. The principal entry at the west front corner is recessed and occupies the location of a former garage door. The upstairs entry at the east front corner has an opening with a granitic terra-cotta segmental arch that bears a shield with an RMCo. anagram and a lion head. On the façade above is a smaller shield with an ornate Gothic "F" and in the parapet above is another shield with a 1920s-vintage tire figure. The west façade has granitic terra-cotta segmental arches which retain their translux transoms with floral cross figures but which have ca. 2000 simulation stucco underneath. The north elevation, which faces W. Graham St., has ca. 2000 reproduction concrete plaques with the RMCo. and tire figures. The entry to a ramp to the second floor formerly occupied the east end of this elevation. The Rockingham Motor Co. was incorporated June 26, 1919 and purchased part of the site in November 1919. William and Samuel Collins of the Staunton architectural firm T. J. Collins & Son began the preparation of drawings in February 1920. (The 1918 Sanborn map shows a two-story garage at the site of the W. Market wing, but the relationship of this building to the 1919 company is unknown.) An early advertisement declared the company the "largest Ford repair shop in the Valley," and boasted of a "modern fireproof garage" with a 250-car capacity. The business was purchased by Bernard H. Arey in 1934 (one account states 1948) and was owned by him until 1964. The auto dealership moved out of the building in 1965. Now Ragtime Fabrics (first story) and Moseley Architects (second story). (Bev Appleton; Suter and Lyon, Images of America: Harrisonburg, 105; Baugh et al, "Rockingham Motor Company Building")