Uptown Plaza contributes as two properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 113 and 115 North College Avenue. The Courthouse Square Historic District reflects its historic makeup of limestone commercial development in south-central Indiana since 1827.
Indiana limestone gained national and international prominence as a building material due to its appearance and workability. From the 1870s – 1890s, the building industry’s desire for limestone gained momentum after the Chicago fire of 1871, and as the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style, primarily built with stone, grew in popularity.
The 1890s led to another boost for the limestone industry because of improvements such as electric power and machinery for quarrying and milling the stone. At the turn of the century, buildings around Bloomington’s square began to be built with limestone. The Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893 is credited with introducing the national trend of building civic structures out of stone in the Beaux Arts architectural style, which continued well into the 1920s. Bloomington’s civic buildings constructed between 1907 – 1936 were built similarly with limestone.
Of the buildings CFC Properties, a real estate development and property management company, owns, or did own, several were constructed of limestone. Notable properties on the downtown square include the north side of Uptown Plaza (115 North College Avenue), the Chase Building, several buildings that collectively make up Fountain Square, and the Wicks Building. In addition, One City Centre, one block north of the square, also has a limestone exterior.
Uptown Plaza was built in 1929. CFC Properties renovated the property in 1985 and later contributed additional investments into the property in 2015. The building offers 19,000 square feet of leasable space for retail and commercial tenants.
