Commercial buildings were shaped and influenced by fashionable architectural styles just as residential structures were. The earliest commercial buildings were constructed of wood. But after many disastrous fires, most communities were ready to use more fireproof materials and changed over to brick and stone. Because of this change to a more permanent building material, historic commercial buildings are still present in most communities.
As time passed, the buildings were remodeled in various ways to reflect changing styles and fashions. It would have been too costly to remodel an entire building over into a new style of architecture, so the owner typically limited the remodeling to the area that most customers saw: the first-story storefront entrance.
Because of this most downtowns display a combination of architectural styles that reflect the many years of commercial activity of the location. Most communities have examples of the following architectural styles in their historic commercial areas.
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