{"nrhp_refnum":"02000099","name":"Aquitania, The","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5000 Marine Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.97357128700003,"lon":-87.65143935899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-03-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A fifteen-story, 82-unit courtyard apartment building at 5000 Marine Drive in the Uptown community area of Chicago, designed in 1923 by architects Ralph C. Harris and Byron H. Jillson for developer George K. Spoor.","why_significant":"The document presents the building as a well-preserved example of a 1920s \"better class\" lakefront apartment building in Classical Revival style. It also notes that the ground-floor public spaces were redone in Art Moderne style in 1941 and retain excellent integrity. It is tied to George K. Spoor, founder of Essanay Studios, and to the apartment boom along Lake Michigan and Lincoln Park.","narrative":"Rising fifteen stories at the northwest corner of Marine Drive and Argyle Street in Chicago's Uptown area, this courtyard apartment building was designed in 1922-23 by architects Ralph C. Harris and Byron H. Jillson for George K. Spoor, the founder of Essanay Studios. Its U-shaped plan opens east toward Lincoln Park and Lake Michigan. The red brick exterior carries limestone and terra cotta trim in Classical Revival style, arranged in a base, shaft and capital, with pilasters, swags, urns and pediments. Its 82 apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms, were marketed as a better class of housing. In 1941 the east entrance was remodeled by architect Louis R. Solomon, and the ground-floor public rooms were redone in Art Moderne style by Smith & Herman, keeping murals and light fixtures. Lost features include a roofline parapet with urns and balconette balustrades. The building is valued for its architecture, its excellent integrity and its place in the 1920s lakefront apartment boom.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Ralph C. Harris and Byron H. Jillson (architects); Louis R. Solomon (1941 remodeling of entrance); Smith & Herman (1941 interior decoration)","architectural_style":"Classical Revival; Moderne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as multiple-dwelling apartments. Exterior and first-floor public spaces are described as intact since 1941, apart from removed terra cotta parapet and balustrades.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.42542-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/86/8925/28892586/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/02000099.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000099/cbdc6961bb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000099/cbdc6961bb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Zol87 from Chicago, Illinois, USA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aquitania,_Chicago.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Zol87 from Chicago, Illinois, USA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aquitania,_Chicago.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892586","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aquitania","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7714123"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/aquitania-the-02000099/"}