{"nrhp_refnum":"02000543","name":"Wooden Alley","other_names":["Alley between Astor and State Streets"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"1535 N bet. Astor and State Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.912823927000034,"lon":-87.62827067599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-05-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-block wooden-paved alley, 530 feet long and 18 feet wide, running between Astor and State Streets near 1535 North in Chicago, Illinois. It was built in 1909 with creosote-treated cedar blocks.","why_significant":"The alley is argued to be significant under Criterion C as a rare surviving example of wooden block paving, once Chicago's predominant street paving method. Only two wooden alleys are known to survive in the city, and this one is far better preserved. It illustrates the engineering, public works and lumber-market history behind Chicago's growth.","narrative":"This 530-foot alley between Astor and State Streets in Chicago's Gold Coast is paved with creosote-treated cedar blocks laid in 1909. The blocks are four inches thick and wide, set in parallel lines across the 18-foot width, with asphalt at each end and a few asphalt patches. Alexander Todd was the paving subcontractor, and the work cost $3,343.96. It was built when wood paving was nearly obsolete; only eight alleys paved that year used it. Wooden block paving was once Chicago's main street surface, favored because the city's huge lumber market made wood cheap. Changes in lumber supply and in how property owners could pay assessments led the city to move to other materials. Only one other wooden alley is known in the city, a roughly 100-foot stretch on Hudson Street in much poorer shape. The alley's good condition and its setting among homes built from 1880 to 1916 make it the best surviving example of this paving type.","period_of_significance":"1909","architect_builder":"Todd, Alexander, subcontractor","architectural_style":"Other: Wooden Block Paving; Nicholsonesque Paving","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in good to exemplary condition, with some asphalt patches and a few small areas of poor repair; still in road-related use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.567714-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/4/8926/28892604/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/02000543.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000543/a8815de592-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000543/a8815de592-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jim Roberts","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Wooden_Alley.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim Roberts</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Wooden_Alley.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"94001029","name":"Lincoln Park","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/lincoln-park-94001029/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892604","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_Alley","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48848411"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/wooden-alley-02000543/"}