{"nrhp_refnum":"03000538","name":"Produce Terminal Cold Storage Company Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1550 South Blue Island Av.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.86160704800005,"lon":-87.65790142299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-06-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An eleven-story Art Deco cold storage warehouse with attached office and loft space at 1550 South Blue Island Avenue, Chicago, built 1928-1929 and designed by Henschien & McLaren.","why_significant":"The building is argued to be significant locally under Criterion A for its role in Chicago's food collecting, processing, storing and distributing economy, and under Criterion C for its architecture. It was noted for its size, innovative planning and Art Deco ornament. It is described as the most important surviving Henschien-designed building in Chicago.","narrative":"Rising eleven stories southwest of downtown Chicago, this 1928-1929 building combined a cold storage plant with office and mercantile loft space. Architects Henschien & McLaren gave it a concrete frame, limestone base, and a crown of terra cotta chevrons, Egyptian-style colonettes and a black marble entrance, a lively contrast to the plain exteriors of most cold storage warehouses. Its planning was also notable: trucks loaded from an interior driveway, and trains entered at the third floor. The building was part of development spurred by the relocation of the South Water Street produce market and reflects Chicago's position as a major food distribution center, with unmatched cold storage capacity. H. Peter Henschien was a recognized expert on cold storage design, and this is considered his most important surviving Chicago work. The building is vacant, and many windows in the eastern section were replaced with cinderblock, but its form, plan and style remain clear. Original refrigeration equipment largely remains in the basement.","period_of_significance":"1929-1952","architect_builder":"Henschien, H. Peter, architect; McLaren, Robert J., architect","architectural_style":"Modern Movement/Art Deco; Other: Cold Storage Warehouse","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Vacant; a rehabilitation is planned that would reintroduce metal sash windows. Most windows on the eastern section were removed and filled with cinderblock.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.770352-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/8925/28892551/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/03000538.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000538/bd10ad5b59-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000538/bd10ad5b59-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Andrew Jameson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Produce_Terminal_Cold_Storage_Company_Building_Chicago_IL.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Andrew Jameson</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Produce_Terminal_Cold_Storage_Company_Building_Chicago_IL.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"12000040","name":"Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/chicago-park-boulevard-system-historic-district-12000040/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892551","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Produce_Terminal_Cold_Storage_Company_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65117649"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/produce-terminal-cold-storage-company-building-03000538/"}