{"nrhp_refnum":"03000786","name":"Washington Square Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Washington Square, N. Dearborn St., from W. Walton St. to W. Chicago Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.89822210950007,"lon":-87.63034118660731,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-08-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district in Chicago, Illinois, centered on Washington Square, a block-sized public park given to the city in 1842, and the surrounding churches, library, rowhouses and mansions built between 1875 and 1902 after the Chicago Fire.","why_significant":"The district is locally significant under Criterion A for Community Planning and Development as an example of a land subdivision with a set-aside park, and under Criterion C for Architecture. Its buildings show a range of post-Fire styles by many Chicago architects. They face the Square in a deliberate arrangement that defers to the park.","narrative":"Washington Square Historic District occupies part of Chicago's Near North Side around a 316-foot-square park. The American Land Company gave the block to the city in 1842 on condition that it be fenced and kept as a public square forever. The district includes 38 properties, 33 of them contributing, and all contributing buildings date from 1875 to 1902, when the area was rebuilt after the Chicago Fire. Facing the Square are the Newberry Library, designed by Henry Ives Cobb in 1892, and the former Unity Church, now a Scottish Rite Cathedral. Nearby are rowhouses, a former girls' seminary and mansions such as the Shufeldt, Carpenter, Taylor and Lynch houses. Styles include Italianate, Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque and Georgian Revival. The district was recognized for its role as a planned subdivision with a set-aside park and for the quality of its architecture by a cross-section of Chicago architects.","period_of_significance":"1842-1917","architect_builder":"Cobb, Henry Ives, architect; Treat and Foltz, architects; various other architects","architectural_style":"Italianate, Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival (also High Victorian Gothic, Georgian Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Some historic residences remain homes and others are used as offices; the Square remains an enclosed public open space. Current uses include library, religious facility and housing.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.535982-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/92/8909/28890992/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/03000786.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000786/ba894868cf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000786/ba894868cf-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TonyTheTiger at English Wikipedia (Original text: en:User:TonyTheTiger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Square_Park_%26_Newberry_Library.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">TonyTheTiger at English Wikipedia (Original text: en:User:TonyTheTiger)</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Washington_Square_Park_%26_Newberry_Library.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28890992","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Square_Park_(Chicago)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7972217"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/washington-square-historic-district-03000786/"}