{"nrhp_refnum":"04001301","name":"University Apartments","other_names":["University Park Condominiums"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1401 and 1451 E. 55th St.;1401 and 1450 E. 55th Place","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.79700775300003,"lon":-87.59093465567358,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-12-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Social History","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two identical ten-story poured-concrete apartment towers at 1401 and 1451 East 55th Street and 1400 and 1450 East 55th Place in Chicago's Hyde Park, built 1959 to 1961 on a raised platform mall with a central garden court.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex meets Criteria A and C at the local level. It was the signature structure of the Hyde Park A urban renewal project, developed by William Zeckendorf's Webb and Knapp. It is an International Style design by I. M. Pei with Loewenberg and Loewenberg, notable for a load-bearing concrete screen wall that merges skin and structure.","narrative":"Two ten-story concrete towers, each 469 feet long, rise above a raised platform in the middle of East 55th Street in Chicago's Hyde Park. Built between 1959 and 1961 as middle-income rental housing, they were the centerpiece of the Hyde Park A slum clearance and redevelopment area, developed by William Zeckendorf's Webb and Knapp. I. M. Pei designed them with Loewenberg and Loewenberg in the International Style. Their load-bearing exterior wall of slender concrete columns and shallow beams frames deeply set arched windows, combining structure and facade in one element. The towers stand on pillars above a landscaped mall with a fountain, an arrangement drawing on Le Corbusier's idea of apartments set within parkland. Converted to condominiums in 1978, the complex gained security fencing, new security lobbies, and a swimming pool. It was listed for its role in postwar urban renewal and for its distinctive architecture, standing apart from the low townhouses and shopping center nearby.","period_of_significance":"1961","architect_builder":"Pei, I.M.","architectural_style":"Modern Movement/International Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in residential use as condominiums; converted from rentals in 1978, with security stations and lobbies added and a pool and bath house built, changes the form says did not affect integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.71945-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/6/8923/28892306/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/04001301.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001301/b099017332-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001301/b099017332-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TonyTheTiger","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20111110_University_Apartments.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">TonyTheTiger</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:20111110_University_Apartments.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"79000824","name":"Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/hyde-park-kenwood-historic-district-79000824/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892306","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Apartments_(Chicago)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17027982"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/university-apartments-04001301/"}