{"nrhp_refnum":"05000109","name":"Chicago Club","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"81 East Van Buren St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.876960248000046,"lon":-87.62470058499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-02-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce","Social History","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An eight-story Romanesque Revival clubhouse at 81 East Van Buren Street, at the corner of South Michigan Avenue in Chicago's Loop, built 1927-1929 to designs by Alfred H. Granger and John C. Bollenbacher.","why_significant":"The building houses the Chicago Club, one of the city's oldest and most prominent social clubs, founded in the 1860s-1870s era of club formation. It replaced the club's earlier home, the Burnham & Root Art Institute building, and was the last structure built along South Michigan Avenue before the Depression. Its exterior and public interiors remain highly intact.","narrative":"Standing at the southwest corner of Van Buren Street and South Michigan Avenue, this eight-story clubhouse faces Grant Park in Chicago's Loop. It was built in two stages: an annex finished in 1927-28, then the main building after the club's earlier home, the former Art Institute building purchased in 1891, collapsed in June 1928 during rehabilitation. Architects Alfred H. Granger and John C. Bollenbacher kept the Romanesque Revival style so the two parts would match. Walls combine polished granite at the base with rough-faced brownstone above, along with terra cotta trim, bronze storefronts and a large bronze entrance canopy. Some capitals and rondels echo or reuse elements from the earlier Burnham & Root building. Inside are a lobby, two-story lounge, library, grill, dining room, meeting rooms and bedrooms, most retaining original finishes. Completed in 1929, it was the last building constructed on this stretch of Michigan Avenue until 1958, and it houses one of Chicago's longest-established social clubs.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Alfred H. Granger and John C. Bollenbacher (architects); Edward L. Scheidenhelm (contractor)","architectural_style":"Romanesque (Romanesque Revival)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a social clubhouse; interior public spaces described as having excellent integrity and being continually refurbished and restored.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.714711-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/76/8922/28892276/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/05000109.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000109/7e47e51adb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000109/7e47e51adb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"ajay_suresh","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Chicago_Club_(51575328934).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">ajay_suresh</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Chicago_Club_(51575328934).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892276","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Club","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5095544"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/chicago-club-05000109/"}