{"nrhp_refnum":"07000115","name":"Kankakee County Courthouse","other_names":["Courthouse Square"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"450 E. Court St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kankakee","county":"Kankakee County","state":"IL","lat":41.11927663000006,"lon":-87.86043348999993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-03-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Beaux Arts county courthouse at 450 East Court Street in Kankakee, Illinois, completed in 1912 on a full city block known as Courthouse Square. It is the third courthouse on the site and sits among several monuments.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A as the home of Kankakee County's government, on a block donated for a courthouse in 1853. It is significant under Criterion C as a fine example of Beaux Arts architecture designed by Chicago architect Zachery Taylor Davis. The grounds also hold commemorative monuments and markers tied to county history.","narrative":"Kankakee County's courthouse, completed in 1912, occupies a full city block in the center of the city's commercial district. It is the third courthouse built on the site, which was donated to the county in 1853 with the condition that it hold only a courthouse. Chicago architect Zachery Taylor Davis designed the three-story, symmetrical building in the Beaux Arts style, with buff Bedford limestone walls, Ionic columns, pedimented porticoes and a 140-foot dome with clocks on four sides. Inside, Italian marble lines the stairs and rotunda, and murals and stained glass decorate the dome. Courthouse Square also contains monuments, including a Civil War soldier statue from 1887, a 1905 boulder marking a Pottawatomi camping ground, and a 1918 concrete flag memorial. Listing recognizes the building's role in county government and its architecture. The exterior remains largely unchanged, and the building still serves the county.","period_of_significance":"Criterion A: 1912-1956; Criterion C: 1912","architect_builder":"Davis, Zachery Taylor - architect; Stilwell, W.F - builder","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts; Late 19th & 20th Century Revival / Italian Renaissance","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still serves as the county seat and courthouse; exterior remains virtually undisturbed, and the grounds are in excellent condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.097069-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/53/8932/28893253/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/07000115.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000115/ba394ad96c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000115/ba394ad96c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"MrHarman at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kankakee_County_Courthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">MrHarman at English Wikipedia</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kankakee_County_Courthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893253","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kankakee_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16851557"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kankakee-county/kankakee-county-courthouse-07000115/"}