{"nrhp_refnum":"09000024","name":"Inland Steel Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"30 W. Monroe St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.880748408000045,"lon":-87.62867866999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-02-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An office skyscraper at 30 West Monroe Street in Chicago's Loop, completed in 1958 and designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill with Bruce Graham and Walter Netsch. It has a nineteen-story office tower and a separate twenty-five-story windowless service tower.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it was the first modern glass skyscraper in downtown Chicago and the first major Loop building since 1934, bringing the International Style to the city. It was also the first Chicago skyscraper by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill and an early example of the firm's total design approach. It is also linked to the Inland Steel Company and the twentieth-century steel industry.","narrative":"Rising at 30 West Monroe Street in Chicago's Loop, this 1958 office building combines a nineteen-story tower with a separate windowless service tower holding elevators, stairs and mechanical systems. Designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, with Bruce Graham and Walter Netsch, it has a stainless steel and glass curtain wall, and its structural columns stand outside the glass so that the office floors are free of interior supports. Cellular steel floors carried electrical and telephone lines, and movable partitions allowed flexible layouts. It was the first modern glass skyscraper in downtown Chicago and the first major Loop building since 1934, and it brought the International Style to the city. It was also the first Chicago skyscraper by its architecture firm and was built as headquarters for the Inland Steel Company, then one of the country's largest steel producers. Despite many tenant changes and a 1990 lobby renovation, much original fabric survives, including ceilings, floor systems and glass. It remains in office use.","period_of_significance":"1956-1958","architect_builder":"Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill; Bruce Graham and Walter Netsch","architectural_style":"International Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as well maintained and remarkably intact, with extensively reconfigured tenant spaces; the 13th and 19th floors have lost their original design. It is still used as an office building.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.319635-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/20/8924/28892420/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/09000024.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000024/ea2295a21c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000024/ea2295a21c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Bill Bobzien","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inland_Steel_Building_2007_05_21.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bill Bobzien</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inland_Steel_Building_2007_05_21.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"98001351","name":"Loop Retail Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/loop-retail-historic-district-98001351/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892420","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inland_Steel_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3151358"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/inland-steel-building-09000024/"}