{"nrhp_refnum":"12000243","name":"Cermak Road Bridge Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"W. Cermak Rd. & S. Branch of Chicago R.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.85600777400006,"lon":-87.64116403161162,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-05-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An 11.5-acre industrial district in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, where Cermak Road crosses the South Branch of the Chicago River. It holds four masonry factory and warehouse buildings from 1901 to circa 1924 and a 1906 steel rolling lift bridge.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the group as the city's only surviving ensemble of riverside industrial buildings clustered around a bridge, a type once common along the Chicago River. The Cermak Road Bridge is the last double-leaf Scherzer rolling lift bridge in Chicago. The buildings share consistent scale, setbacks, materials and detailing and were tied to the area's manufacturing and wholesale trade.","narrative":"Along Cermak Road where it crosses the South Branch of the Chicago River, a cluster of brick industrial buildings and a steel bridge survives from the city's riverfront manufacturing era. The district covers 11.5 acres and includes four buildings from 1901 to about 1924 and the 1906 Cermak Road Bridge. The buildings are a warehouse for Wendnagel & Company, the Western Shade Cloth Company Building, the Thomson & Taylor Spice Company Building and the W.M. Hoyt Company Building. They range from three to seven stories and are built close to the lot lines, with Prairie School and Late Gothic Revival detailing on some. The bridge is a double-leaf Scherzer rolling lift span and the last of its kind in Chicago. It was rehabilitated in 1998 and raised 2.5 feet. The district is described as the city's only remaining ensemble of this type, with buildings and bridge that retain their original appearance and good integrity.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Lockwood Greene & Co. (Western Shade Cloth Company Building); Chatten & Hammond (Thomson & Taylor Spice Company Building); Nimmons & Fellows (W.M. Hoyt Company Building); William Scherzer, principal designer, and Isham Randolph, chief engineer (Cermak Road Bridge); architect of the Wendnagel & Company Warehouse unknown","architectural_style":"Chicago; Prairie School; Late Gothic Revival; Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge","criteria":[],"status_note":"Current functions listed include commerce (warehouse, professional), road-related transportation, and vacant/not in use. The bridge remains owned and operated by the City of Chicago.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.622716-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/74/8923/28892374/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/12000243.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000243/abb1fb07bd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000243/abb1fb07bd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Thshriver","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cermak_Road_Bridge_Historic_District.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Thshriver</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:Cermak_Road_Bridge_Historic_District.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"12000040","name":"Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/chicago-park-boulevard-system-historic-district-12000040/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892374","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cermak_Road_Bridge_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q85751329"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/cermak-road-bridge-historic-district-12000243/"}