{"nrhp_refnum":"12000554","name":"Greenwood Cemetery Chapel and Crematory","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1011 Auburn St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rockford","county":"Winnebago County","state":"IL","lat":42.29152742200006,"lon":-89.07770975499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-08-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small limestone cemetery chapel built in 1891 with a 1921 crematory and receiving vault addition, located at 1011 Auburn Street in Greenwood Cemetery, Rockford, Illinois.","why_significant":"The chapel is one of the few Richardsonian Romanesque buildings in Rockford, designed by Chicago architect Henry Lord Gay. The 1921 addition by mortuary expert Frank B. Gibson added Rockford's first crematory and receiving vaults, reflecting changing mortuary practices. The building retains historic integrity despite its evolution.","narrative":"Greenwood Cemetery, the oldest in Rockford, Illinois, contains a small limestone chapel built in 1891 to give mourners an indoor alternative to graveside services in bad weather. Chicago architect Henry Lord Gay designed it in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, with rusticated walls, round-arched doors and windows, a rose window, a three-story tower and stained and leaded glass. In 1921 architect and mortuary specialist Frank B. Gibson added to it, using concrete block cast to resemble stone for much of the exterior. His work included above-ground marble-lined receiving vaults beneath a Tiffany-style glass roof, a garden-like reception room, and Rockford's first crematory. A second retort was added around 1954. The chapel remains one of the few Richardsonian Romanesque buildings in the city. It has changed with the community's mortuary needs yet keeps its historic character, and its trustees are raising funds for restoration.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Henry Lord Gay (original chapel, 1891); Frank B. Gibson (1921 addition)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still serves as a crematorium and office; the columbarium in the tower is not in use, and the reception room is used for storage. Trustees have begun a capital campaign for renovation and restoration.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.099793-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/8944/28894413/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/12000554.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000554/0a896435e2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000554/0a896435e2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greenwood_Cemetery_Chapel_and_Crematory.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08</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:Greenwood_Cemetery_Chapel_and_Crematory.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894413","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwood_Cemetery_(Rockford,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16891889"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/winnebago-county/greenwood-cemetery-chapel-and-crematory-12000554/"}