{"nrhp_refnum":"70000235","name":"McClurg Building","other_names":["Ayer Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"218 S. Wabash Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.87887025800006,"lon":-87.62624982999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-08-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A nine-story office building with a basement at 218 South Wabash Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, also known as the Ayer Building. It was built 1898-1900 and designed by Holabird and Roche.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is notable for its fine terra cotta facade, one of the best exterior treatments of a typical Chicago school office building. Its light, open facade reduces the wide-bayed wall to a pattern of lines, and its interior structure forms the basis of its exterior design. It was also cited by the Commission on Chicago Architectural Landmarks in 1962.","narrative":"Rising nine stories above a basement on Chicago's South Wabash Avenue, this office building was constructed in 1898-1900 to designs by Holabird and Roche. Its steel beams and interior iron columns carry the load, with masonry side walls acting as bracing, so the front wall could be almost entirely open. The terra cotta facade is divided into three bays by engaged fluted cylinders, with wide Chicago windows and simple rectangular spandrel panels. Historian Carl Condit called it an extraordinary example of how far Chicago architects could go in reducing the wide-bayed wall to a pattern of mere lines. Holabird and Roche, a partnership formed in 1883, designed dozens of major buildings in the central commercial area and are believed to have developed the Chicago window. The building lost its enriched cornice and its interiors have been remodeled, but the facade remains its defining feature. The Commission on Chicago Architectural Landmarks gave it a citation in 1962.","period_of_significance":"1898-1900","architect_builder":"Holabird and Roche","architectural_style":"Chicago school","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and altered: the interiors have been completely remodeled, the doors are not original, and the original terra cotta cornice has been removed.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.618918-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/8925/28892525/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/70000235.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000235/eace933374-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000235/eace933374-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20080703_McClurg_Building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM)</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:20080703_McClurg_Building.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/28892525","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McClurg_Building_(Chicago)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6800407"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/mcclurg-building-70000235/"}