{"nrhp_refnum":"70000237","name":"Reliance Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"32 N. State St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.88282119100006,"lon":-87.62845798999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1976-01-07","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A sixteen-story commercial office building at 32 North State Street, Chicago, Illinois, at the southwest corner of State and Washington Streets. Its upper stories were completed in 1894-95 for William E. Hale, with John Root and Charles Atwood of D.H. Burnham and Company as designers.","why_significant":"The building is presented as a symbol of the Chicago School, with a steel frame enclosed by terra cotta and large 'Chicago windows' and no visible bearing elements. Historians cited in the form call it a forerunner of later modern curtain-wall architecture. It is also described as a refined version of Holabird and Roche's Tacoma Building and the last building in the spirit of Root from Burnham's office.","narrative":"Rising 200 feet at 32 North State Street in Chicago, this sixteen-story office building was completed in stages between 1891 and 1895 for William E. Hale. John Root drew the first plans in 1890, and Charles Atwood of D.H. Burnham and Company changed them in 1894-95. The lower floors were built first while upper stories of the earlier building were held on jack screws, and fourteen steel-framed stories were then added without disturbing tenants. The frame is enclosed in cream-white enameled terra cotta and large windows, each a fixed central pane flanked by narrow sashes in projecting bays. Historians quoted in the nomination describe it as a triumph of the Chicago School and a direct forerunner of later glass-and-steel work, since no bearing element shows on the facade. Dirt, signs, and interior alterations have affected its appearance, and a slab that once crowned the building has been removed. The building was cited by Chicago's landmarks commission in 1958.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"John Root (original plans, 1890); Charles Atwood of D.H. Burnham and Company (designer in charge, 1894-95)","architectural_style":"Chicago School","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair; occupied and in commercial use. The exterior glazed tiles are dirty, electric signs mar the facade, and the interior has been altered considerably.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.403344-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/8925/28892535/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/70000237.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000237/8d5d911a0f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000237/8d5d911a0f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":"Jay Carriker (User:JCarriker)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reliance_Building,_Chicago,_Illinois_(November_2005).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jay Carriker (User:JCarriker)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reliance_Building,_Chicago,_Illinois_(November_2005).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/28892535","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliance_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q786387"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/reliance-building-70000237/"}