{"nrhp_refnum":"76000689","name":"Douglas Tomb State Memorial","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"636 E. State St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.831679637000036,"lon":-87.60850661299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-05-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Military","Transportation","Education","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 96-foot granite tomb and monument to Stephen A. Douglas at 636 East State Street in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, built 1868-1881 on the site of his former Oakenwald estate and designed by sculptor Leonard W. Volk.","why_significant":"The tomb is the burial place of Stephen A. Douglas, the first Illinois statesman to gain national prominence and Lincoln's 1858 debate opponent. It is the only monument to Douglas and the only site in the state associated with him. It is also regarded as an important example of 19th-century sculpture.","narrative":"Rising 96 feet above the Chicago lakefront, this memorial holds the remains of Stephen A. Douglas, the Illinois senator who debated Lincoln in 1858 and ran against him for President in 1860. A granite base with four bas-reliefs and corner statues representing Illinois, History, Justice and Eloquence supports a 46-foot column topped by a bronze figure of Douglas. His marble sarcophagus, with a bust by Leonard Volk, rests within the base. Volk, a sculptor and Douglas's relative, designed the work. Construction began after Douglas died in 1861 and his body was placed in the finished portion in 1868. The Chicago Fire destroyed Volk's plans in 1871, and the tomb was completed in 1881 at a cost of $90,000. In 1877 the original Joliet limestone facings were replaced with granite. The tomb stands on the spot Douglas intended for his home, within the remnant of his Oakenwald estate, and the state has owned it since 1865.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Leonard W. Volk (& J. M. Van Osdel?)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Operated by the state as a memorial with gardens and open free to the public daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.479081-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/2/8926/28892602/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76000689.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000689/2ea5753e4a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000689/2ea5753e4a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Sloan, Percy H. (Percy Haydn), 1867-","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stephen_A._Douglas_Tomb,_Chicago,_October_13,_1912_(NBY_737).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Sloan, Percy H. (Percy Haydn), 1867-</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stephen_A._Douglas_Tomb,_Chicago,_October_13,_1912_(NBY_737).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892602","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_A._Douglas_Tomb","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7608524"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/douglas-tomb-state-memorial-76000689/"}