{"nrhp_refnum":"76000691","name":"Fisher Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"343 S. Dearborn St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.87705414800007,"lon":-87.62894365399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-03-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Commercial office building at 343 South Dearborn Street in Chicago's Loop, built 1895-96 to designs from Daniel H. Burnham's firm, with a twenty-story addition of 1907 by Peter Weber.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an important example of the Chicago School of architecture, with a steel skeleton clad in terra cotta and extensive glazing. It is also noted for its rapid construction, the Gothic-derived terra cotta ornament by Charles Atwood, and its place in the thin-slab district at the south end of the Loop.","narrative":"Rising eighteen stories at 343 South Dearborn Street in Chicago, this office building was erected in 1895-96 from the Burnham and Company office. Its steel frame is covered in salmon-colored terra cotta and large areas of glass, with oriel windows on alternating bays. The terra cotta carries Gothic-derived ornament, including salamanders, eagles, crabs, fish and shells, attributed to designer Charles Atwood. The fish motifs may refer to the developer, Lucius G. Fisher. E.C. Shankland designed the structural system, and seventeen floors were reportedly erected in a month, with occupancy nine months after ground breaking. In 1907 Peter Weber added a three-bay, twenty-story section to the north that matched the original design. The building is regarded as a significant example of the Chicago School and as a key element of the thin-slab district at the south end of the Loop, alongside the Old Colony and Monadnock Block South. Exterior changes have been limited, and the building remains in commercial use.","period_of_significance":"1895-96; 1907","architect_builder":"Daniel H. Burnham (Burnham and Company); structural system by E.C. Shankland; terra cotta design by Charles Atwood; 1907 addition by Peter Weber","architectural_style":"Chicago School, Commercial Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in commercial use, in excellent condition; exterior largely unaltered except the Van Buren and Dearborn entrances, and the terra cotta was recently cleaned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.483668-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/88/8923/28892388/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76000691.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000691/ce43d7a799-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000691/ce43d7a799-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fisher_Building_343_South_Dearborn_Avenue_entrance.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fisher_Building_343_South_Dearborn_Avenue_entrance.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892388","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_Building_(Chicago)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5454770"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/fisher-building-76000691/"}