{"nrhp_refnum":"76000702","name":"Pontiac Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"542 S. Dearborn St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.874802886000055,"lon":-87.62886126699999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-03-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A fourteen-story steel-frame commercial and light industrial building at 542 South Dearborn Street in Chicago's printing district, completed in 1891 and designed by Holabird & Roche.","why_significant":"It is the oldest surviving building by the Chicago firm of Holabird and Roche, whose earlier Tacoma and Caxton Buildings have been demolished. It is cited as an excellent example of Chicago School commercial design that expresses the steel frame and the independent brick skin. Its contrast of swelling bay windows and firm corner piers is said to anticipate later modern architecture.","narrative":"Completed in 1891 at 542 South Dearborn Street, this fourteen-story commercial building was designed by the Chicago firm of Holabird and Roche for the printing district south of the central business area. A steel skeleton supports a tight brick skin that bulges outward in tiers of plain bay windows, which bring in light and add rentable space. Limestone-clad piers with ornamental capitals and terra cotta soffits tie the lower two floors together, and a simple terra cotta cornice survives at the top. Inside, many original oak doors, patterned hardware and two open cage elevators remain. It is the oldest surviving building by William Holabird and Martin Roche, since their Tacoma and Caxton Buildings have been destroyed. The design is valued as an example of the Chicago School, openly expressing the frame and the separate skin, a contrast later echoed in modern architecture.","period_of_significance":"1891","architect_builder":"Holabird & Roche","architectural_style":"Chicago School, commercial style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition, largely unaltered, and occupied, with commercial use on the ground floor and offices, commercial and light industrial uses above.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.101824-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/8919/28891951/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76000702.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000702/89b20fb084-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000702/89b20fb084-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pontiac_Blg_S_Dearborn_Chicago.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pontiac_Blg_S_Dearborn_Chicago.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78001130","name":"South Loop Printing House District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/south-loop-printing-house-district-78001130/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891951","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7228223"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/pontiac-building-76000702/"}