{"nrhp_refnum":"76000713","name":"Elgin Academy","other_names":["Old Main"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"350 Park St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elgin","county":"Kane County","state":"IL","lat":42.04129993400005,"lon":-88.27788110899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-10-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Greek Revival school building known as Old Main, at 350 Park Street in Elgin, Kane County, Illinois. It was built in 1855-1856 to a design by Buffalo architect James Quigley.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the home of Elgin Academy, a non-sectarian private school that operated from 1856 to 1969, an unusual stance for its time. It is the city's oldest remaining non-residential building. It also served as a community venue where abolitionists spoke and Carl Schurz campaigned for Lincoln in 1860.","narrative":"Old Main, the original building of Elgin Academy at 350 Park Street in Elgin, Illinois, is a three-story Greek Revival structure with a stone first floor, brick upper floors and a domed cupola. Construction began in 1855 and the first classes met on December 1, 1856, at a cost of $19,000. The design is based on work by Buffalo architect James Quigley, and local craftsmen Edwin F. Reeves and Joshua Wilbur directed the building. A lightning strike in 1911 destroyed the third floor and original gable roof, which was replaced with a flat roof. The academy was chartered by the Illinois Legislature in 1839 and reorganized in 1855 with a charter open to all religious denominations, an unusual non-sectarian approach for a private school then. The building served as a school until 1969 and is the city's oldest remaining non-residential building. It also hosted abolitionist speakers and a Lincoln campaign appearance by Carl Schurz in 1860. Plans call for a community museum and meeting space.","period_of_significance":"1855-1856","architect_builder":"J. Quigley, arch. (Buffalo); built under Edwin F. Reeves, stone mason, and Joshua Wilbur, carpenter","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as a school from 1856 to 1969, when the fire marshal barred its use for that purpose; later listed as unoccupied, with plans to turn it over to a foundation for a museum and community use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.300503-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/8932/28893214/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76000713.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000713/d701f32795-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000713/d701f32795-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elgin_Academy_Old_Main.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elgin_Academy_Old_Main.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83000318","name":"Elgin Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/elgin-historic-district-83000318/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893214","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_Academy_(Elgin,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5360011"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kane-county/elgin-academy-76000713/"}