{"nrhp_refnum":"76002162","name":"Hauptgebaude","other_names":["Old Main"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"190 Prospect St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elmhurst","county":"DuPage County","state":"IL","lat":41.89577813300008,"lon":-87.94539175099999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-08-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Hauptgebaude, known as Old Main, is a three-story brick building with a basement and a bell tower at 190 Prospect Street, Elmhurst, Illinois. It was built in 1878 as the main building of the Pro-Seminary, forerunner of Elmhurst College.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that Old Main is a shared landmark of Elmhurst College and the City of Elmhurst, serving as the college's principal classroom building since 1878. It is described as the oldest building in continuous use for higher education in the eastern half of DuPage County. It also reflects the educational and ethnic heritage of the early German settlers and is described as German Gothic in style.","narrative":"Old Main, or Das Hauptgebaude, is a three-story brick building with a basement and a stately bell tower at Elmhurst College. Completed in 1878 for about $25,000 and dedicated that October, it served as the main house of the Pro-Seminary, the forerunner of the college. Diederich Struckmann and Company, the leading local builder, constructed it largely from area materials, including grey brick. The nomination describes the style as German Gothic, reflecting the homeland of the Evangelical Germans who sponsored the school and their classical approach to education. Minor interior changes came in 1923 and exterior changes in 1928. Old Main has been the college's principal classroom building since 1878 and was its administration building until about two decades before the nomination. It is described as the oldest building in continuous higher-education use in eastern DuPage County and as a longtime landmark of both the college and the city. Repairs and renovation were planned.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific date 1878)","architect_builder":"Diederich Struckmann and Company (Diederich Struckmann)","architectural_style":"German Gothic (also noted as High Victorian)","criteria":[],"status_note":"In use as a classroom building housing several academic departments; described as structurally sound but in need of repair, with renovation planned (rewiring, new windows, roof, heating).","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.858955-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/8927/28892772/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76002162.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002162/8e3e6493d1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002162/8e3e6493d1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08 at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ElmhurstOldMain.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08 at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ElmhurstOldMain.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892772","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauptgebaude","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5682762"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/dupage-county/hauptgebaude-76002162/"}