{"nrhp_refnum":"78001122","name":"Jewish People's Institute","other_names":["Julius Hess School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3500 W. Douglas Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.86305158500005,"lon":-87.71308829099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story orange brick settlement house and community center at 3500 W. Douglas Boulevard, Chicago, designed in 1926 and completed in 1927 by the architects Grunsfeld & Klaber for the Jewish People's Institute.","why_significant":"The nomination argues its primary significance lies in social and humanitarian activity, as a community center that helped Jewish immigrants adjust to life in the United States. It also cites the building's adaptable, complete design on a confined urban site, which was reported soon after construction to be one of the largest and most complete of its type in the world.","narrative":"Built in 1927 at 3500 W. Douglas Boulevard in Chicago, this three-story orange brick building was designed by Grunsfeld & Klaber for the Jewish People's Institute, successor to the Chicago Hebrew Institute founded in 1903. It rises over a high limestone basement, with a main entrance of three two-story arches, Star of David windows, Moorish-style capitals and a polychrome terra cotta parapet. Inside were an 800-seat auditorium, swimming pool, library, laboratories, classrooms and a rooftop theater and playground. The Institute offered English and citizenship classes, a naturalization bureau, a Hebrew school, evening courses and a junior college, serving many newly arrived Jewish immigrants. In 1933 it recorded more than 1.28 million visits. The nomination values it chiefly for this social and humanitarian role and for a design praised for utility and adaptability. The Chicago Board of Education bought the building in 1955 and continues to use it as a school; a 1960s fire damaged the lobby decoration.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1927)","architect_builder":"Grunsfeld & Klaber","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the Chicago Board of Education since 1955 and used as an elementary/upper grade school (Julius Hess School); a late-1960s lobby fire destroyed ceiling ornament and frescoes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.441938-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/8923/28892366/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78001122.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001122/4327068491-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001122/4327068491-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Andrew Jameson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jewish_Peoples_Institute_Chicago_IL.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Andrew Jameson</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:Jewish_Peoples_Institute_Chicago_IL.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"12000040","name":"Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/chicago-park-boulevard-system-historic-district-12000040/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892366","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_People%27s_Institute","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54874640"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/jewish-peoples-institute-78001122/"}