{"nrhp_refnum":"82000390","name":"Fort Dearborn Hotel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"401 S. LaSalle St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.876682309000046,"lon":-87.63104901099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 17-story, 500-room commercial hotel at the southeast corner of LaSalle and Van Buren Streets in Chicago, completed in March 1914 and designed by Holabird & Roche with Edward A. Renwick heading the team.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the hotel as the last of its kind in the South Loop, a 'popular, commercial' hotel that offered low rates and modern amenities to business travelers. It is described as an innovative design by two leading architectural and hotel firms, symbolizing the meeting of transportation, trade and technology in early twentieth-century Chicago. Its location beside the LaSalle Street Station and elevated transit supported that role.","narrative":"Rising 17 stories at LaSalle and Van Buren Streets in Chicago, this hotel opened in March 1914 after a construction period of just over nine months. Holabird & Roche designed it, with Edward A. Renwick leading the team and Henry J. Burt as structural engineer. Its steel frame, fireproof floors and U-shaped plan with a light court gave all 500 rooms daylight and ventilation. Terra cotta and brick facades drew on Venetian Renaissance themes, and the lobby carried murals by Edgar Cameron. The hotel was aimed at traveling businessmen who wanted a modern, tasteful stay without costly frills, and it shared management and staff training with the larger Hotel Sherman. Its site, across from the LaSalle Street Station and near other rail and elevated lines, suited that clientele. The nomination calls it the last hotel of its kind in the South Loop and a symbol of transportation, trade and technology in early twentieth-century Chicago. Later remodeling removed upper terra cotta details, but several interior features remain.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1914)","architect_builder":"Edward Renwick / Holabird & Roche","architectural_style":"Eclectic, classically inspired skyscraper style evoking the Venetian Renaissance","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in good, altered condition; the owners planned to restore the exterior and convert the building to offices with a skylit atrium in the light court.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.753477-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/8922/28892212/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82000390.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82000390/165f50835e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82000390/165f50835e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FT_Dearborn_Hotel.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FT_Dearborn_Hotel.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892212","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Dearborn_Hotel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8564724"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/fort-dearborn-hotel-82000390/"}