{"nrhp_refnum":"82002529","name":"Old Main Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3235 W. Foster Ave. on North Park College Campus","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.975115225000025,"lon":-87.70999478699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-02-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Old Main is a three-story Georgian revival brick building on the North Park College campus at 3235 West Foster Avenue in Chicago, built in 1893-94 by the contractor J.A. Modin.","why_significant":"It was the first building on the campus of what became North Park College and Theological Seminary, and the first large building in the North Park area. It is a landmark of Swedish ethnic and cultural life and of the Covenant Church. Its lighted cupola also served as a guide for pilots in the 1920s.","narrative":"Old Main is a three-story Georgian revival building on the North Park College campus in northwest Chicago. Built in 1893-94 by the Swedish contractor J.A. Modin, it is made of common brick on a rough limestone base, with a hip roof, three dormers and an open octagonal cupola. No architect is known, and the design may have come from the contractor or a college committee. The cornerstone was laid on September 26, 1893, and the building was dedicated on June 16, 1894. It was the first building of the school that became North Park College and Theological Seminary, and the first large building in its neighborhood. In the 1920s its lighted cupola helped guide pilots over the city's north side. The building has served as classroom space, library, reading room and chapel, and hosted annual meetings of the Covenant Church. It is valued as a symbol of Swedish culture in Chicago and as an alma mater landmark for alumni. Its exterior and interior structure remain largely unchanged.","period_of_significance":"1893-1894","architect_builder":"J.A. Modin","architectural_style":"Georgian revival (academic Georgian)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied; in excellent condition and used as a school for emotionally handicapped children, with plans to house college administrative offices and archives.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.622118-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/8925/28892598/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002529.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002529/14c282ffa0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002529/14c282ffa0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Rputera","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Main_NPU.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Rputera</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Main_NPU.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892598","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Main_(North_Park_University)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q85790499"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/old-main-building-82002529/"}