{"nrhp_refnum":"83000323","name":"Nachusa House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"215 S. Galena Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dixon","county":"Lee County","state":"IL","lat":41.84182270300005,"lon":-89.49216506299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A hotel building at 215 S. Galena Avenue in Dixon, Lee County, Illinois, facing the county courthouse. Built in 1853 and expanded in 1868 and 1914, it opened in 1854 and has operated as a hotel since.","why_significant":"The nomination argues commercial significance because it is one of the oldest continuously operated hotels in Illinois. It claims social significance because many notable guests registered there, including Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt. It also presents the building as a long-standing area landmark on a prominent hilltop site.","narrative":"Nachusa House is a hotel at 215 S. Galena Avenue in Dixon, Illinois, across from the Lee County Courthouse. It was named for city founder John Dixon, whom local Native people called Na-Chu-Sa. The core building, nearly square at 40 by 48 feet, went up in 1853 with thick limestone walls and a wood frame, on foundations laid in 1838. In 1868 a fifth floor, mansard roof and cupola gave it the look long associated with the hotel. A south annex followed in 1914 to serve motorists on the Lincoln Highway, and the west annex was rebuilt between 1950 and 1955. Stucco, ironwork, an elevator and new baths have altered it, and the cupola is gone, but the lobby columns, winding stair, bracketed cornice and mansard roof survive. It was listed for its long hotel operation and its register of guests, including Abraham Lincoln and U.S. Grant.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a hotel, with a hotel bar in the basement; the form rates its condition as fair and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.683329-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/8934/28893445/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/83000323.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000323/fa980f84b9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000323/fa980f84b9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"IvoShandor","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dixon_Il_Nachusa_House8.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">IvoShandor</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dixon_Il_Nachusa_House8.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893445","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachusa_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6957234"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/lee-county/nachusa-house-83000323/"}