{"nrhp_refnum":"84000138","name":"Midwest Athletic Club","other_names":["The Midwest Hotel"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6 N. Hamlin Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.88101432600007,"lon":-87.72124295999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-10-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A thirteen-story, L-shaped steel-frame club and hotel building at 6 North Hamlin Avenue, at the northwest corner of Hamlin and Madison on the northern edge of Garfield Park, Chicago. It was built 1926-1928 to designs by Michaelsen & Rognstad.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building was the focus of community life in Garfield Park while the Club operated. It is also a prominent, well-designed example of the period's historicism, with Baroque-inspired terra cotta detailing. The exterior and major public spaces, except the remodeled lobby, retain their integrity. No comparable neighborhood social and athletic club was found elsewhere in Chicago.","narrative":"Rising thirteen stories at the northwest corner of Hamlin Avenue and Madison Street, this L-shaped steel-frame building was constructed from 1926 to 1928 as the Midwest Athletic Club, overlooking Garfield Park in Chicago. Michaelsen & Rognstad, architects who were also club members, designed it with cream-colored terra cotta on the lower two floors, buff brick above, Baroque-inspired trim and a recessed mansard roof. Arches define the facades, and the interior held an Olympic-size pool, a two-story gymnasium with running track, two ballrooms and 171 hotel rooms. The club grew from west side business groups and reached about 2,000 members by 1928, serving as a meeting place for the community. It entered receivership in 1930 and became a hotel, later housing athletes of Arthur Wirtz, including the Blackhawks. The nomination notes no comparable neighborhood club in the city, and the exterior and most major interiors remain intact, apart from a remodeled lobby.","period_of_significance":"1926-1928","architect_builder":"Michaelsen & Rognstad","architectural_style":"Baroque-inspired historicism (terra cotta Baroque trim)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Undergoing rehabilitation at the time of nomination; first-floor storefronts and second-story windows were being restored, and the lobby was altered with plans to restore it.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.506128-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/99/8924/28892499/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84000138.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000138/53b59491ea-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000138/53b59491ea-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Andrew Jameson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Midwest_Athletic_Club_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:Midwest_Athletic_Club_Chicago_IL.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892499","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwest_Athletic_Club","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14687881"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/midwest-athletic-club-84000138/"}