{"nrhp_refnum":"84000283","name":"Emmel Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1357 N. Wells St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.907287892000056,"lon":-87.63424487599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-11-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick and artificial-stone store-and-flat building at 1357 North Wells Street, Chicago, Illinois, built in 1875 for paint dealer Peter Emmel, with a two-story brick barn at the rear of the lot.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an early and unusual example of the Chicago store-and-flat type, with Italianate facade detailing that echoes nearby Gold Coast residences. It is also an early example of precast concrete (artificial stone) used for lavish ornament in the years after the 1871 fire. Few such buildings survive, since many were demolished in the 1880s.","narrative":"Built in 1875 at 1357 North Wells Street in Chicago, this three-story brick building combined a ground-floor shop with family living quarters above. Peter Emmel, a German-born house painter, ran his paint, oil and later wallpaper business there and lived upstairs; the family stayed until 1897. The facade's richly detailed stonework, including garlands, rosettes and arcaded windows, appears to be precast concrete made to imitate carved stone. A projecting metal cornice carries the owner's name, P. EMMEL. Artificial stone was inexpensive and widely used after the 1871 fire, but most such buildings in the central business district were later demolished. This one survived outside that area. Its elegance resembles nearby Gold Coast houses and may have served as advertising to wealthy customers. The storefront is largely intact apart from a reworked entrance, and a brick barn survives behind it with a garden between the two buildings. The property was listed for its architecture and its early use of artificial stone.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific date 1875)","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Italianate store and flat building","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is listed as excellent and good; the property is checked as unoccupied and commercial, and the main building is largely intact apart from a reworked storefront entrance.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.70555-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/86/8921/28892186/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84000283.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000283/ee71db09ba-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000283/ee71db09ba-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emmel_Blg_Wells_St.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emmel_Blg_Wells_St.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892186","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmel_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30590905"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/emmel-building-84000283/"}