{"nrhp_refnum":"84000986","name":"Chicago Harbor Lighthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N Breakwater","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.889371836000066,"lon":-87.59067314999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A harbor lighthouse with an attached fog signal building and boathouse, marking the entrance to Chicago Harbor at the south end of the north breakwater in Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1893 and moved to its present breakwater location in 1918-1919.","why_significant":"The lighthouse is described as having played an important role in the development of the port of Chicago. The Illinois State Historic Preservation Officer also cited its significance in the growth of navigation on the Great Lakes and its evolutionary design in lighthouse architecture.","narrative":"Chicago Harbor Lighthouse marks the entrance to Chicago Harbor from the south end of the north arm of the outer breakwater. It was first built in 1893, and Congress appropriated $88,000 in 1917 to move it to the newly built breakwater section, work completed in 1918-1919. The structure rests on a concrete pier measuring 44 by 65 feet and 20 feet high. Its brick-lined cast iron tower is 18 feet in diameter and 48 feet high to the base of the watchroom, topped by a ten-sided cast iron lantern. A 28-foot-square fog signal building sits on one side of the tower and an 18-by-28-foot boathouse on the other, both with hipped roofs. The light has a focal plane of 82 feet above mean lower water. The original Third Order Fresnel lens and fog signal equipment are gone. The lighthouse was recognized for its role in the development of the port of Chicago and for its evolutionary lighthouse design, and it remains in use as a harbor light and fog signal.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Still used as a harbor light and fog signal; the original lens and fog signal equipment are no longer extant. Interior noted as intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.806959-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/8909/28890966/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84000986.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000986/8ae601c0fe-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000986/8ae601c0fe-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Richard C. Drew","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chicago-lighthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Richard C. Drew</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Chicago-lighthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28890966","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Harbor_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5095636"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/chicago-harbor-lighthouse-84000986/"}