{"nrhp_refnum":"84000991","name":"Forest, The, and Annex","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"901-905 Forest Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Evanston","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":42.033936776000075,"lon":-87.72297323599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-03-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A pair of connected red brick apartment buildings, the Forest (1909) and the Forest Annex (1912), at the northeast corner of Main Street and Forest Avenue in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois. Together they contain 11 dwelling units.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the buildings as early apartments that make good use of a corner site, set well back with generous green space. Their design shows Prairie School influence in horizontal emphasis, broad overhangs and detailed brickwork. The owner, Alfred B. Andrews, a contractor, wrote Illinois's first workable setback ordinance in 1914 and helped shape Evanston's zoning, and he lived in the building.","narrative":"Two linked red brick apartment buildings at Main Street and Forest Avenue in Evanston, the Forest (1909) and its Annex (1912), hold 11 dwelling units. Each rises three stories over an English basement and has limestone banding, urns flanking raised doorways and a broad hipped tile roof. The two wings meet at an angle and enclose a large lawn to the south. Glazed solaria with tile floors anchor the corners of the Forest, and the entry has marble wainscoting and stairs. Inside, the units are mostly of the railroad type but include fireplaces flanked by bookshelves, oak-paneled dining rooms, hardwood floors and maid's rooms. Prairie School influence appears in the horizontal emphasis, broad overhangs and carefully detailed brickwork. The buildings sit well back from the intersection. Owner and contractor Alfred B. Andrews lived in the building. He wrote Illinois's first workable setback ordinance in 1914 and later chaired Evanston's Zoning Commission, which helps explain the careful siting.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Alfred B. Andrews, owner and contractor; Bully and Andrews, builder","architectural_style":"Prairie School influence","criteria":[],"status_note":"Rear porches of the Forest have been enclosed; garages for six cars stand at the rear of the lot.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.709741-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/75/8908/28890875/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84000991.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000991/dda201199a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000991/dda201199a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Thshriver","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forest_and_Annex_1.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Thshriver</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:Forest_and_Annex_1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28890875","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forest_and_Annex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q96408690"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/forest-the-and-annex-84000991/"}