{"nrhp_refnum":"84000992","name":"Fountain Plaza Apartments","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"830-856 Hinman Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Evanston","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":42.03348936500004,"lon":-87.67826821399996,"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 red brick courtyard apartment building at 830-56 Hinman Avenue in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois, built in 1922 and designed by John A. Nyden. It has 44 apartments and stands three stories over an English basement.","why_significant":"The nomination calls the building unique in Evanston because its street facade gives no hint of the private raised courtyard behind it. The courtyard offers a quiet space close to the Main Street business district, with small-scale classical detailing. It is also presented as a good example of architect John Nyden's ability to adapt different design styles to site problems.","narrative":"Built in 1922 at 830-56 Hinman Avenue in Evanston, this red brick courtyard apartment building presents two different faces. Toward the street, symmetrical rectangular wings rise three stories over an English basement under a barrel tile hipped roof, with limestone trim resembling quoining and two Palladian doorways. Eight steps lead up to a raised court that is about seven-eighths enclosed. Walks to five doorways, each a variation on the Palladian motif, radiate from a central fountain. Classical ornament includes urns, swags and oil lamps, along with a shallow bracketed cornice broken by curved gables and parapets. The building holds 44 apartments in seven tiers. It was listed because the street front gives no hint of the private court inside, which works as a calm refuge close to the Main Street business district. Architect John Nyden is described as a creative designer who moved among Classical, Tudor and Prairie motifs, and here he made the most of a typical courtyard site.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John A. Nyden","architectural_style":"Classical detailing (courtyard apartment building)","criteria":[],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.780365-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/42/8908/28890842/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84000992.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000992/0142eb4ed8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000992/0142eb4ed8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Thshriver","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fountain_Plaza_Apartments_7.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:Fountain_Plaza_Apartments_7.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28890842","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_Plaza_Apartments","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q96378239"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/fountain-plaza-apartments-84000992/"}