{"nrhp_refnum":"85000265","name":"Dawson Brothers Plant","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"517-519 N. Halsted St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.89190307800004,"lon":-87.64735204499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-02-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A mantel and fireplace grate factory at 517-519 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, made up of three connected brick mill-type buildings erected between 1888 and 1901. The five-story 1888 front building was designed by Julius Zittel.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a surviving example of the nineteenth-century Chicago loft industrial building, combining an artful cast-iron and brick facade with utilitarian side walls for light. Very few cast-iron-front industrial buildings survive in Chicago's older industrial districts. It also shows an older, all-under-one-roof business model of manufacturing, offices and showroom.","narrative":"Built between 1888 and 1901 on North Halsted Street, about a mile northwest of downtown Chicago, this complex housed the mantel and ornamental fireplace grate business of Henry G. and William R. Dawson. It consists of three connected brick buildings with heavy-timber interiors: a five-story front building designed by Julius Zittel, a three-story rear addition from the 1890s, and a six-story 1901 addition by Harold M. Hansen. The front facade combines brick, rock-faced stone and a ground-story cast-iron front with large glass bays that showed off the offices and showrooms. Side and rear walls are plain brick with broad window openings for natural light. The nomination presents the building as a rare surviving Chicago industrial building that balances architectural display with practical factory needs, in a city where few cast-iron-front factories remain. The exterior is largely intact, though painted white, and the business operated on the site into the 1920s.","period_of_significance":"1888-1901","architect_builder":"Julius Zittel; Harold M. Hansen","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Listed as vacant/industrial use; condition described as good, with a coat of white paint over the brick and some missing window glass. A rehabilitation was contemplated.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.410149-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/28/8924/28892428/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/85000265.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000265/16d61192cc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000265/16d61192cc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Andrew Jameson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dawson_Brothers_Plant_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:Dawson_Brothers_Plant_Chicago_IL.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892428","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_Brothers_Plant","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5242640"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/dawson-brothers-plant-85000265/"}