{"nrhp_refnum":"85000966","name":"Guyon Hotel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4000 W. Washington Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.88206313300003,"lon":-87.72631682599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-05-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Communications"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A nine-story residential hotel with ground-floor shops and rooftop penthouses at 4000 West Washington Boulevard in West Garfield Park, Chicago. It was designed in 1927 by Jens J. Jensen and completed in 1928.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the hotel is an outstanding example of 1920s Chicago design, with lavish terra cotta ornament and an eclectic, Moorish-flavored look. It also reflects the middle class's acceptance of residential hotels at the end of Chicago's apartment boom. It is tied to the history of Chicago radio, including stations WGES and WOAK, which became WVON and WFMT.","narrative":"Rising nine stories above Washington Boulevard and Pulaski Road in West Garfield Park, this residential hotel was designed by Chicago architect Jens J. Jensen in 1927 and finished in 1928. Its poured concrete frame is covered in cream and red brick, red terra cotta, and ornamental tile, with arches, gargoyles, owls, lions and birds in the decoration. Shops line the ground floor, and two penthouse apartments sit at the ends of the E-shaped plan. The nomination ranks it among the finest terra cotta buildings in its neighborhood and a late example of the 1920s residential hotel that appealed to middle-class tenants. It also has a role in radio history. Entrepreneur J. Louis Guyon built it and used it for station WGES, whose twin towers topped the roof. Later, WOAK, which became the classical station WFMT, broadcast from its studios. Few major alterations have affected the exterior.","period_of_significance":"1927-28","architect_builder":"Jens J. Jensen","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent exterior condition and good interior condition, with multi-family residential use and ground-floor commercial tenants; exterior restoration was planned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.781509-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/86/8922/28892286/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/85000966.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000966/6edb2cc2f9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000966/6edb2cc2f9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Andrew Jameson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guyon_Hotel_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:Guyon_Hotel_Chicago_IL.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892286","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyon_Hotel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5622849"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/guyon-hotel-85000966/"}