{"nrhp_refnum":"85001009","name":"Ford Airport Hangar","other_names":["Lansing Municipal Airport Hanger"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Glenwood-Lansing Rd. and Burnahn Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lansing","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.542448698000044,"lon":-87.53834173299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-05-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture","Communications"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1926 airport hangar of buff brick, limestone and steel-sash glazing at the southeast corner of Glenwood-Lansing Road and Burnham Avenue in Lansing, Cook County, Illinois, designed by Albert Kahn for Henry and Edsel Ford.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the hangar is a fine early example of a permanent 'factory-type' hangar by master architect Albert Kahn, solving problems of lighting, structure and door operation. It is also tied to Henry Ford's promotion of American aviation, including his airline and pioneering private air mail carriage.","narrative":"Built in 1926 at Lansing, Illinois, this airport hangar was designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn for Henry and Edsel Ford. Its main section measures 106 by 124 feet and is built of buff brick and limestone, with a gambrel roof and large steel-sash windows. A cantilevered steel-truss roof, carried by two braced towers, leaves the interior free of columns, and the north and south walls consist of ten sliding steel doors that a single person could open by hand. The hangar was part of the Ford airport near the company's Hegewisch plant, supporting the Ford airline and its freight, passenger and air mail service. At a time when most hangars were dark, temporary wooden buildings, Kahn applied his factory-design experience to produce a permanent building with abundant natural light. The nomination calls it the Chicago area's oldest and finest known factory-type hangar. It still carries its original 1926 beacon and remains in excellent condition.","period_of_significance":"1926","architect_builder":"Albert Kahn (1869-1942)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition; the only major alteration is boarding over of some window openings in the lower office wing. Listed as occupied, with transportation as present use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.649481-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/90/8922/28892290/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/85001009.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001009/7c3f4a2682-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001009/7c3f4a2682-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Djcuthbert84","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ford_Airport_Hangar_-_Lansing_Illinois.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Djcuthbert84</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:Ford_Airport_Hangar_-_Lansing_Illinois.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892290","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q47526557"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/ford-airport-hangar-85001009/"}