{"nrhp_refnum":"85002702","name":"Starved Rock Lodge and Cabins","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Box 116, Utica","address_restricted":false,"city":"LaSalle-Peru","county":"LaSalle County","state":"IL","lat":41.31863829550005,"lon":-88.99294616500484,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-05-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A state park lodge with twelve log cabins on a wooded bluff overlooking Starved Rock and the Illinois River, near LaSalle-Peru in La Salle County, Illinois. It was built between 1933 and 1939 and designed by Joseph F. Booten.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the complex as part of a thematic group of Illinois state park lodges, significant for architecture and recreation. It is described as one of the two largest lodge-and-cabin complexes in the state parks and the largest primarily wooden structure conveying the picturesque mode. It also reflects the state's emphasis on recreation at its most heavily visited park.","narrative":"Starved Rock Lodge and its twelve cabins occupy a heavily wooded bluff above Starved Rock and the Illinois River in La Salle County. Built between 1933 and 1939 to designs by Joseph F. Booten, the lodge centers on a two-story lounge of unhewn logs on a limestone foundation, with a stone double fireplace and exposed log roof trusses. A two-story dining and service wing lies to the east and a three-story hotel wing to the west. The log cabins sit beyond a ravine called Fox Canyon, reached by footbridge, which gives them a camping-in-the-woods character. The nomination ranks the complex, with Pere Marquette, at the top of the state park lodge-and-cabin type and notes its picturesque design, including round log purlins with uneven ends projecting past the roof edge. It also reflects the state's emphasis on recreation at Starved Rock, then Illinois' most visited state park, about 90 miles from Chicago.","period_of_significance":"1933-1939","architect_builder":"Joseph F. Booten","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as having a few exterior alterations, mainly replacement of the hotel wing's wood casement windows with metal casements; the hotel wing contains modern guest rooms.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.483847-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/3/8913/28891303/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/85002702.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002702/322037dc00-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002702/322037dc00-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StarvedRockStatePark_LodgeExterior.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StarvedRockStatePark_LodgeExterior.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891303","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starved_Rock_Lodge_and_Cabins","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124731269"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/lasalle-county/starved-rock-lodge-and-cabins-85002702/"}