{"nrhp_refnum":"86003143","name":"Uptown Broadway Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4703--4715 N. Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.96803547700006,"lon":-87.65874471799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-11-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story store and office building at 4703-4715 North Broadway in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, built 1926-1927 on a triangular site near Leland Avenue. Its seventeen-bay facade is clad entirely in terra cotta.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an unusually rich and well-preserved example of terra cotta used to create a striking commercial facade. It reflects the optimistic, eclectic spirit of the 1920s building boom in Chicago. It is also an important work of architect Walter W. Ahlschlager, and its terra cotta, made by the American Terra Cotta Company, remains in unusually good condition.","narrative":"Rising three stories along North Broadway in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, this store and office building was begun in 1926 and completed in 1927. It fills a triangular site, and its seventeen-bay front, about 40 feet high and 164 feet long, is covered entirely in pale ochre and slate gray terra cotta. The ornament includes urns, plumed helmets, festoons, spiral columns, eagle medallions and a hooded angel's head over the entrance. Architect Walter W. Ahlschlager, who also designed the Sheridan Plaza Hotel and many movie theaters, drew on classical to late Baroque sources in what the nomination calls Chicago Spanish Baroque. The building was listed as a well-preserved example of 1920s prosperity and exuberance, built when Uptown was among the city's busiest outlying business and entertainment centers. Little of the terra cotta is damaged, and the storefronts have been partly restored, although some windows and the basement entrance have been altered.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1926)","architect_builder":"W. W. Ahlschlager (1887-1965); terra cotta by American Terra Cotta Company; mason contractor Fridstrom & Gustafson","architectural_style":"Chicago Spanish Baroque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in commercial use; terra cotta in good condition, with storefronts partially restored and some alterations such as glass-block second-floor windows.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.458066-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/8919/28891979/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/86003143.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003143/9214367a13-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003143/9214367a13-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Zagalejo","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uptown_Broadway_Building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Zagalejo</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:Uptown_Broadway_Building.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"00001336","name":"Uptown Square Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/uptown-square-historic-district-00001336/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891979","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptown_Broadway_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7899429"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/uptown-broadway-building-86003143/"}