{"nrhp_refnum":"88002233","name":"Fairbanks, Morse and Company Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"900 S. Wabash Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.87022479800004,"lon":-87.62604470799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-11-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-story timber-framed commercial building with red brick facades and cast iron trim at 900 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, designed in 1907 as the national headquarters of Fairbanks, Morse & Co.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is nationally significant under Criterion A as the headquarters from 1907 to 1937 of a large company whose engines, scales, pumps and other products strongly affected U.S. agriculture. It is described as the only surviving Chicago structure reflecting the firm's role as a manufacturer headquartered there. Its excellent integrity and design expressing showroom, office and warehouse use support that significance.","narrative":"Built in 1907 at the southwest corner of Ninth Street and South Wabash Avenue in Chicago, this seven-story building was designed to house the national headquarters of Fairbanks, Morse & Co. Its timber frame is sheathed in red face brick on the primary facades, with limestone cornices and ornamental cast iron trim around the showroom and second-floor offices. Stone letters across the front spell out the company name. Inside, the plan reflects its mixed use: a showroom, executive offices and warehouse space with a freight elevator and shipping dock. The company, which grew from a Vermont scale maker, developed gasoline and diesel engines that spread mechanical power across American farms, and it also made pumps, railroad equipment and other goods. It ran its operations from this address until 1937. Earlier Chicago headquarters were lost, and later offices were heavily remodeled, leaving this building as the main physical reminder of the firm in the city. Upper floors have been converted to apartments with the timber framing exposed.","period_of_significance":"1907-1937","architect_builder":"Eckstorm, Christian","architectural_style":"Commercial Style / Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Undergoing a certified rehabilitation at the time of nomination, with upper loft floors converted to apartments and rear warehouse space planned as a restaurant; described as in excellent condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.632755-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/20/8919/28891920/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/88002233.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002233/cb528dc650-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002233/cb528dc650-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20080703_Fairbanks,_Morse_and_Company_Building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM)</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:20080703_Fairbanks,_Morse_and_Company_Building.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891920","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbanks,_Morse_and_Company_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29096608"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/fairbanks-morse-and-company-building-88002233/"}