{"nrhp_refnum":"97000031","name":"Chick House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"119--123 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rockford","county":"Winnebago County","state":"IL","lat":42.270683646000066,"lon":-89.09529732099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-02-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick hotel building at 119-123 South Main Street in downtown Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois, built in 1857 as the Griggs House and later known as the Chick House.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of only three remaining pre-Civil War commercial buildings in downtown Rockford and the only one that keeps its historic integrity. It is the last surviving 19th-century hotel in the city, representing the growth of the hospitality trade. Its design reflects the shift from Greek Revival to Italianate style.","narrative":"Built in 1857 as the Griggs House, this three-story brick hotel stands at the northwest corner of South Main and Elm Streets in downtown Rockford, Illinois. It later became known as the Chick House and, after a 1928 renovation, the Elms Hotel. The building has a limestone foundation, a flat roof, and a corbelled brick cornice. Greek Revival stone sills and lintels appear alongside Italianate arched window hoods on the front facade. Additions were made in the 1890s, 1900s and 1932, and the ground floor was modernized in the 1950s. It is one of only three pre-Civil War commercial buildings left downtown and the only one that retains its historic integrity. It is also the last remaining 19th-century hotel in the city, a reminder of the hotel boom that followed stagecoach and railway service. Its design reflects the move from Greek Revival to Italianate style.","period_of_significance":"1857-1946","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival and Italianate (Mid-19th Century)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Ground floor holds a restaurant and an office supply store; upper floors were a hotel with rooms that kept operable transoms. The two one-story rear additions are used for storage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.688311-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/8943/28894391/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/97000031.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000031/dd346b9b08-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000031/dd346b9b08-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Just1nux","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chick_House_-_Griggs_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Just1nux</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:Chick_House_-_Griggs_Building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894391","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5096122"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/winnebago-county/chick-house-97000031/"}