{"nrhp_refnum":"97001333","name":"Armour's Warehouse","other_names":["Hogan's North Elevator","Seneca Grain Elevator"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Jct. of William and Bridge Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Seneca","county":"LaSalle County","state":"IL","lat":41.32444400400004,"lon":-88.61098742499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Commerce","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story wooden grain elevator with a dump shed, corn crib and small outbuildings on the north bank of the Illinois and Michigan Canal at William and Bridge Streets in Seneca, La Salle County, Illinois, built c. 1861-62 by John Armour.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the largest and oldest remaining grain elevator on the Illinois and Michigan Canal. It is significant under Criterion A for commerce through its direct link to the grain trade, with transportation and engineering also listed as areas of significance. Its studded bin construction, machinery and later railroad-related changes show how grain handling evolved from canal to rail.","narrative":"Armour's Warehouse is a wooden grain elevator on the north bank of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in Seneca. John Armour built it around 1861-62. Rising four stories above a basement on a limestone foundation, it measures 40 by 80 feet and is about 65 feet high. Its post-and-beam frame holds 17 studded grain bins, and a leg with rubberized belt and buckets could lift 3,000 bushels an hour. Corrugated metal sheathing was added between 1924 and 1939 over the original clapboard. A dump shed, a 1940s corn crib, an office and seed warehouses sit on the site. Grain once went directly onto canal boats, and a railroad spur added in 1883 reflects the shift to rail shipping. Owners handled large volumes of grain, and the elevator is the oldest and largest surviving one on the canal. Vacant since 1989, it is owned by the State of Illinois, which plans to rehabilitate it as an interpretive center.","period_of_significance":"c. 1861-1947","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: wooden grain elevator","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Vacant since 1989 and in deteriorating condition; the State of Illinois (Department of Natural Resources) owns it and plans to rehabilitate it as an interpretive center for the canal.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.149492-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/8934/28893433/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/97001333.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001333/c776c6f7ab-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001333/c776c6f7ab-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"IvoShandor","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seneca_IL_Armour%27s_Warehouse1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">IvoShandor</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:Seneca_IL_Armour%27s_Warehouse1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893433","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour%27s_Warehouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4793770"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/lasalle-county/armours-warehouse-97001333/"}