{"nrhp_refnum":"99000163","name":"Building at 900 West Lake Street","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"900 W. Lake St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.88585316700005,"lon":-87.65006304799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-02-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-story brick mercantile loft building at the northwest corner of Lake and Peoria streets on Chicago's Near West Side, built in 1886 with heavy timber interior framing and cast iron storefronts.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a notable example of Chicago loft/mill construction, combining heavy timber framing with load-bearing masonry walls and decorative cast iron and corbelled brick facades. It also reflects the westward spread of commercial and manufacturing buildings from the Loop after the 1871 fire, and its long use by manufacturers such as the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company.","narrative":"Rising six stories at the northwest corner of Lake and Peoria streets on Chicago's Near West Side, this brick loft building dates to 1886. Its south and east faces are dark red pressed brick with projecting piers, corbelled spandrels and a heavy stepped cornice, while the ground floor retains cast iron storefronts with acanthus-leaf detail. The north and west walls are plain common brick. Inside, an 18-inch masonry wall divides the building, and the two halves use different timber framing, with turned or rough-cut wood columns supporting beams. The first floor of the east section has a coffered wood ceiling and cast iron columns. Built for owners Daniel Davis and Thomas Rankin, the building housed the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company until 1915, followed by other tenants and then the Zimmerman Brush Company. It is valued as a surviving example of Chicago loft and mill construction and of the commercial growth that spread west from the Loop.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Commercial Style; Other: Loft mill construction","criteria":[],"status_note":"Boarded-over storefront windows and some altered openings are noted. The text says the Zimmerman Brush Company fully occupied the building until recently.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.630198-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/8919/28891977/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/99000163.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000163/1fc2c50373-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000163/1fc2c50373-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:900_West_Lake.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:900_West_Lake.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"12001238","name":"West Loop-LaSalle Street Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/west-loop-lasalle-street-historic-district-12001238/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891977","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_at_900_West_Lake_Street","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60768962"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/building-at-900-west-lake-street-99000163/"}