{"nrhp_refnum":"99000975","name":"Wheeler-Kohn House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2018 S. Calumet Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.85512872700008,"lon":-87.61951192099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-08-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Second Empire brick residence at 2018 S. Calumet Avenue on Chicago's Near South Side (South Loop), built c. 1870, with Queen Anne porch and copper bay added in the 1880s-1890s.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as one of the last and finest survivors of the stately houses built before the 1871 fire on the Near South Side, and one of the few Second Empire houses left in the area. Its later Queen Anne additions, made during the late 1880s by Joseph Kohn, are argued to be a large part of its significance because they reflect the city's growth and changing fashions.","narrative":"Built around 1870 at 2018 S. Calumet Avenue, this three-story brick house is among the few mansions that survive from Chicago's Near South Side before the 1871 fire. It has a large mansard roof, square massing, limestone corner pilasters and stone window hoods with prominent keystones. In the 1880s and early 1890s it was updated with an ornate wooden entry porch and a two-story pressed copper bay topped by a pyramidal roof, giving a Queen Anne accent to a Second Empire design. The nomination argues that these changes, made under Joseph Kohn, are central to its importance because they show how owners kept older houses fashionable as the neighborhood grew. Inside, it follows a central hall plan with parlor, library, dining room and a grand staircase. Later uses included a warehouse addition and a publishing company. Recent owners have restored the slate roof and copper details, and the house was functioning as a hotel before becoming vacant during renovation.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Second Empire; Queen Anne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Current function is listed as vacant/work in progress; the owners have restored the slate roof and copper work, and a large rear warehouse addition was demolished in 1998.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.776196-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/23/8921/28892123/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/99000975.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000975/4b3b070abf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000975/4b3b070abf-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Joe M500","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wheeler-Kohn_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Joe M500</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wheeler-Kohn_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892123","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeler%E2%80%93Kohn_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7992184"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/wheeler-kohn-house-99000975/"}