{"nrhp_refnum":"99001072","name":"Raymond M. Hilliard Center Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Jct. of Cermak Rd. and S. State St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.85392908350005,"lon":-87.61633879489926,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-09-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Social History","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-building public-housing complex with 710 apartments on a 12.5-acre site near Cermak Road and S. State Street, two miles south of downtown Chicago. Bertrand Goldberg designed it between 1962 and 1966.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is significant for its architecture, as an expressive reinforced-concrete design by Goldberg, and for its role in community planning, social history and politics. It was modeled on Goldberg's Marina City and was an attempt to change the form and image of Chicago public housing. Approval required a long fight with federal officials and drew local opposition.","narrative":"Raymond M. Hilliard Center is a public-housing complex on a 12.5-acre site two miles south of Chicago's Loop. Architect Bertrand Goldberg designed it between 1962 and 1966. It has two 16-story cylindrical towers for senior citizens, two 22-story arc-shaped family buildings, a one-story community center and an open-air concrete amphitheater, with 710 apartments in all. The load-bearing reinforced-concrete walls have reeded bays, vertical striations from wooden slip forms and squared-off elliptical windows. No residential building has a right-angle corner. The buildings cover less than ten percent of the site, leaving lawns, trees and walkways. The complex was listed for its architecture, its community planning and its place in social and political history. Its forms recalled Goldberg's Marina City, and the Chicago Housing Authority hoped that image would improve public housing. Federal officials resisted the design as too expensive and too good for residents, and approval came only after a prolonged struggle. The complex remains largely intact.","period_of_significance":"1966","architect_builder":"Goldberg, Bertrand","architectural_style":"Modern Movement; neo-expressionism","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as in very good condition with high integrity; all buildings standing and in use as housing and community facilities. Some family-building units are vacant awaiting cosmetic renovation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.26854-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/8923/28892308/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/99001072.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001072/5d4d31260b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001072/5d4d31260b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"hakkun","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hillard_Apartments_-_panoramio.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">hakkun</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:Hillard_Apartments_-_panoramio.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892308","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilliard_Towers_Apartments","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19817575"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/raymond-m-hilliard-center-historic-district-99001072/"}