Fort Sheridan Historic District

Fort Sheridan is a U.S. Army post on the Lake Michigan bluffs about twenty-five miles northeast of Chicago. Its plan follows the hollow-square pattern, with buildings arranged around a parade ground of nearly 54 acres and dominated by a 167-foot water tower flanked by two long barracks. Most of the 94 contributing buildings are of buff-cream brick made on the post. Many were designed by the Chicago firm Holabird and Roche between 1890 and 1893, with long walls, rows of arched windows and wide entrance arches reflecting the influence of H. H. Richardson. The two commandants' houses add Queen Anne features such as domed turrets and terra cotta trim. Buildings from 1905 to 1910 came from Quartermaster General plans and are plainer. The district was defined by the post's place in the evolution of army fort planning and by the visual unity of the Holabird and Roche buildings. Later temporary buildings from World War II were excluded.