Building at 5510 North Sheridan
Also known as: The Renaissance
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Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Rising seventeen stories near Lake Michigan in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, this apartment building at 5510 North Sheridan Road was completed in 1927 to designs by the firm Quinn & Christiansen. Its steel-frame and concrete structure is faced in rusticated red brick with limestone ornament concentrated at the lower and upper floors, and it is topped by a slate mansard roof with dormers. Setbacks at the fourteenth and seventeenth floors create rooftop gardens. Two porte cochere entrances lead to an attached three-story garage with an original automobile elevator. Inside, a lobby with faux wood graining and plaster detail leads to thirty-two apartments with vaulted entry halls, formal dining rooms and pantries. The building is considered an excellent example of the luxury lakefront high-rise, a type that borrowed French-influenced design, and a major work of an architectural firm that specialized in residential high-rises. Its integrated garage also reflects the growing role of the automobile in city living during the late 1920s.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues that the building is an excellent example of the 1920s luxury residential high-rise, with Renaissance Revival ornament concentrated at the base and top. It is also an important, large-scale work of the firm Quinn & Christiansen. Its attached garage with an automobile elevator reflects the integration of the automobile into the urban landscape in the late 1920s.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01000870, listed August 8, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 5510 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | Cook County |
| Listed | August 8, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01000870 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1927-1951 |
| Architect / builder | Quinn & Christiansen |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture, Community Planning and Development |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a multiple dwelling (thirty-two apartments); retains a high degree of integrity, with alterations including a late-1980s canopy and early-1990s replacement windows. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.98246, -87.65563 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01000870.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q59687239
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.