Cermak Road Bridge Historic District
Why it's listed
Along Cermak Road where it crosses the South Branch of the Chicago River, a cluster of brick industrial buildings and a steel bridge survives from the city's riverfront manufacturing era. The district covers 11.5 acres and includes four buildings from 1901 to about 1924 and the 1906 Cermak Road Bridge. The buildings are a warehouse for Wendnagel & Company, the Western Shade Cloth Company Building, the Thomson & Taylor Spice Company Building and the W.M. Hoyt Company Building. They range from three to seven stories and are built close to the lot lines, with Prairie School and Late Gothic Revival detailing on some. The bridge is a double-leaf Scherzer rolling lift span and the last of its kind in Chicago. It was rehabilitated in 1998 and raised 2.5 feet. The district is described as the city's only remaining ensemble of this type, with buildings and bridge that retain their original appearance and good integrity.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the group as the city's only surviving ensemble of riverside industrial buildings clustered around a bridge, a type once common along the Chicago River. The Cermak Road Bridge is the last double-leaf Scherzer rolling lift bridge in Chicago. The buildings share consistent scale, setbacks, materials and detailing and were tied to the area's manufacturing and wholesale trade.
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 12000243, listed May 1, 2012. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | W. Cermak Rd. & S. Branch of Chicago R., Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | Cook County |
| Listed | May 1, 2012 |
| Reference number | 12000243 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Lockwood Greene & Co. (Western Shade Cloth Company Building); Chatten & Hammond (Thomson & Taylor Spice Company Building); Nimmons & Fellows (W.M. Hoyt Company Building); William Scherzer, principal designer, and Isham Randolph, chief engineer (Cermak Road Bridge); architect of the Wendnagel & Company Warehouse unknown |
| Architectural style | Chicago; Prairie School; Late Gothic Revival; Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Engineering |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current functions listed include commerce (warehouse, professional), road-related transportation, and vacant/not in use. The bridge remains owned and operated by the City of Chicago. |
| Acreage | 11.5 |
| Within district | Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District |
| Coordinates | 41.85601, -87.64116 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 12000243.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q85751329
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.