Crane Company Building
Why it's listed
Completed in 1912 at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue and East Ninth Street, this twelve-story office tower in downtown Chicago was built for the Crane Company, a leading American maker of iron and brass valves, pipes, fittings, plumbing fixtures, boilers and radiators. Holabird & Roche designed it with a steel frame and a Classical Revival exterior divided into a granite and limestone base, a red brick shaft and a white terra cotta top. Its open, column-free floors housed the company's executive and office staff rather than rental tenants. The building is linked to company founder Richard Teller Crane and his sons Charles R. Crane and Richard Teller Crane Jr. Other Crane factories and family homes in Chicago have been demolished or heavily altered, leaving this office building as the best-preserved local site tied to the business. The exterior retains high integrity, while the interior was remodeled after Crane left in 1959 and is being converted to apartments.
Significance in brief: The building is tied to the Crane Company, a leading U.S. maker of valves, pipes, fittings, plumbing fixtures, boilers and radiators, and is argued to have local significance in industry, commerce and invention. It is also linked to Richard Teller Crane and his sons Charles R. Crane and Richard Teller Crane Jr. It is described as the Chicago site associated with the company and family that retains the greatest integrity, since the company's plants and family residences have been demolished or altered.
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 01001538, listed January 28, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 836 S Michigan Ave., Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | Cook County |
| Listed | January 28, 2002 |
| Reference number | 01001538 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1912 to 1951 (Criterion A); 1912 to 1931 (Criterion B) |
| Architect / builder | Holabird and Roche |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Commerce, Industry, Invention |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Interior floors are being rehabilitated for residential conversion and original windows are being replaced; parts of the cornice are undergoing repair. Crane left the building in 1959. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.87068, -87.62460 (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 01001538.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14687469
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.