Four Nineteen Building
Why it's listed
Four Nineteen is a one-story brick filling station at 419 E. 83rd Street in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood. It opened on December 21, 1928, built by William D. Meyering and David L. Sutton, both local real estate men and aldermen. A gabled canopy on two brick piers sits at the center of the front, flanked by two garage bays on each side. The walls are clinker brick, hard and cracked from kiln heat, laid in English bond with a skintled pattern that gives a rough texture. Mission tiles in red, yellow and green line the parapet and canopy, and the steel casement windows and wood doors are original. Inside, a central office sits between a greasing room with two full-sized grease pits and a car washing and repair room. The station is now vacant and has suffered vandalism, but it keeps its original plan and materials. It is valued as one of the few pre-1945 stations left on Chicago's South Side.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a well-preserved example of a combined "House with Canopy and Bays" filling station type and one of the few remaining pre-1945 stations on Chicago's South Side. It also has distinctive clinker brickwork laid in a skintled pattern, reflecting an era of individually owned neighborhood stations. It is significant locally under Criterion C for architecture.
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 99000973, listed August 12, 1999. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 419 E. 83rd St., Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | Cook County |
| Listed | August 12, 1999 |
| Reference number | 99000973 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1928 |
| Architectural style | Other: house with canopy and bays / gas station |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Now vacant; the garage bays are covered with plywood, and vandalism has damaged the roof, gutters, skylight and pumps. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.74471, -87.60221 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 99000973.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15218296
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.