Motor Row Historic District
Why it's listed
Motor Row is a three-block stretch of Chicago's Near South Side, centered on South Michigan Avenue between Cermak Road and the Stevenson Expressway, with parts of Wabash and Indiana Avenues. It contains dozens of brick and terra cotta buildings put up mostly between 1909 and 1915 to sell, service and store automobiles. Built to the sidewalk edge with large display windows, the showrooms form a nearly continuous streetwall. Designs range from simple Chicago School facades to Renaissance Revival, Spanish Revival, Sullivanesque and Moderne examples. Architects included Holabird & Roche, Alfred Alschuler, Jenney, Mundie & Jensen, and Albert Kahn, whose Cadillac service building is described as his only intact industrial work remaining in Chicago. The district was listed for its commercial history and its architecture. It is described as the largest surviving collection of early automobile showrooms in the country, showing how this building type developed through the 1930s. Upper floors are largely intact, while altered ground-level storefronts are considered reversible.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is the largest extant collection of intact early automobile showrooms in the United States, illustrating how showroom and auto-service buildings evolved from 1909 into the 1930s. It also shows the work of many prominent Chicago architects, including Holabird & Roche, Alfred Alschuler and Albert Kahn, who helped develop a new building type.
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 02001387, listed November 18, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by 22nd St., Indiana St., 24th Place, and Wabash St., Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | Cook County |
| Listed | November 18, 2002 |
| Reference number | 02001387 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1909-1936 |
| Architect / builder | Christian Eckstorm, Holabird & Roche, Alfred Alschuler, Jenney, Mundie & Jensen, Albert Kahn, Jarvis Hunt, Phillip Maher, Melvin A. Nelson, and others |
| Architectural style | Commercial Style, Moderne, Spanish Revival, Sullivanesque, Renaissance Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Buildings remain generally intact, though many ground floors have been altered and windows filled or back-painted. Current uses include business, specialty stores and multiple dwellings. Several vacant lots lie within the district. |
| Acreage | 28 |
| Coordinates | 41.85297, -87.62400 (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 02001387.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6918152
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.