North Wells Street Historic District
Also known as: Engine Company No. 27; Fiedler and Shouldice Factories
Why it's listed
This block-long row of seven buildings on North Wells Street in Chicago, between Scott and Goethe streets, dates from 1871 to 1888. It includes a two-story frame storefront built right after the Chicago Fire, an 1870s Italianate enginehouse for Engine Company No. 27, and a three-story brick loft built in 1875 by Anton B. Fiedler to make dress trimmings. Later additions include storefront-and-flat buildings, a carriage maker's factory from 1886, and a Queen Anne building of 1888 designed by Emil Riegert and Charles Knorr. The row was listed because it preserves a commercial street of the post-fire rebuilding period, a type that redevelopment and land clearance have nearly erased on the Near North, Near West and Near South sides. Other Chicago districts from the era are residential. Many buildings have been painted, resurfaced or partly bricked up, but their original designs can still be read, and the block shows how a neighborhood shopping street grew one lot at a time, often with owners living above their shops.
Significance in brief: The block is argued to be a rare surviving intact example of typical commercial street development outside downtown Chicago in the years after the 1871 fire. Other historic districts in the city show residential development of the period, but none preserves a comparable commercial frontage. Three buildings are singled out as early examples: a post-fire frame storefront, Engine Company No. 27, and Fiedler's loft factory.
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 84001021, listed May 3, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1240-1260 N. Wells St., Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | Cook County |
| Listed | May 3, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84001021 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Emil Riegert and Charles Knorr (1248 N. Wells); Anton B. Fiedler, Samuel Shouldice, Herman Busch and August Merzinger as builders; Engine Company No. 27 built by the Board of Public Works; other architects unknown |
| Architectural style | Italianate (enginehouse and Fiedler factory); Queen Anne (1248 N. Wells); post-fire balloon-frame storefront |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as deteriorated and fair, with altered buildings. Some storefronts are boarded over, and many facades are painted or partly covered, though the original designs remain evident. Surrounding blocks have been demolished or redeveloped. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.90548, -87.63471 (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 84001021.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q30591094
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.