Sheffield Historic District (Boundary Increase III)
Also known as: See Also:Sheffield Historic District; Sheffield Historic Dist
Why it's listed
Three additions to a North Side Chicago neighborhood district bring in roughly 490 more buildings, mostly built between the late 1860s and about 1920. One area runs along N. Lakewood Avenue on the west. A second lies to the southwest and south around N. Maud and W. Willow. A third extends east and south along N. Halsted, Burling, Orchard and Howe streets. The buildings are narrow-lot frame and brick Chicago cottages, flats, developer-built apartments, small storefronts and the 1898 James A. Mulligan School by Flanders and Zimmermann. Many went up quickly after the 1871 fire, before frame construction was restricted in 1875. Few are architecturally important individually, but together they show how the neighborhood grew and how ordinary middle and working class housing looked. Many cottages have been re-sided with synthetic material, though original window frames, cornices and massing remain. Boundaries were drawn to follow surviving historic building stock and to exclude industrial and modern redevelopment.
Significance in brief: The extensions are argued to be significant as a collection that shows the physical development of the Sheffield neighborhood. Few of the buildings are individually notable, but together they represent middle and working class housing built after the 1871 fire. The area includes some of Chicago's earliest post-fire frame and brick cottages, apartment buildings, small commercial buildings and a school.
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 86001474, listed August 22, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by W. Wisconsin St. and Armitage Ave., N. Howe and N. Halsted Sts., N. Willow St., and N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | Cook County |
| Listed | August 22, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86001474 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | late 1860s to about 1920 |
| Architect / builder | Flanders and Zimmermann (James A. Mulligan School, 1898) |
| Architectural style | Chicago cottages with Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival details |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Integrity is described as fair to good: 40.4% of buildings contribute and 31.8% are technically non-contributing because of synthetic re-siding. Some areas have demolition-created vacant lots. |
| Acreage | 53 |
| Within district | Sheffield Historic District |
| Coordinates | 41.91725, -87.65207 (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 86001474.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q85800754
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.