Karcher Hotel
Why it's listed
Rising nine stories above the corner of Washington Street and Martin Luther King Avenue in downtown Waukegan, this 150-room hotel was built in 1927-28 to serve both travelers and the local community. It was planned with offices, shops and a restaurant alongside guest rooms, and it offered a lobby with a fireplace, a mezzanine lounge, a billiard room with a mural and a banquet room. The steel-frame building follows the three-part vertical block pattern: a light grey terra cotta base, a shaft of variegated red brick, and a terra cotta cornice and parapet. Classical Revival ornament such as egg and dart molding, dentils and anthemions appears in low relief. Its location near the courthouse, post office and railroad station suited the needs of the day. A fire in 1984 damaged the interior and the ground-floor storefronts, yet the exterior massing, brickwork and terra cotta survive, along with the fireplace, staircase and a wrought iron mezzanine balustrade. It is listed as one of the few surviving early hotels in the city.
Significance in brief: The form presents it as one of only two pre-1960 hotels in Waukegan with enough integrity to show the role hotels played in the city's commercial and community life. It is a clear example of the three-part vertical commercial block with Classical Revival terra cotta ornament. Its exterior retains original massing, patterned brickwork and all of its terra cotta, and enough of the interior survived a 1984 fire to allow restoration.
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 02000845, listed August 9, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 405 Washington St., Waukegan |
|---|---|
| County | Lake County |
| Listed | August 9, 2002 |
| Reference number | 02000845 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Classical Revival |
| Areas of significance | Commerce |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function listed as vacant/not in use; interior damaged by a 1984 fire; storefronts altered; rehabilitation planned following the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.36130, -87.83303 (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 02000845.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q87334161
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.