Currently there are 124 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Central Chicago, out of more than 350 listings in the City of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Central Chicago includes 3 of the 77 well-defined community areas of Chicago: the historic business and cultural center of Chicago known as the Loop, as well as the Near North Side and the Near South Side. The combined area is bounded by Lake Michigan on the east, the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for ...

on the west, North Avenue (1600 N.) on the north, and 26th Street (2600 S.) on the south. This area runs five and one-quarter miles from north to south and about one and one-half miles from east to west. The Chicago central city area includes many early classic skyscrapers of the Chicago School of Architecture, such as

Burnham and Root Burnham and Root was one of Chicago's most famous architectural companies of the nineteenth century. It was established by Daniel Hudson Burnham and John Wellborn Root. During their eighteen years of partnership, Burnham and Root designed and b ...

's Monadnock and the

Reliance Building The Reliance Building is a skyscraper located at 1 W. Washington Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The first floor and basement were designed by John Root of the Burnham and Root architectural firm in 1890, with the rest o ...

s, as well as buildings from the early

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

period, such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's IBM Building and 860–880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments. Chicago's earliest surviving building, the

Henry B. Clarke House The Henry B. and Caroline Clarke/Bishop Louis Henry and Margaret Ford House or Clarke-Ford House is a Greek Revival style home, now serving as a house museum in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Built around 1836, it is considered the oldest ex ...

is on the Near South Side, close to the

Prairie Avenue District The Prairie Avenue District is a historic district in the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, Illinois. It includes the 1800 and 1900 blocks of South Prairie Avenue and the 1800 blo ...

, which many critics view as the jewel of residential Chicago architecture. Architect

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

's work is represented by the

Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building The Sullivan Center, formerly known as the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building or Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Store, is a commercial building at 1 South State Street at the corner of East Madison Street in Chicago, Illinois. Louis S ...

, and

Auditorium Building The Auditorium Building in Chicago is one of the best-known designs of Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. Completed in 1889, the building is located at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive. The building was des ...

. Though

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

worked downtown early in his career as an assistant to Sullivan - including work on the

James Charnley House The James Charnley Residence, also known as the Charnley-Persky House, is a historic house museum at 1365 North Astor Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1892, it is one of the few surviving residential works ...

- his own work in the central city is represented only by a renovation of the lobby of

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

's and

John Wellborn Root John Wellborn Root (January 10, 1850 – January 15, 1891) was an American architect who was based in Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago School style. Two of his buildings have been designated a National ...

Rookery Building The Rookery Building is a historic office building located at 209 South LaSalle Street in the Chicago Loop. Completed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root of Burnham and Root in 1888, it is considered one of their masterpiec ...

. At least three sites relate to the city's role in nationwide retailing. Included also are several religious buildings, six hotels, and four theaters.The four NRHP sites that are theaters are: the

, Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, the

New Masonic Building and Oriental Theater New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and Orchestra Hall,

Current listings

Former listing

References

External links

Chicago Listing on the National Register of Historic Places
August 5, 2011, City of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, Mayor.
NPS Focus database
National Park Service. {{National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Chicago-related lists Central *

Current listings

Former listing

See also

References

External links