Fifteen Near North Side residential buildings constructed shortly after the Great Chicago Fire were approved as an official Chicago Landmark District by City Council today.

The Near North Side Multiple Property District includes a noncontiguous group of single-family homes, row houses and apartment buildings that represent the early redevelopment of the Near North Side after it was largely decimated by fire in 1871.

Generally bounded by Chicago Avenue, LaSalle Drive, Grand Avenue and Fairbanks Court, the properties are among the area’s last examples of post-fire construction that haven’t been replaced by new construction or parking lots.

The buildings represent Italianate designs, as well as Second Empire, Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival, and Colonial Revival styles. Their architects include Treat and Foltz, which designed a range of high-quality homes, factories and schools; Burling & Whitehouse, which designed many post-fire buildings; and prolific architect Henry Ives Cobb, who also occupied one of the structures as his personal residence. Individual property addresses include:

• 642 N. Dearborn St
• 17 E. Erie St.
• 14 W. Erie St.
• 110 W. Grand Ave.
• 671 N. State St.
• 1 E. Huron St.
• 9 E. Huron St.
• 10 E. Huron St.
• 16 W. Ontario St.
• 18 W. Ontario St.
• 212 E. Ontario St.
• 222 E. Ontario St.
• 716 N. Rush St.
• 42 E. Superior St.
• 44 and 46 E. Superior St.

The district received a final recommendation for landmark status by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in February 2020. The designation will protect the exterior elevations of all the buildings from significant alteration or demolition. 

# # #