J. P. Smith Shoe Company Plant

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J. P. Smith Shoe Company Plant
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Location671-699 N. Sangamon Ave. and 901-921 W. Huron St., Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates 41°53′41″N87°39′03″W / 41.89472°N 87.65083°W / 41.89472; -87.65083 (J. P. Smith Shoe Company Plant) Coordinates: 41°53′41″N87°39′03″W / 41.89472°N 87.65083°W / 41.89472; -87.65083 (J. P. Smith Shoe Company Plant)
Area1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Built1911 (1911)-12
ArchitectWilson, Horatio R.
NRHP reference # 85002842 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 14, 1985

The J. P. Smith Shoe Company Plant is a historic factory building at the corner of North Sangamon Avenue and West Huron Street in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The factory was built in 1911-12 for the J. P. Smith Shoe Company, Chicago's second-largest maker of shoes at the time. Horatio R. Wilson, a prolific local architect, designed the building. Wilson's design used metal sash windows to provide light and ventilation to workers, putting it at the forefront of a national trend in industrial construction. The emphasis on proper lighting was a recurring theme in Wilson's work, as he had also designed some of Chicago's first apartments with sun parlors. The design also used brickwork to add decorative features, such as piers and a cornice, to an otherwise functional and unadorned design. [2]

West Town, Chicago Community area in Illinois, United States

West Town, located in Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois, northwest of the Loop, on Chicago's West Side is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. Much of this area was historically part of the city's Polish Downtown, and its name may refer to Western Avenue, which was the city's western boundary at the time of West Town's settlement, but more likely was a convenient abstraction by the creators of Chicago's community areas. Then, as now, West Town was a collection of several distinct neighborhoods. It was the most populous of the community areas from their creation until it was surpassed by Near West Side in the 1960s. The boundaries of the community area are the Chicago River to the east, the Union Pacific railroad tracks to the south, the former railroad tracks on Bloomingdale Avenue to the North, and an irregular western border to the west that includes the city park called Humboldt Park. Humboldt Park is also the name of the community area to West Town's west, Logan Square is to the north, Near North Side to the east, and Near West Side to the south. Currently, as well as historically, the collection of neighborhoods in West Town along with the neighborhoods of Bucktown and the eastern portion of Logan Square have been referred to by media as the Near Northwest Side. However, since the gentrification of West Town, media often refers to the area as solely the Northwest Side for the purposes of real estate gentrification tactics.

Chicago City in Illinois, United States

Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in Illinois, as well as the third most populous city in the United States. With an estimated population of 2,716,450 (2017), it is the most populous city in the Midwest. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as "Chicagoland", and the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. The metropolitan area, at nearly 10 million people, is the third-largest in the United States, and the fourth largest in North America and the third largest metropolitan area in the world by land area.

Illinois State of the United States of America

Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It has the fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth largest population, and the 25th largest land area of all U.S. states. Illinois is often noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in northeastern Illinois, small industrial cities and immense agricultural productivity in the north and center of the state, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. Chicagoland, Chicago's metropolitan area, encompasses over 65% of the state's population. The Port of Chicago connects the state to international ports via two main routes: from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway to the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 14, 1985. [1]

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

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References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2013-11-02). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. Bluestone, Daniel M. (July 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: J. P. Smith Shoe Company Plant" (PDF). Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved March 31, 2019.