National Register Listings in
Cook County, Illinois

42nd Precinct Police Station 7th District Police Station Abbott, Robert S., House Adler Planetarium Akin, Mrs. Henry F., House Alta Vista Terrace Historic District America Fore Building American State Bank Anderson-Carlson Building Andersonville Commercial Historic District Andridge Apartments Aquitania, The Arcade Building Armour Square Auburn Gresham Bungalow Historic District Auditorium Building, Roosevelt University Austin Historic District Austin Town Hall Park Historic District Automatic Electric Company Building AVR 661 B.F. Goodrich Company Showroom Bach, Emil, House Baha'i Temple Bailey-Michelet House Baker, Frank J., House Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre Baldwin, Hiram, House Banta, Nathaniel Moore, House Baptist Retirement Home Barrington Historic District Belden Stratford Hotel Belmont-Sheffield Trust and Savings Bank Building Belmonte Flats Berger Park Bersbach, Alfred, House Berwyn Health Center Berwyn Municipal Building Best Brewing Company of Chicago Building Biograph Theater Building Blackstone Hotel Bloom Township High School Bohemian National Cemetery Bohlander, Jacob, House Boyce Building Brainerd Bungalow Historic District Brigham, Edmund D., House Brown, Roger, Home and Studio Bryn Mawr Avenue Historic District Buckingham Building Buena Park Historic District Building at 1101-1113 Maple Avenue Building at 1209-1217 Maple Avenue Building at 1301-1303 Judson Avenue Building at 1305-1307 Judson Avenue Building at 1316 Maple Avenue Building at 14-16 Pearson Street Building at 1401-1407 Elmwood Avenue Building at 1505-1509 Oak Avenue Building at 1929-1931 Sherman Avenue Building at 2440 N. Lakeview Avenue Building at 2517 Central Street Building at 2519 Central Street Building at 2523 Central Street Building at 257 East Delaware Building at 320 West Oakdale Avenue Building at 399 West Fullerton Parkway Building at 417-419 Lee Street Building at 548-606 Michigan Avenue Building at 5510 North Sheridan Building at 813-815 Forest Avenue Building at 900 West Lake Street Building at 923-925 Michigan Avenue Building at 999 Michigan, 200 Lee Buildings at 1104-1110 Seward Buildings at 815-817 Brummel and 819-821 Brummel Buildings at 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Burlingham Building Burnham, Anita Willets, Log House Bush Temple of Music Calhoun, Mr. James Kent, House Calumet Park Calumet Plant, R. R. Donnelly & Sons Company Carling Hotel Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Carter, Frederick B., Jr., House Castle Tower Apartments Castlewood Terrace Central Berwyn Bungalow Historic District Central Manufacturing District-Original East Historic District Central Manufacturing District-Pershing Road Development Historic District Central Park Theater Cermak Road Bridge Historic District Cermak, Anton, House Chapin and Gore Building Charles Warrington Earle School Charnley, James, House Chicago and North Western Railroad Depot Chicago and North Western Railway Power House Chicago and Northwestern Depot Chicago Avenue Water Tower and Pumping Station Chicago Beach Hotel Chicago Bee Building Chicago Board of Trade Building Chicago Club Chicago Federal Center Chicago Harbor Lighthouse Chicago Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium District Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District Chicago Portage National Historic Site Chicago Public Library, Central Building Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Historic District Chicago Savings Bank Building Chicago Telephone Company Kedzie Exchange Chicago Varnish Company Building Chrysler Village Church of the Epiphany Clarke, Henry B., House Clayson, George, House Cluever, Richard, House Coca Cola Company Building Colonnade Court Columbus Park Columbus Park Community House Compton, Arthur H., House Congress Theater Continental and Commercial National Bank Conway Building Cook County Criminal Court Building Cook County Hospital Administration Building Coonley, Avery, House Cornell Square Covent Hotel Crane Company Building Creamery Package Manufacturing Company Building Crow Island School Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical University Building Davis Square Davis Theater Dawes, Charles Gates, House Dawson Brothers Plant De Priest, Oscar Stanton, House Dearborn Station Delaware Building Dempster Street Station Des Plaines Methodist Camp Ground Dewes, Francis J., House Dilg, Herbert A., House Dorhmann-Buckman House Douglas Tomb State Memorial Drake Hotel Drucker, Robert and Suzanne, House Drummond, William E., House Dryden, George B., House Du Sable, Jean Baptiste Point, Homesite Dunham, Arthur J., House East Park Towers East Ravenswood Historic District East Village Historic District Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church Edgewater Beach Apartments Edison Park Eighth Regiment Armory Emmanuel Episcopal Church Emmel Building Episcopal Church of the Atonement and Parish House, The Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church Eugene Field Park Evanston Lakeshore Historic District Evanston Ridge Historic District Evanston Towers Fairbanks, Morse and Company Building Falconer Bungalow Historic District Field Museum of Natural History Field, Marshall, Garden Apartments First Congregational Church of Austin First Congregational Church of Western Springs First Congregational Church, Des Plaines First Self-Sustaining Nuclear Reaction, Site of Fisher Building Flamingo-On-The-Lake Apartments Flat Iron Building Flower, Lucy, Technical High School for Girls Foley, Jennie, Building Ford Airport Hanger Forest, The, and Annex Fort Dearborn Hotel Forum, The Fountain Plaza Apartments Four Nineteen Building Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago Frangenheim, William, House Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District (Boundary Increase) Fuller Park Gage Group-Ascher, Keith, and Gage Buildings Gage Park Bungalow Historic District Gale, Mrs. Thomas H., House Gale, Walter, House Garden Homes Historic District Garfield Park Gauler, John, Houses Germania Club Getty Tomb Gibbs, William and Caroline, House Glasner, William A., House Glessner, John J., House Gold Coast Historic District Goldblatt Bros. Department Store Graceland Cemetery Grand Crossing Park Grant Park Greeley, Dr. Paul W. and Eunice, House Greenwood, The Griffiths, John W., Mansion Groesbeck, Abraham, House Gross Point Village Hall Grossdale Station Grosse Point Light Station Grow, Caroline, House Gunderson Historic District Guyon Hotel Halsted, Ann, House Hamilton Park Hangar 1, Naval Air Station-Glenview Hanson, Anton, E., House Harrer Building Hatch, William H., House Haymarket Martyrs' Monument Heller, Isadore H., House Hermitage Apartments Hermosa Bungalow Historic DIstrict Heurtley, Arthur, House Hillcrest Apartment Hines, Edward Jr., Veterans Administration Hospital Historic District Hinman Apartments Hitchcock, Charles, Hall Hofmann Tower Hohf, Dr. Robert, House Holy Name Cathedral Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cathedral and Rectory Home Bank and Trust Company Homestead, The Hotel Del Prado Hotel St. Benedict Flats Hotel Windermere East Hull House Humboldt Park Humphrey, John, House Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District (Boundary Increase II) Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District (Boundary Increase) IBM Building Illinois Industrial School for Girls Illinois Institute of Technology Academic Campus Immaculata High School Independence Park Indian Boundary Park Inland Steel Building International Tailoring Company Building Irving, James B., House Jackson Park Historic Landscape District and Midway Plaisance Jackson Shore Apartments Jefferson Park Jeffery-Cyril Historic District Jewelers' Building Jewish People's Institute Judson, The K-Town Historic District Kehilath Anshe Ma'ariv Synagogue Kenilworth Club Kennicott's Grove Kent, Sydney, House Kenwood Evangelical Church Kimball, William W., House King, Patrick J., House Kosciuszko Park Field House Krause Music Store Kuppenheimer, Louis B., Jr., House La Grange Village Historic District Lake Shore Apartments Lake-Side Terrace Apartments Lakeside Press Building Lakeview Historic District Lakeview Historic District (Boundary Increase) Lakewood Balmoral Historic District Larson, Mads C., House Lathrop, Bryan, House Lathrop, Julia C., Homes Lawson, Victor F., House YMCA Leaning Tower of Niles, The Legler, Henry E., Regional Branch of the Chicago Public Library Leiter II Building Lemont Central Grade School Lemont Downtown Historic District Lemont Methodist Episcopal Church Lillie, Frank R., House Lincoln Park Lincoln Park Lily Pool Lincoln Park, South Pond Refectory Lindemann and Hoverson Company Showroom and Warehouse Linden Avenue Terminal Lloyd, Henry Demarest, House Logan Square Boulevards Historic District Loop Retail Historic District Lou Mitchell's Restaurant Loucks, Charles N., House Ludington Building Lumber Exchange Building and Tower Addition Lynch, Timothy J., House Lyons Township Hall Madlener, Albert F., House Maher, George W., House Malden Towers Mandel Brothers Warehouse Building Manhattan Building Manor House Maple Court Apartments Mark Twain Hotel Marquette Building Marshall Field and Company Store Marshall Field Company Store Marshall Hotel Marywood Academy Masonic Temple Building Masonic Temple Building Maverick Lloyd, Lola, House Maxwell-Briscoe Automobile Company Showroom Mayfair Apartments Maynard, Isaac N., Rowhouses Maywood Fire Department Building McClurg Building McJunkin, William, House Meekerville Historic District Melwood Apartments Michigan-Lee Apartments Michigan-Wacker Historic District Midwest Athletic Club Miller, Allan, House Millikan, Robert A., House Millward, Caroline, House Monadnock Block Montgomery Ward Company Complex Montgomery, John Rogerson, House Morton, J. Sterling, High School East Auditorium Motley, John Lothrop, School Motor Row Historic District Muller House Mundelein College Skyscraper Building Municipal Courts Building Narragansett, The Neuville, The New Masonic Building and Oriental Theater Nichols, Harry H., House Nickerson, Samuel, House Noble-Seymour-Crippen House North Mayfair Bungalow Historic District North Wells Street Historic District Northeast Evanston Historic District Northwestern Terra Cotta Company Building Norwood Park Historical District Notre Dame de Chicago O'Grady, Mr. J. William de Coursey, House Oak Circle Historic District Oak Park Conservatory Oak Park Village Hall Oak Ridge Apartments Oakton Gables Oakton Historic District Octagon House Old Chicago Historical Society Building Old Colony Buildings Old Main Building Old Stone Gate of Chicago Union Stockyards Old Town Triangle Historic District Oliver Building Olympia Fields Country Club One LaSalle Street Building Orchestra Hall Orth House Otis Elevator Company Factory Building Ouilmette North Historic District Overton Hygienic Building Overton, Anthony, Elementary School Pacesetter Gardens Historic District Page Brothers Building Palmer Park Palmolive Building Parkway Garden Homes Passionist Fathers Monastery Patten, Charles H., House Pattington Apartments Peabody, Elizabeth, School Peoples Gas Building Perkins, Dwight, House Pickwick Theater Building Pilsen Historic District Pleasant Home Poinsetta Apartments Polish National Alliance Headquarters Polish Roman Catholic Union of America Pontiac Building Portage Park Portage Park Bungalow Historic District Prairie Avenue District Produce Terminal Cold Storage Company Building Promontory Apartments Promontory Point Pulaski Park and Fieldhouse Pullman Historic District Purple, George E., House Pyle-National Company Plant Quigley Preparatory Seminary Quinn Chapel of the A.M.E. Church Railway Exchange Building Ramsey, Charles N., and Herry E. Weese House Ravenswood Manor Historic District Raymond M. Hilliard Center Historic District Raymond Park Apartments Reebie Moving and Storage Company Rees, Harriet F., House Reid House Reid Murdoch Building Reliance Building Ridge Boulevard Apartments Ridge Grove Ridge Historic District Ridge Manor Ridgeland-Oak Park Historic District Ridgewood Riis, Jacob A., Park River Forest Historic District Riverside Landscape Architecture District Robertson, John, Jr., House Robie, Frederick C., House Robinson House Roche, Martin-John Tait House Rogers Park Manor Bungalow Historic District Roloson, Robert, Houses Rookery Building Rookwood Apartments Room 405, George Herbert Jones Laboratory, The University of Chicago Ropp-Grabill House Rosehill Cemetery Administration Building and Entry Gate Rosenwald Apartment Building Rothschild, A. M., & Company Store Roycemore School Rozek, Theodore, House S.R. Crown Hall Sauganash Historic District Schoenhofen Brewery Historic District Schorsch Irving Park Gardens Historic District Schulze Baking Company Plant Schurz, Carl, High School Schweikher, Paul, House and Studio Scoville Place Sears, Roebuck and Company Complex Second Presbyterian Church Shakespeare Garden Shedd Park Fieldhouse Shedd, John G., Aquarium Sheffield Historic District Sheffield Historic District (Boundary Increase II) Sheffield Historic District (Boundary Increase III) Sheffield Historic District (Boundary Increase) Sheridan Park Historic District Sheridan Plaza Hotel Sheridan Square Apartments Sherman Park Shoreland Hotel Shoreline Apartments Silhan, Mr. Robert, House Silversmith Building Singer Building Smith, J. P., Shoe Company Plant Soffel, Albert, House Soldier Field Somerset Hotel South Dearborn Street-Printing House Row Historic District South Loop Printing House District South Park Manor Historic District South Shore Beach Apartments South Shore Bungalow Historic District South Shore Country Club South Side Community Art Center South Water Market Spiegel Office Building St. Ignatius College St. James Catholic Church and Cemetery St. Luke's Hospital Complex St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran School St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church St. Thomas Church and Convent Steuben Club, The Stoneleigh Manor Stony Island Trust and Savings Bank Building Storkline Furniture Corporation Factory Story-Camp Rowhouses Strand Hotel Strauss, Jesse L., Estate Studebaker Building Sullivan, Joseph P. O., House Sunderlage Farm Smokehouse Sutherland Hotel Swedish American Telephone Company Building Swedish Club of Chicago Swift House Sylvan Road Bridge Taft, Lorado, Midway Studios Talman West Ridge Bungalow Historic District Teich, Curt, and Company Building Theurer-Wrigley House Third Church of Christ, Scientist Thomas, Frank, House Thompkins, Jennie S., House Thorne, George R., House Tomek, F.F., House Tree Studio Building and Annexes Tri-Taylor Historic District Tri-Taylor Historic District (Boundary Increase) Trumbull Park Trustees System Service Building Tudor Manor Twin Tower Sanctuary U-505 (IX C U-Boat) Union Park Congregational Church and Carpenter Chapel Union Park Hotel United States Custom House United States Post Office-Chicago Unity Hall Unity Temple University Apartments Uptown Broadway Building Uptown Square Historic District USS SILVERSIDES (SS 236) National Historic Landmark Vassar Swiss Underwear Company Building Vesta Accumulator Company Building Vial, Robert, House Victory Sculpture Villa Historic District Villa Historic District (Boundary Increase) Vogt, Karl, Building Wabash Avenue YMCA Waller, William, House Walser, Joseph J., House Warner, Seth, House Warren, Edward Kirk, House and Garage Washington Park Washington Square Washington Square Historic District Wells-Barnett, Ida B., House West Argyle Street Historic District West Argyle Street Historic District (Boundary Increase) West Burton Place Historic District West Chatham Bungalow Historic District West Jackson Boulevard District West Jackson Historic District (Boundary Increase) West Loop-LaSalle Street Historic District West Pullman Elementary School Western Springs Water Tower Westminster Wheeler-Kohn House Wheeler-Magnus Round Barn Wholesale Florists Exchange Wicker Park Historic District Wild Flower and Bird Sanctuary in Mahoney Park Willard, Frances, House Williams, Dr. Daniel Hale, House Winslow, William H., House And Stable Woman's Christian Temperance Union Administration Building Woman's Club of Evanston Wooden Alley Wright, Frank Lloyd, House and Studio Wrightwood Bungalow Historic District Wrigley Field Yale, The YMCA Hotel Yondorf Block and Hall Young, Joshua P., House
The state of Illinois played a crucial role in the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses used by slaves to escape to freedom in the 19th century. Many abolitionists in Illinois provided safe houses for escaping slaves, and Chicago was a key hub on the Underground Railroad.
Cook County, located in the northeastern part of Illinois, has a rich and vibrant history that dates back centuries. The area was first inhabited by Native American tribes, including the Potawatomi, Miami, and Sauk, who utilized the abundant natural resources of the region for their livelihoods.

European settlement of Cook County began in the late 18th century with the arrival of French explorers and traders. However, it was not until the early 19th century that the permanent settlement of the region started to take shape. In 1831, the area was officially organized as Cook County, named after Daniel Cook, an early attorney and politician.

The construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in the 1830s played a significant role in the development of Cook County. This waterway connected the Illinois River to Lake Michigan, making Chicago a crucial transportation hub and contributing to its rapid growth. The county's population surged, attracting immigrants from around the world who sought work in industries like meatpacking, steel manufacturing, and brewing.

Throughout its history, Cook County has been a focal point of notable events and achievements. It was in Cook County that the iconic Chicago Fire of 1871 broke out, resulting in significant destruction but also paving the way for the city's subsequent architectural and urban redevelopment. The county was also key to the rise of the labor and civil rights movements, with significant protests and strikes occurring throughout the 20th century.

Today, Cook County is the most populous county in Illinois and home to the city of Chicago, a global center of commerce, culture, and innovation. It continues to evolve and adapt, with diverse communities, renowned cultural institutions, and a dynamic economy that contributes to its reputation as a vibrant and influential county.

This timeline provides a concise overview of the key events in the history of Cook County, Illinois.

  • 1830: Cook County is established as a separate county in the state of Illinois.
  • 1835: The city of Chicago is incorporated within Cook County.
  • 1840: The population of Cook County reaches over 10,000.
  • 1850: The Illinois Central Railroad is completed, connecting Chicago to the rest of the country.
  • 1871: The Great Chicago Fire destroys a large portion of the city, including parts of Cook County.
  • 1889: The Chicago Board of Trade Building, the world's first modern skyscraper, is completed in Chicago.
  • 1920: The population of Cook County surpasses 3 million.
  • 1933: The beginning of the prohibition era leads to increased organized crime activities in Cook County, notably led by Al Capone.
  • 1955: The construction of the Eisenhower Expressway begins, marking the start of an extensive highway system in Cook County.
  • 1969: The Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) is completed in Chicago, becoming the tallest building in the world at the time.
  • 1971: The Richard J. Daley Center, a prominent government building, is completed in Chicago.
  • 1995: The Chicago Bulls, with Michael Jordan, win their fourth NBA championship, bringing recognition and pride to Cook County.
  • 2016: Chicago experiences a surge in violence and homicides, leading to increased efforts to address and reduce crime in Cook County.