National Register of Historic Places

Oliver Building

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Listed
December 8, 1983
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
83003563

About this property

The Oliver Building is located at 159 N. Dearborn Street in Chicago within the Loop. It was built for the Oliver Typewriter Company from 1907 to 1908 by Holabird & Roche. When two floors were added in 1920, Holabird & Roche were hired for the expansion. The cast iron exterior features typewriter-related motifs. It was declared a Chicago Landmark on May 9, 1984. The windows above the second floor are known as "Chicago windows," and are wide window panes bracketed by narrower double-hung windows. The windows also include the name of the company below the central pane. In the 1990s, when the Oriental Theatre wanted to expand its backstage area, architect Daniel P. Coffey came up with a design plan that gutted the Oliver while preserving one-third of its original steel structure, as well as the building's Dearborn facade and a portion of its alley facade.

Location

159 N. Dearborn St.
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
41.88516, -87.62932

Categories

COMMERCEARCHITECTUREINVENTION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Manhattan Building
Industrial
0 mi
Delaware Building
Industrial
0 mi
New Masonic Building and Oriental Theater
Industrial
0.1 mi
Page Brothers Building
Civil War
0.1 mi
Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre
Industrial
0.1 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Fort Dearborn (Chicago Massacre)
1812Early Republic
0.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Oliver Building listed on the National Register?

Oliver Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 1983.

What type of historic resource is Oliver Building?

Oliver Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Oliver Building?

The period of significance for Oliver Building is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Oliver Building?

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