The Dawson Brothers Plant is a historic factory building located at 517-519 N.

Halsted Street Halsted Street is a major north-south street in the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois. Location In Chicago's grid system, Halsted Street marks 800 West, west of State Street, from Grace Street (3800 N) in Lakeview south to the city limits at t ...

in the West Town community area of

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

. The factory was built in 1888 and designed by

Julius Zittel Julius Zittel (October 2, 1869 - May 7, 1939) was an architect in Washington State. He was a draftsman at Herman Preusse firm and then became a partner at their firm. He became Washington's state architect. Works Selected works include: *Washing ...

; the five-story brick building has a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

front on its first floor and lacks ornamentation. The Dawson Brothers used the factory to produce

fireplace mantel The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and ca ...

s and grates; the building also served as the company's showroom and offices. A six-story addition was added to the building in 1901; this addition mainly served as a storage and shipping area. The Dawson Brothers conducted business at the factory until the 1920s. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places 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 or "great artistic v ...

on February 14, 1985.

References

Industrial buildings completed in 1888 Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Fireplaces {{Chicago-struct-stub