The West Loop–LaSalle Street Historic District is a historic district centered on LaSalle Street in the western Chicago Loop. The district 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 June 1, 2013. A boundary increase on July 24, 2017, added two buildings at 330 S. Wells Street and 212 W. Van Buren Street to the district. The district encompasses Chicago's financial center, which is anchored by the

Chicago Board of Trade Building The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a 44-story, Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon. Built in 1930 for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it has served as the primary trading ve ...

, and also includes several of its major banking institutions including the

Federal Reserve bank A Federal Reserve Bank is a regional bank of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. There are twelve in total, one for each of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts that were created by the Federal Reserve A ...

and several government buildings. Development in the district began in 1873 and, with the exception of a lull during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, has continued through the present day. Most of the district's buildings are high-rises with at least ten stories, with the tallest being the 49-story One North LaSalle Building. Many of Chicago's prominent architectural firms designed buildings within the district, and the buildings feature styles such as

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

, Chicago School,

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

, Romanesque Revival, and International. Significant buildings within the district include the

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (informally the Chicago Fed) is one of twelve regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, make up the United States' central bank. The Chicago Reserve Bank serves the Sevent ...

Chicago City Hall Chicago City Hall is a 10-story building that houses the official seat of government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. Adjacent to the Richard J. Daley Center and the James R. Thompson Center, the building that includes Chicago City Hall ho ...

, and several office buildings for large banks and insurance companies.

Buildings and structures

LaSalle Street

Wells Street

Clark Street

Dearborn Street

Wacker Drive

Randolph Street

Washington Street

Madison Street

Monroe Street

Adams Street

Jackson Boulevard

Van Buren Street

Works cited

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References

National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Neoclassical architecture in Illinois Chicago school Art Deco architecture in Illinois Romanesque Revival architecture in Illinois International style architecture in Illinois Financial districts in the United States {{CookCountyIL-NRHP-stub