Former Chicago Historical Society Building

Old Chicago Historical Society Building
HABS image from 1963
Location632 N. Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates41°53′36.92″N 87°37′47.85″W / 41.8935889°N 87.6299583°W / 41.8935889; -87.6299583
Built1892
ArchitectHenry Ives Cobb
Architectural styleRomanesque, Gothic
NRHP reference No.78001126
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 28, 1978
Designated CLFebruary 26, 1997

The Former Chicago Historical Society Building is a historic landmark located at 632 N. Dearborn Street on the northwest corner of Dearborn and Ontario streets near downtown Chicago. Built in 1892, the granite-clad building is a prime example of Henry Ives Cobb's Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. Henry Cobb designed this home for Walter Loomis Newberry, founder of the Newberry Library in Chicago. The building was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1997. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, under the name, Old Chicago Historical Society Building.

The building was the home of the Chicago Historical Society after its original headquarters burned down in the Great Chicago Fire, and prior to its relocation to Lincoln Park in 1931. Afterwards, the building housed a magazine publisher, the Works Progress Administration, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Chicago Institute of Design (1946–1956), and recording studios (1950s and 1960s). Since 1985 it has been the location of a series of nightclubs, and presently is the location of Tao Asian Bistro's Chicago location.