Fort Sheridan, 25 miles Northeast of Chicago, on Lake Michigan, Lake Forest, Lake County, IL

Significance: Fort Sheridan is an important turn-of-the century military post planned and constructed during a period of transition in national policy which signaled the closing of temporary frontier posts and the establishment of permanent garrisons of troops at strategic points throughout the United States. Designed by the nationally significant architectural firm of Holabird and Roche, the Fort took form during an interlude between the establishment of a series of permanent military installations and the issuance of standardized building plans from the Office of the Quartermaster General. Fort Sheridan has contributed significantly to our national history through the training and preparation of American soldiers during three wars. It has however, the distinctive buff-cream brick buildings constructed during the first twenty years of the Post's existence along with associated landscape features which provide its major significance. The original post as constructed remains almost complete today...These buildings by design, usage, and relationship to one another are typical of the military traditions and values of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century army, exemplifying among other things the importance of the horse and the mule to the army, the separation of rank, the growing attention paid to the needs of the soldier, and the pomp and ceremony connected with military life at this time. Arranged around the parade grounds and enclosed by two large ravines, the district is a compact one. It evokes a sense of the old army and possesses strong associative values with United States military history especially that period between Fort Sheridan's inception in the late 1880's and the onset of World War I.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-139
Survey number: HABS IL-1113
Building/structure dates: ca. 18q4 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 80001379