Gaylord Building
Gaylord Building, a National Trust Historic Site
The Gaylord Building played a major role in creation of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, the final link in America’s great water highway system of the 19th century. Learn More
Dine at the Public Landing Restaurant
Located on-site is the extraordinary Public Landing Restaurant. Learn More
A Model for Preservation
From 1983-1987, the Gaylord Building was faithfully restored and rehabilitated; the project earned the prestigious President's Award for Preservation. Learn More
The Gaylord Building (1838) played a vital role in one of the great enterprises of the 19th century: the digging of the 96-mile-long Illinois and Michigan Canal. The I & M Canal linked Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River, creating a waterway that opened a prosperous trade route from New York to New Orleans. This handsome limestone warehouse stored construction materials for the canal. In later decades the building was used for grain storage, a general store, and a plumbing supply house and expanded with Greek Revival-style and Italianate additions. In 1987, descendents of George Gaylord, one of the former owners, rehabilitated the building and it became a model for preserving historic sites for new uses.
The Gaylord Building is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and operated by the Canal Corridor Association.
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