The Margaret Cross Norton Building

Location:

Second & Jackson
Springfield, IL 62706

Constructed: 1936 - 1938

Square footage: 34,508

Architects:

C. Herrick Hammond
Supervising Architect

About the Margaret Cross Norton Building

The Margaret Cross Norton Building, southwest of the State Capitol, houses the State Archives, a department of the Secretary of State's office. Formerly the Archives Building, it was designed to protect the state's valuable historic records from the hazards of fire, theft and exposure. Construction began in 1936 with aid from the New Deal's Public Works Administration, and the building was completed in 1938 at a cost of $820,000. It is architecturally unique, having no windows on the fourth through seventh floors. The building was renamed in 1995 in honor of former State Archives Superintendent Margaret Cross Norton.