Commercial buildings in Sycamore Historic District

The commercial buildings in the Sycamore Historic District, located in Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. It has a commercial district based and centered on Illinois Route 64. The population was 17,519 at the 2010 census, up from 12,020 at the 2000 census.-Early settlement:...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

are mostly located in and around the city's downtown. The largest concentration of commercial contributing properties to the historic district

Historic district

A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries, historic districts receive legal protection from development....

are found along Illinois Route 64

Illinois Route 64

Illinois Route 64 is an east–west road in north-central Illinois. Its western terminus is at the Iowa state line, connecting with U.S. Route 52 and Iowa Highway 64 via the Savanna-Sabula Bridge at the Mississippi River west of Savanna...

as it passes through Sycamore. They include several buildings known as "blocks" which can consist of more than one adjacent and attached structure, as is the case with the Waterman Block, one of the Sycamore commercial buildings.

156 W. State Street

156 W. State Street is the address of a historic building in downtown Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore, Illinois

. It is adjacent to the equally historic Townsend Building and one of 187 contributing properties to the Sycamore Historic District

Sycamore Historic District

The Sycamore Historic District is a meandering area encompassing of the land in and around the downtown of the DeKalb County, Illinois, county seat, Sycamore. The area includes historic buildings and a number of historical and Victorian homes...

. The district was designated and added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1978. Most of the original building at the location is no longer intact and has since been replaced or remodeled. Its top floor was, however, finished in a gray material similar to that which covers the facade today. The structure originally had a flat roof.

Citizens National Bank Building

The Citizens National Bank Building is a historic commercial building in downtown Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore, Illinois

, it is part of the Sycamore Historic District. The building was erected around 1910, most likely specifically for a bank. The building's time as a bank proved to be short-lived and the Citizens National Bank shut it doors by 1926.
Today the building houses a restaurant. It stands close to the George's Block

George's Block

The George's Block, once known as the James Block, is a 19th Century structure located in Sycamore, Illinois along Illinois Route 64 as it passes through the DeKalb County seat. The Block is part of the Sycamore Historic District and as such is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....

and across the street from the Waterman Block and the National Bank & Trust Co. Building, all significant structures within the historic district

Historic district

Court Building

The Court Building, or simply The Court, is a structure located on Sycamore's Elm Street and used mostly as an apartment building. The Tudor Revival Court Building is considered a contributing property to the integrity of the district by the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

, a list the district joined in May 1978.
The Court Building, a free standing structure near downtown Sycamore, is designed in a Tudor Revival motif.

Daniel Pierce Block

The Daniel Pierce

Daniel Pierce

Daniel Pierce was an American banker.Pierce lived in Sycamore, Illinois. In 1867 he founded the bank Daniel Pierce & Co., today known as The National Bank & Trust Company....

Block or Daniel Pierce Building is located in downtown Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore, Illinois

along Illinois Route 64

Illinois Route 64

(State Street). The building is a contributing member of the Sycamore Historic District

Sycamore Historic District

. It is directly across the street from another notable structure in the district, the National Bank & Trust Co. Building. Today the building is known as Sycamore Center, the Sycamore City Council currently meets in the structure.

National Bank & Trust Company Building

The National Bank & Trust Company Building is located on Illinois Route 64

Illinois Route 64

as it passes through historic downtown Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore, Illinois

. The building was constructed in 1925 and designed by the Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

architecture firm of Weary & Alford.

Other structures

The 1906 Frederick Townsend Garage

Frederick Townsend Garage

The Frederick Townsend Garage is located in Sycamore, Illinois and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Sycamore Historic District. It sits at the base of a small incline overlooked by the large Queen Anne style Townsend House. Last a gas station, the building has...

sits at the base of a small incline overlooked by the large Queen Anne style Townsend House

Frederick B. Townsend House

The Frederick B. Townsend House is located in the DeKalb County, Illinois county seat of Sycamore. The home is within the boundaries of the Sycamore Historic District. The district was designated and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1978...

. Last a gas station, the stone building has been used by a number of restaurants since then.

Downtown,the George's Block

George's Block

, once known as the James Block, is another 19th Century structure located in Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore, Illinois

along Illinois Route 64

Illinois Route 64

(State Street) as it passes through the DeKalb County

DeKalb County, Illinois

DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 105,160, which is an increase of 18.2% from 88,969 in 2000. Its county seat is Sycamore. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago metropolitan statistical area.-History:DeKalb County...

seat. The building dates from 1857 when it was owned by Daniel P. James but by the 1860s the building has become known as George's Block. The third floor of the George's Block, not in use as of 2007, contained a lecture hall where a wide variety of speakers from around the United States would come for presentations. In the first year the building existed such famous men as Horace Greeley

Horace Greeley

Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...

, Charles Sumner

Charles Sumner

Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...

and Bayard Taylor

Bayard Taylor

Bayard Taylor was an American poet, literary critic, translator, and travel author.-Life and work:...

spoke there.

Townsend Building

The Sycamore, Illinois Townsend Building is another contributing property within the Sycamore Historic District

Sycamore Historic District

. The district is located in and around downtown Sycamore

Sycamore, Illinois

. The Townsend Building is adjacent to, (connected to as well), to the historic building at 156 W. State St. The building was constructed around the turn of the 20th century and is probably the more architecturally interesting of the two adjacent structures.

Waterman Block

The Waterman Block is also located along Illinois Route 64

Illinois Route 64

as it passes through the DeKalb County, Illinois

DeKalb County, Illinois

city of Sycamore

Sycamore, Illinois

. The three structures that make up the Waterman Block are the oldest on State Street, Illinois 64. The buildings were constructed in sometime around 1870 by Sycamore merchant James Waterman.

156 W. State Street

Citizens National Bank Building

Court Building

Daniel Pierce Block

National Bank & Trust Company Building

Other structures

Townsend Building

Waterman Block

See also