Downtown Hinsdale Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Downtown Hinsdale Historic District is a set of seventy-three buildings and one park
in Hinsdale
, Illinois
.
ted by William Robbins, the founder of Hinsdale, in 1865. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
's (CB&Q) passenger station prompted several small businesses to develop across the street. Fifty-eight of the listed buildings were built for commerce, three for government, and nine for transportation. The remaining building is a theater. The shops are densely clustered in orthogonal patterns, and are mostly found on the south side of the railway tracks. The government buildings, including the Village Hall (Hinsdale Memorial Building) and U.S. Post Office
are on the north side.
An article entitled "Hinsdale the Beautiful" in Campbell's Illustrated Journal prompted city officials to further beautify the city. The first major project was a state-of-the-art train station, which was designed by CB&R architect Walter Theodore Krausch. The station became a model for the future construction of other stations on the line. The region north of the tracks became the next target, focusing on the Railroad Park (modern day Burlington Park). Commercial demand spiked in the early 20th century, even causing some gablefront residential buildings to be rezoned as commercial. The 1200-seat Hinsdale Theater was constructed in 1925 for $160,000. Chain retailers began to move into the downtown district starting in the 1920s, starting with a Loblaw
food chain in 1929 (which was purchased in 1932 by the Jewel Tea Company
). A Piggly Wiggly
and a Walgreens
also moved in during this period. In the 1920s, the city of Hinsdale overhead plans by a local car dealership to build the largest automobile garage "east of the Mississippi
". To curb this plan, the city bought the proposed site and constructed a building dedicated to those who served and died in World War I
. Construction on the Memorial Building finished in 1927.
Hinsdale is notorious for the aggressive teardown policies pursued by real estate agencies in its residential districts, but the commercial district has remain intact. The earliest buildings are on First and Washington Streets, which date from the 1880s and are in the Late Victorian, Italianate, and Queen Anne
Styles. Colonial and Renaissance Revivals featured in early 20th century buildings until the Hinsdale Plan of 1923 dictated the use of Georgian Revival architecture
. Eight of the properties were built after 1955. The district is served by three asphalt-paved parking lots.
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
in Hinsdale
Hinsdale, Illinois
Hinsdale is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois; it is located partly in Cook County and mainly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 17,349 at the 2000 census. The town's ZIP code is 60521. The town has a rolling, wooded topography, with a quaint downtown and is a 30-minute...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
History
The region was platPlat
A plat in the U.S. is a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. Other English-speaking countries generally call such documents a cadastral map or plan....
ted by William Robbins, the founder of Hinsdale, in 1865. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
's (CB&Q) passenger station prompted several small businesses to develop across the street. Fifty-eight of the listed buildings were built for commerce, three for government, and nine for transportation. The remaining building is a theater. The shops are densely clustered in orthogonal patterns, and are mostly found on the south side of the railway tracks. The government buildings, including the Village Hall (Hinsdale Memorial Building) and U.S. Post Office
U.S. Post Office
U.S. Post Office may refer to the United States Post Office Department or to the United States Postal Service . The term may also refer to individual buildings, many of which have historical or architectural significance. Some noted examples of U.S...
are on the north side.
An article entitled "Hinsdale the Beautiful" in Campbell's Illustrated Journal prompted city officials to further beautify the city. The first major project was a state-of-the-art train station, which was designed by CB&R architect Walter Theodore Krausch. The station became a model for the future construction of other stations on the line. The region north of the tracks became the next target, focusing on the Railroad Park (modern day Burlington Park). Commercial demand spiked in the early 20th century, even causing some gablefront residential buildings to be rezoned as commercial. The 1200-seat Hinsdale Theater was constructed in 1925 for $160,000. Chain retailers began to move into the downtown district starting in the 1920s, starting with a Loblaw
Loblaw Companies
Loblaw Companies Limited is the largest food retailer in Canada, with over 1,400 supermarkets operating under a variety of regional banners, including the namesake Loblaws. LCL is headquartered in Brampton, Ontario...
food chain in 1929 (which was purchased in 1932 by the Jewel Tea Company
Jewel (supermarket)
Jewel-Osco is a supermarket chain headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. Jewel-Osco has 182 stores across northern, central, and western Illinois; eastern Iowa; and portions of northwest Indiana.Jewel-Osco and Jewel are currently wholly owned subsidiaries of Eden Prairie,...
). A Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The current company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire....
and a Walgreens
Walgreens
Walgreen Co. , doing business as Walgreens , is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of August 31st, the company operates 8,210 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded...
also moved in during this period. In the 1920s, the city of Hinsdale overhead plans by a local car dealership to build the largest automobile garage "east of the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
". To curb this plan, the city bought the proposed site and constructed a building dedicated to those who served and died in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Construction on the Memorial Building finished in 1927.
Hinsdale is notorious for the aggressive teardown policies pursued by real estate agencies in its residential districts, but the commercial district has remain intact. The earliest buildings are on First and Washington Streets, which date from the 1880s and are in the Late Victorian, Italianate, and Queen Anne
Queen Anne Style architecture (United States)
In America, the Queen Anne style of architecture, furniture and decorative arts was popular in the United States from 1880 to 1910. In American usage "Queen Anne" is loosely used of a wide range of picturesque buildings with "free Renaissance" details rather than of a specific formulaic style in...
Styles. Colonial and Renaissance Revivals featured in early 20th century buildings until the Hinsdale Plan of 1923 dictated the use of Georgian Revival architecture
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
. Eight of the properties were built after 1955. The district is served by three asphalt-paved parking lots.
Buildings
Contributing structures
These buildings are at least fifty years old and have had minimal alterations. They comprise the main core of the historic district.- Hinsdale Memorial Building (1927) - Georgian RevivalGeorgian architectureGeorgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
Style Village HallVillage hallIn the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
and public libraryPublic libraryA public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
designed by Edwin H. Clark
- Railroad Park (1877) - A public park adjacent to the Hinsdale Memorial Building
- 8 W. Chicago Ave. (c.CircaCirca , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1950) - Colonial Revival gas station
- 10 W. Chicago Ave. (1926) - Classical Revival commercial block
- 24 W. Chicago Ave. (1915) - GarageGarage (house)A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
- 26-28 W. Chicago Ave. (c. 1940) - Modern StyleModern architectureModern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
commercial block
- Schweider & Mewherter Building (1944) - Classical Revival commercial block designed by R. Harold ZookR. Harold ZookRoscoe Harold Zook was born in Valparaiso, Indiana in 1889. He received a degree in architecture from the Armour Institute of Technology in 1914. In 1916 Zook married his first wife, Mildred. They divorced in the late 1930s. They had one son, Harold B...
- 9 E. First St. (1904) - Colonial Revival commercial block
- 10-12 E. First St. (c. 1912) - Commercial Style commercial block
- Ostrum Building (1925) - Renaissance Revival style commercial block
- 212-214 First Street Building (c. 1912) - Commercial block
- Police and Fire Station (1935) - Georgian Revival policePolice stationA police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
and fire stationFire stationA fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
designed by Philip Duke West
- Hinsdale Theater (1925) - Renaissance Revival movie theaterMovie theaterA movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
designed by William Gibson Barfield
- Philip D. West Office (1950) - International StyleInternational style (architecture)The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
commercial block designed by Philip D. West
- Ray J. Soukup Building (1929) - Renaissance Revival style commercial block
- Henry Reineke Building (1922) - Commercial block
- Papenhausen Building (1888) - GablefrontGablefront houseA Gablefront house, also known as a Gable Front house or Front Gable house, is a vernacular house type in which the Gable is facing the street or entrance side of the house. They were built in large numbers throughout the United States primarily between the early 19th century and 1920...
commercial block
- Buchholz Block (1895) - Renaissance Revival commercial block
- John Reineke Building/The Squire Shop (1941) - Classical Revival commercial block designed by R. Harold Zook
- 17 W. First St. (1887) - Gablefront commercial block
- 19 W. First St. (1887) - Gablefront commercial block
- Brewer Brothers Filling Station (1929) - Colonial Revival gas station designed by R. Harold Zook
- Hinsdale Trust and Savings Bank (1910) - Classical Revival temple-front
- Dieke Building (1920) - Commercial block
- LaGrange Gas Company (c. 1940) - Art DecoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
commercial block
- 16 E. Hinsdale Ave. (1890) - Gablefront commercial block
- 18 Edward F. Neidig Building (1907) - Prairie SchoolPrairie SchoolPrairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
commercial block
- Brush Hill Train StationHinsdale (Metra)Hinsdale is one of three stations on Metra's BNSF Railway Line in Hinsdale, Illinois. The station is from Union Station, the east end of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Hinsdale is in zone D. There is a staffed station building...
(1898) - Renaissance Revival style railroad station designed by Walter Theodore Krausch
- Mohr Building (1909) - Commercial style commercial block
- Clineff's Home Restaurant Building (1928–30) - Classical & Renaissance Revival style commercial block designed by Francis A. Flaks
- 32-34 E. Hinsdale Ave. (1912) - Commercial Style commercial block
- 36 E. Hinsdale Ave. (1924) - Commercial block
- 8 W. Hinsdale Ave. (c. 1927) - Colonial Revival commercial block
- Old Post Office (1926) - Colonial Revival commercial block
- 18 W. Hinsdale Ave. (c. 1902) - Commercial block
- 20 W. Hinsdale Ave. (1894) - Commercial block
- Fleck Automobile Building - Commercial Style commercial block
- McClintock Building/Auto Dealership (1922) Commercial block
- 53 S. Lincoln St. (1935) - Colonial Revival freestanding commercial building
- United States Post Office Hinsdale, IL (1939–40) - Georgian Revival United States Post Office designed by Louis A. Simon
- 33-35 S. Washington St. (1900) - Queen AnneQueen Anne Style architecture (United States)In America, the Queen Anne style of architecture, furniture and decorative arts was popular in the United States from 1880 to 1910. In American usage "Queen Anne" is loosely used of a wide range of picturesque buildings with "free Renaissance" details rather than of a specific formulaic style in...
and Classical Style commercial block
- Fox Building (1891) - Colonial Revival commercial block
- 39 S. Washington St. (1897) - Queen Anne commercial block
- William Evernden Building (1894) - Commercial block
- 41 S. Washington St. (1932) - Commercial style commercial block
- John Bohlander Building (1894) - Commercial block
- 43 S. Washington St. (1901) - Commercial style commercial block
- Olson's Dry Goods (1909) - Colonial Revival commercial block
- 46 S. Washington St. (1912) - Commercial block
- 47 S. Washington St. (1881) - Italianate and Colonial Revival commercial block
- Oswald Building (1889) - Colonial Revival commercial block, 1928 remodel designed by R. Harold Zook
- Karlson's Building (1898) - Commercial style
- 53 S. Washington St. (1927) - Classical Revival commercial block
- 54 S. Washington St. (1892) - Queen Anne commercial block
- Hinsdale State Bank (1927) - Classical and Renaissance Revival commercial block designed by William Gibson Barfield
- Papenhausen Building (1888) - Queen Anne commercial block
- 104-106 S. Washington St. (1910) - Commercial block
- Theidel Building (1925) - Renaissance Revival commercial block
- 112-114 S. Washington St. (1929) - Tudor Revival commercial block designed by Edward P. Steinberg
- 116-118 S. Washington St. (1915) - Commercial block
Non-contributing structures
These buildings are included as part of the listing, but are not of historical significance.- John C. F. Merrill Building (1910) - Commercial block
- Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce (1978) - Commercial block designed by Philip Duke West
- Hinsdale Laundry Building (1894) - Gablefront commercial block
- Riccardo's Tailor Shop (1972) - Colonial Revival commercial block designed by Albert Nemoede
- Western United Gas and Electric Company (1909) - Temple-front
- 26-26.5 E. Hinsdale Ave. (1957) - Commercial block
- 40 E. Hinsdale Ave. (1998) - Neo-traditional commercial block
- 13 S. Lincoln St. (c. 1920) - Commercial block
- 40-46 Village Ct. (1908, 1960s) - Colonial Revival strip mallStrip mallA strip mall is an open-area shopping center where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front...
- 45 S. Washington St. (1993) - Commercial block
- 48 S. Washington St. (1914/1919) - Commercial block
- 50 S. Washington St. (1988) - Commercial block
- 120 S. Washington St. (1965) - Colonial Revival commercial block