Joliet East Side Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Joliet East Side Historic District
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 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Location | Roughly bounded by Washington and Union Streets, 4th and Eastern Avenues Joliet, Will County, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Architectural style | Late Victorian, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals |
| NRHP reference No. | 80001418 |
| Added to NRHP | August 15, 1980 |
The Joliet East Side Historic District is a special area in Joliet, Illinois. It includes 290 buildings. Most of these buildings (281 of them) are important because they show the history of the area. Joliet was founded in 1831. It was a great place for a town because of its natural resources. A big reason was the large amounts of limestone. This strong stone was used to build many important places. For example, the Old State Capitol and the Chicago Water Tower were built with Joliet limestone. Joliet became a city in 1852. It grew quickly because it was located on the Illinois and Michigan Canal.
How Joliet's East Side Began
James B. Campbell first planned the East Side in 1834. He named the area Juliet after his daughter. Two years later, Will County was created. Juliet was chosen as the main town for the county. In 1845, the people living there renamed the area Joliet. They named it after the French explorer Louis Jolliet.
Between 1852 and 1873, 32 houses were built on the East Side. This area was popular because it was close to the railway station. Cornelius Van Horn, Joliet's first mayor, built his home here in 1852. His son, William, later became a very important person in the Canadian railroad business.
Growth and Challenges of the East Side
By 1873, the East Side was known as the most fancy part of the city. The area's main building was the Jacob A. Henry Mansion. Henry was a very rich railroad owner. The first churches in the area, Central Presbyterian Church and Richards Street Methodist Church, were built soon after.
Businesses grew on Washington Street. Many shops and stores were built there. However, the area faced hard times during the Great Depression. Many large homes, like the Jacob A. Henry Mansion, were turned into boarding houses or funeral parlors. The East Side struggled to recover from the depression. Many remaining houses were divided into apartments or left empty.
The building of Interstate 80 in the 1960s helped Washington Street. But it didn't do much for the homes in the area. In 1975, Joliet started a program to help East Side homeowners fix up their houses. Because of its history and special buildings, the district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Important Buildings and Homes
Joliet chose 51 buildings and places that are very important to the district's history. Many records about when these buildings were built were lost in a fire in 1912. Here are a few examples:
- Commercial Row (1875–1886): These are old shops with Late Victorian style. They also have Greek Revival and Italianate details. They used to be bakeries, hardware stores, and other important businesses.
- Jacob A. Henry House (1871): This house is a mix of Second Empire and Italianate styles. It was the most expensive house in Will County when it was built. It's so important that it's listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Central Presbyterian Church (1895): This church is built in the Gothic Revival style. The limestone used to build it was given by Jacob A. Henry.
- G. Ducker Home (built between 1890 and 1896): This is a unique building with Ionic columns and Classical Revival elements. George Ducker started a dry goods store. His daughter married Robert Stanton Baum, whose father, L. Frank Baum, wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
- Woodruff Home/Brown Lincoln Hotel (1905): This was first the home of George Woodruff. He was the president of the First National Bank. He helped create the Federal Reserve Act. He also started the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce. His home was later turned into a hotel.
- Rubens Home (built before 1898): Louis M. Rubens built several theaters in Joliet. This included the Rubens Rialto Square Theater. It was the first theater in Illinois to show movies with sound! His house has Prairie School influences.
- Phelps Home (built before 1873): This is an Italianate style home. Egbert Phelps was a U.S. Army veteran and a lawyer. He worked to create the Joliet Public Library.
- Snapp Home (built before 1873): This was the home of Henry Snapp. He was a U.S. Assessor and served in the Illinois Senate. He was also elected to the United States House of Representatives.
- Van Horn Home (1852): This was the home of Cornelius Van Horne, Joliet's first mayor. It was also home to William Cornelius Van Horne, who helped build the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Canadian Rockies.
- Bates Home (built before 1898): This home is in the Gothic Revival style. William O. Bates started the Bates Machine Company. This company made tracked vehicles.
- Maue Home (built before 1898): This home combines Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, and Stick-Eastlake styles. August Maue was a school principal and an author.
- G. Julian Barnes Home (1890): This home is in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Barnes was an architect who designed many homes in Joliet, including his own.
- Washington Junior High School (1898): This school is built in the Collegiate Gothic style. It was designed by C. W. Webster.
- Richards Street Methodist Church (1890): This church is a mix of Gothic and Romanesque Revival styles. It was designed by J. H. Barnes.
