The Belvidere South State Street Historic District is a

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 or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

on the north side of the

Kishwaukee River The Kishwaukee River, locally known as simply The Kish, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Illinois.. United States Board on G ...

in Belvidere,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It is primarily composed of commercial building representative of architectural trends from 1852 to 1962, the period following the connection of the city to the

Galena and Chicago Union Railroad The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was a railroad running west from Chicago to Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois. A later route went to Clinton, Iowa. Incorporated in 1836, the G&CU became the first railroad built out ...

History

Belvidere,

, was first settled in 1834. The main commercial development in Belvidere, starting in the 1840s, was along the north side of the river. However, in 1851, the

decided to build a railroad station on the south side of the river. This fueled the growth of a second commercial district south of the tracks. The area between the north side of the tracks and the river became an industrial center, most notably with the

National Sewing Machine Company National Sewing Machine Company was a Belvidere, Illinois-based manufacturer founded in the late 19th century. The company manufactured sewing machines, washing machines, bicycles, an automobile, home workshop machinery, and cast-iron toys and nov ...

factory. The district originally extended another block south along State Street (the 300 block), but this area was demolished. On June 6, 2012, the North and South State Street Historic Districts were recognized by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

with a listing on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Originally intended to be one large historic district, the demolition of buildings between the railroad tracks and the river resulted in the split into two smaller districts.

Architecture

About two-thirds of the buildings in the district were built before 1900; most of these are designed in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style. The four buildings at State Street near Pleasant are particularly fine examples of the style with tall narrow windows and pressed metal

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

s. The William H. Piel Building and its neighbor at 522 South State Street are good examples of the Chicago School. The Belvidere National Bank and Trust is of a

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

motif with Roman arches and projecting cornices. The Belvidere City Hall, the most recent contributing building in the district, is an example of the International Style. The Old Belvidere High School is the lone example of a

Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...

design, though it also features Classical Revival detailing. The building also features an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

auditorium, the only such design in the district.

Boundaries

The Belvidere South State Street Historic District includes the two city blocks between East Pleasant Street, South State Street, Whitney Boulevard, and Logan Avenue. it also includes the city block surrounded by State, West 1st Street, Pleasant, and Pearl Street. 621 South State Street, on the southwest corner of 1st and State, is also part of the district. Forty-three buildings contribute to the historical integrity of the district, while six recent buildings are considered intrusions. The Old Belvidere High School, itself listed on the NRHP in 1997, is a contributing property to the district.

References

{{commons category, Belvidere South State Street Historic District Italianate architecture in Illinois Queen Anne architecture in Illinois Colonial Revival architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1856 Geography of Carroll County, Illinois Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Carroll County, Illinois

History

Architecture

Boundaries

See also

References