The Downtown Hinsdale Historic District is a set of seventy-three buildings and one

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

in Hinsdale,

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 ...

History

The region was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted by William Robbins, the founder of Hinsdale, in 1865. The

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 Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...

'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 In mathematics, orthogonality is the generalization of the geometric notion of ''perpendicularity''. By extension, orthogonality is also used to refer to the separation of specific features of a system. The term also has specialized meanings in ...

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&Q architect

Walter Theodore Krausch Walter Theodore Krausch, known as W.T. Krausch (1868–1929), was an American architect, engineer, and inventor who worked for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) from the late 1880s to the 1920s. Life Krausch was born at Philade ...

. 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 Piggly Wiggly is an American supermarket chain operating in the American Southern and Midwestern regions run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. Its first outlet opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee, and is notable f ...

and a

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, an ...

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 () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

". 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. 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 Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

and Renaissance Revivals featured in early 20th century buildings until the Hinsdale Plan of 1923 dictated the use of

Georgian Revival architecture *Colonial Revival architecture in the United States — ''primarily reviving the British Colonial period style''. ::*''See also: Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in the United States, and Dutch Colonial Revival architecture in the United Sta ...

. 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 Revival Style Village Hall and

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

designed by Edwin H. Clark * Railroad Park (1877) - A public park adjacent to the Hinsdale Memorial Building * 8 W. Chicago Ave. ({{circa 1950) - Colonial Revival

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

* 10 W. Chicago Ave. (1926) -

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 ...

commercial block * 24 W. Chicago Ave. (1915) - Garage * 26-28 W. Chicago Ave. (c. 1940) -

Modern Style The Modern Style is a style of architecture, art, and design that first emerged in the United Kingdom in the mid-1880s. It is the first Art Nouveau style worldwide, and it represents the evolution of the Arts and Crafts movement which was native ...

commercial block * Schweider & Mewherter Building (1944) - Classical Revival commercial block designed by

R. Harold Zook Roscoe Harold Zook (21 May 1889 – 17 April 1949) was an American architect best known for his work in suburban Chicago, Illinois. He received a degree in architecture from the Armour Institute of Technology (now Illinois Institute of Technolo ...

* 9 E. First St. (1904) - Colonial Revival commercial block * 10-12 E. First St. (c. 1912) -

Commercial Style Chicago's architecture is famous throughout the world and one style is referred to as the Chicago School. Much of its early work is also known as Commercial Style. In the history of architecture, the first Chicago School was a school of architec ...

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

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

and fire station designed by Philip Duke West * Hinsdale Theater (1925) - Renaissance Revival

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

International Style International style may refer to: * International Style (architecture), the early 20th century modern movement in architecture *International style (art), the International Gothic style in medieval art *International Style (dancing), a term used in ...

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) - Gablefront 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 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 ...

commercial block * 16 E. Hinsdale Ave. (1890) - Gablefront commercial block * 18 Edward F. Neidig Building (1907) -

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 ...

commercial block * Brush Hill Train Station (1898) - Renaissance Revival style

railroad station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

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 The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

designed by Louis A. Simon * 33-35 S. Washington St. (1900) - Queen Anne 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 Downtown Hinsdale Block

* 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 mall * 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

References

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Downtown Hinsdale Historic District
Historic districts in DuPage County, Illinois Hinsdale, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in DuPage County, Illinois Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois