The Villa District, also known as Villa Historic District, ( pl, Polskie Wille) 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 ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 ...

, United States. It is located on Chicago's Northwest Side within the community area of Irving Park. Its borders are along Pulaski Road to the west, the Union Pacific/Northwest rail line to the north, Hamlin Avenue to the east, and Addison Street to the south. Located directly north of the Wacławowo area of Avondale, the Villa District is serviced by the Blue Line's

Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario United States *Addison, Alabama *Addison, Illinois *Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field *Addison, Kentucky *Addison, Maine *Addison, Michigan *Addison, New York * ...

street station. The district was built in 1902 by a number of architects, many of them visibly influenced by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

Prairie Style 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 hip roof, hipped roofs with broad Overhang (architecture), ove ...

of architecture. Most notable among these were

bungalows A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a bu ...

Clarence Hatzfeld Clarence Hatzfeld (1873–1943) was a prolific Chicago architect who designed residences, park field houses, Masonic temples, banks and other commercial buildings in the Craftsman, Prairie, and Revival styles. Biography Early life Born in Milwa ...

would later design the fieldhouse and natatorium at

Portage Park Portage Park is a park in the Portage Park community area of Chicago, Illinois on the National Register of Historic Places. The park stretches from Irving Park Road on the south to Berteau Avenue between Central and Long Avenues. The largest p ...

. The area was originally developed as the "Villa addition to Irving Park" and showcases many unique Craftsman and

Prairie style 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 hip roof, hipped roofs with broad Overhang (architecture), ove ...

homes fronting on picturesque boulevard style streets. Although

St. Wenceslaus Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

church, a majestic Romanesque-

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 ...

hybrid draws many of the tourists visiting the area, this historic church is actually a few blocks south of the district's formal boundaries. The Villa district was the northwest "bookend" for Chicago's vaunted ''Polish Corridor'' along Milwaukee Avenue that extended from Division and

Ashland Avenue Ashland Avenue is a commuter rail station along the Blue Island Branch of the Metra Electric line in Calumet Park, Illinois. The station is located on Ashland Avenue near 124th Street, and is away from the northern terminus at Millennium Station. ...

Polonia Triangle Polonia Triangle ( pl, Trójkąt Polonijny), also known as the Polish Triangle, is located in West Town, in what had been the historical Polish Downtown area of Chicago. A single-tiered fountain made of black iron with a bowl about nine feet in ...

. Journalist

Mike Royko Michael Royko Jr. (September 19, 1932 – April 29, 1997) was an American newspaper columnist from Chicago. Over his 30-year career, he wrote over 7,500 daily columns for the ''Chicago Daily News'', the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', and the ''Chicago ...

famously dubbed the area as the ''Polish

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...

'' after the posh suburb of Chicago's North Shore. The Villa Historic District was added to 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 ...

on September 11, 1979. Its area was increased on March 10, 1983 by the addition of the Villa Apartments, 3948-3952 and 3949-3953 W. Waveland Ave. The Villa District was designated a

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, archite ...

on November 23, 1983.

References

External links

The Villa Improvement League
{{National Register of Historic Places Historic districts in Chicago North Side, Chicago Neighborhoods in Chicago Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Houses completed in 1902 Polish-American culture in Chicago Populated places established in 1902 Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Chicago Landmarks