The Villa District, also known as Villa Historic District, ( pl, Polskie Wille) is a
historic district in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, 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
Addison Street is a major east–west street on the north side of Chicago and its western suburbs. Wrigley Field is located at 1060 West Addison Street, which is the home of the Chicago Cubs.
Chicago communities
From east to west:
*Lake View (City ...
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 ...
's
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 hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped i ...
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 b ...
designed by the architectural firm of Hatzfeld and Knox, whose partner
Clarence Hatzfeld would later design the fieldhouse and natatorium at
Portage Park. 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 hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped i ...
homes fronting on picturesque
boulevard
A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway.
Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls.
In American usage, boulevards may ...
style streets. Although
St. Wenceslaus 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
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
and
Ashland Avenue at
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 famously dubbed the area as the ''Polish
Kenilworth
Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...
'' 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 ...
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 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