{"nrhp_refnum":"05001252","name":"Pacesetter Gardens Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"13604-13736 S. Lowe Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Riverdale","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.64679206300005,"lon":-87.63728052730698,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-11-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A district of twelve modern-style, two-story, flat-roofed brick town house buildings containing ninety units on South Lowe Avenue in Riverdale, Cook County, Illinois, designed and built in 1960 by architect and developer Harry J. Quinn.","why_significant":"The district is argued to be significant under Criterion A for social history and post-World War II community planning, because it introduced town houses at an unprecedented scale in Riverdale and extended home ownership to families of more modest means. It is also significant under Criterion C as an example of a town house type, period and method of construction. Because it is under fifty years old, it is argued to have exceptional local importance (Criteria Consideration G).","narrative":"Pacesetter Gardens is a group of twelve flat-roofed, light-red brick town house buildings along South Lowe Avenue in Riverdale, Illinois, about fifteen miles south of downtown Chicago. Architect and developer Harry J. Quinn designed and built them in 1960. Together they hold ninety two-story units, each roughly twenty feet wide, with recessed entry alcoves, continuous horizontal stone courses, white aluminum cornices and box bays on the upper floors. Interiors were compact and economical, about 1,200 square feet with three bedrooms. The district matters because Riverdale had been dominated by detached single-family houses with pitched roofs. Quinn's town houses lowered costs by sharing walls and trimming interior space, which opened homeownership to families of more modest means. A national building journal featured the project in 1961 as part of an emerging town house trend. The buildings keep their original character and setting, and they are recognized for their social history, community planning and architecture.","period_of_significance":"1960","architect_builder":"Quinn, Harry J., architect/developer","architectural_style":"Modern movement; Other: Townhouses","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in residential use as multiple dwellings; the buildings retain a high degree of integrity, with some replacement windows, rear porch additions and one two-story rear addition. Two noncontributing garages stand on the alley.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.507213-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/65/8926/28892665/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/05001252.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05001252/efedc22ae3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05001252/efedc22ae3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Boscophotos","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_Housing_Unit_in_Pacesetter_Gardens.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Boscophotos</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_Housing_Unit_in_Pacesetter_Gardens.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892665","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacesetter_Gardens_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q97179749"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/pacesetter-gardens-historic-district-05001252/"}