{"nrhp_refnum":"12000325","name":"Belvidere South State Street Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"State St. between Logan Ave. & Madison St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Belvidere","county":"Boone County","state":"IL","lat":42.258085885500066,"lon":-88.83989994370415,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-06-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A commercial and civic historic district of about 16 acres in Belvidere, Boone County, Illinois, centered on State Street south of the railroad tracks. It spans five city blocks and includes 50 properties, mostly attached brick commercial buildings from about 1852 to the mid-20th century.","why_significant":"The district is argued to be an important commercial center of Belvidere from 1852 through 1962, developing after the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad arrived in 1851. It contains a notable group of high-style Italianate commercial buildings with applied ornament that set it apart from State Street north of the tracks. Its streetscapes are largely unchanged since the mid-1950s.","narrative":"South State Street in Belvidere, Illinois, is a compact commercial district of 16 acres, covering five blocks between Pearl Street and Whitney Boulevard. It holds 50 properties, 44 of them contributing, most of them attached brick storefronts with apartments or meeting halls above. Development shifted here after the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad reached the area in 1851, and the oldest building, P. Curtis's Block, dates to 1852. Italianate buildings from the late nineteenth century give the district its character, with pressed-metal cornices, stone lintels, oriel windows and some surviving cast iron storefronts. Examples include the 1885 Odd Fellows building and the Commerce Building, designed by Lewis H. Sturges. City hall, a community center, housing and a previously listed school complex add civic and social uses. The district was recognized as a commercial center from 1852 to 1962, and its streetscapes have changed little since the mid-1950s. Newer or heavily altered buildings are classed as noncontributing.","period_of_significance":"1852-1962","architect_builder":"Lewis H. Sturges (architect of the Commerce Building, 411 South State Street)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Italianate; Late 19th/Early 20th C: Commercial Style; Prairie School; Modern Movement: Art Deco","criteria":[],"status_note":"Buildings are described as generally in good condition with adequate integrity. Many storefronts have been altered, and a previously listed school complex now serves residential and social uses.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.11893-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/28/8917/28891728/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/12000325.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000325/f604ded525-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000325/f604ded525-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belvidere_South_State_Street_Historic_District.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08</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:Belvidere_South_State_Street_Historic_District.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891728","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belvidere_South_State_Street_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16822998"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/boone-county/belvidere-south-state-street-historic-district-12000325/"}