{"nrhp_refnum":"73000710","name":"Washington Park Historic District","other_names":["Washington Square"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Bounded by Jackson, LaSalle, Lafayette, and Columbus Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ottawa","county":"LaSalle County","state":"IL","lat":41.34931216250004,"lon":-88.84163521723539,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-block public park and surrounding civic district (also called Washington Square) in Ottawa, La Salle County, Illinois, laid out in 1831 by the Illinois-Michigan Canal Commission, bounded by Jackson, LaSalle, Lafayette and Columbus Streets.","why_significant":"It is the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate, held August 21, 1858, which dealt with popular sovereignty and slavery. The square is also the focus of historic buildings, including the Appellate Court, Reddick's Library and two churches. It served as a focus of civic life in Ottawa from the 1850s into the twentieth century.","narrative":"Washington Park, also known as Washington Square, is a one-block landscaped park in downtown Ottawa, Illinois, laid out in 1831 when the Illinois-Michigan Canal Commission planned the town's addition. Historic buildings surround it: Reddick's Library and the Appellate Court, both begun in 1857, two churches on the east side dating from 1870 and 1871, and the former county jail, converted from a residence of about 1880. Inside the park are a lit boulder marking the first Lincoln-Douglas debate, a Civil War memorial column dedicated in 1873, cannons, gas lights honoring W. D. Boyce, a fountain and an 1890s popcorn wagon. The debate took place here on August 21, 1858, before a large crowd drawn by wagon, trail and canal, and addressed popular sovereignty and slavery. The square was listed because of this event and because it has served as a focus of Ottawa's civic life from the 1850s into the twentieth century.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate (Reddick House/Library)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent and altered, on its original site; the park is well tended and open to the public with unrestricted access.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.643219-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/8933/28893395/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/73000710.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000710/351b2d7467-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000710/351b2d7467-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"IvoShandor","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ottawa_IL_Washington_Park_Historic_District_Site_of_first_Lincoln-Douglas_debate.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">IvoShandor</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:Ottawa_IL_Washington_Park_Historic_District_Site_of_first_Lincoln-Douglas_debate.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"11000850","name":"Ottawa Commercial Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/ottawa-commercial-historic-district-11000850/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893395","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Park_Historic_District_(Ottawa,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7972113"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/lasalle-county/washington-park-historic-district-73000710/"}