{"nrhp_refnum":"74000768","name":"Haskell Playhouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Henry St. in Haskell Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alton","county":"Madison County","state":"IL","lat":38.89892897800007,"lon":-90.17588148999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-07-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A tiny one-room Queen Anne and Stick Style child's garden playhouse, 14 by 16 feet, in Haskell Park on Henry Street in Alton, Madison County, Illinois. It was built in 1885 at the rear of the Haskell family home.","why_significant":"The nomination calls the playhouse a unique architectural gem and a work of art, applying flamboyant Queen Anne elements to a miniature structure. Few small accessory structures of the period survive. It is also tied to the Haskell family and was kept as a memorial to Lucy J. Haskell.","narrative":"Measuring just 14 by 16 feet, this single-room playhouse in Alton's Haskell Park was built in 1885 for a young girl, Lucy Haskell, in the garden of the family's Henry Street mansion. Twin bays, a raised entrance porch and a rear side porch make it look larger than it is. Stick Style panelling, fish scale shingles, brackets, cartwheel trim and decorative ironwork topped by a small spire show the exuberance of the Queen Anne period. The design is attributed to Alton architect Lucas Pfeiffenberger, though it may have been commissioned by her grandfather, John E. Hayner. Lucy died at nine, and her mother kept the playhouse as a memorial when the old mansion was razed. At her death in 1932 the estate passed to the city as a children's playground, with the playhouse to be retained in Lucy's memory. It is valued as a rare surviving small garden structure and as a piece of park sculpture.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (c.1885)","architect_builder":"Attributed to Lucas Pfeiffenberger","architectural_style":"Queen Anne with Stick Style balloon frame construction","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Alton Parks & Recreation Department and located in Haskell Park; listed as unoccupied and used as a park ornament. It has not been moved.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.822104-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/8935/28893525/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/74000768.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000768/46a525cdd2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000768/46a525cdd2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Haskell_Playhouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Haskell_Playhouse.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78001166","name":"Middletown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/middletown-historic-district-78001166/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893525","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haskell_Playhouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16841519"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/madison-county/haskell-playhouse-74000768/"}