{"nrhp_refnum":"75000664","name":"West Walnut Street Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by W. Elm, S. Poplar, W. Main, and S. Forest Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Carbondale","county":"Jackson County","state":"IL","lat":37.72540944600004,"lon":-89.22320136946394,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-05-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district of 54 houses, 48 dating from 1859 to 1929, centered on West Walnut Street in Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois, and extending to parts of Main, Maple, Poplar and Springer Streets. It covers about 18 acres.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the only surviving 19th and early 20th century neighborhood in Carbondale with architectural integrity, environmental quality and sense of place. It holds the city's only surviving pioneer style house, its only mansard-roofed house and its best Colonial Revival house, along with square Italianate and Queen Anne houses. It was also home to Robert Allyn, first president of Southern Illinois Normal University, and historian George Washington Smith.","narrative":"This 18-acre neighborhood in Carbondale, Illinois, gathers 54 houses along West Walnut Street and nearby stretches of Main, Maple, Poplar and Springer Streets, with 48 dating from 1859 to 1929. Laid out in the 1850s from an oak grove, the area saw little building until the 1870s, and many original oaks remain. In the 19th century Walnut and Main were considered the city's most prestigious residential streets. The district holds the city's only surviving pioneer style house, built in 1859 for William Dixon, and its only mansard-roofed house, enlarged by Robert Allyn, first president of Southern Illinois Normal University. It also includes square Italianate houses, Queen Anne frame houses, the city's finest Colonial Revival house, built in 1900 for historian George Washington Smith, and substantial early 20th century brick homes. The nomination presents it as the only major residential area in Carbondale that keeps its turn-of-the-century character.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Pioneer style, bracketed Italianate, Mansard, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and early 20th century brick residences","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition rated good and altered; mostly private residences, occupied, with some houses converted to business or professional use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.448195-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/23/8930/28893023/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/75000664.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000664/edcb001cd4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000664/edcb001cd4-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_side_of_500_block_of_Walnut_in_Carbondale.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_side_of_500_block_of_Walnut_in_Carbondale.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893023","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Walnut_Street_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16903152"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/jackson-county/west-walnut-street-historic-district-75000664/"}