{"nrhp_refnum":"76002164","name":"Franklin Square","other_names":["Franklin Park Neighbourhood"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"300 and 400 blocks of E. Chestnut and E. Walnut Sts., 900 block of N. Prairie and N. McLean Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bloomington","county":"McLean County","state":"IL","lat":40.48669851100007,"lon":-88.9903605189434,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-01-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district in Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois, made up of a public park, Franklin Square (591 by 330 feet), and the 36 homes around its perimeter. The park was deeded in 1856, and most of the surrounding houses date from the later 1800s.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the homes around the Square form a cohesive mid-American Victorian neighborhood. Their style, spacing and facades face the park and create a unified setting. The houses also belonged to prominent figures, including a Vice-President, a governor and a congressman, and the park hosted political celebrations.","narrative":"Franklin Square is a city park in Bloomington, Illinois, ringed by 36 houses that together form a Victorian-era neighborhood. The Square measures 591 by 330 feet and lies seven blocks northeast of the downtown courthouse square. Three local leaders deeded it in 1856 for public recreation, and it was named for Franklin Price, then mayor. The park keeps many original oak, maple, ash and buttonwood trees, while the streets on its north and south sides retain 1877 brick paving and sandstone curbs. Twenty-one of the surrounding homes date from the second half of the 1800s, in styles including Queen Anne, Italianate and Romanesque. Their consistent setbacks, spacing and street-facing facades give the area a unified character. Residents included Adlai E. Stevenson I, Governor Joseph W. Fifer, Congressman Frank Funk and attorney John T. Lillard. The park also hosted torch light parades and election celebrations. These features led to its listing as a historic district.","period_of_significance":"1860-1900 to present","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Victorian, mixing Queen Anne, Georgian Revival, Romanesque, Bracketed Italianate and Richardsonian","criteria":[],"status_note":"Nearly all buildings are in use as single or multiple dwellings, with one converted to commercial use. Most are in good repair and relatively unaltered, and the park is in public use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.7121-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/87/8936/28893687/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76002164.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002164/2a1f9cdef7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002164/2a1f9cdef7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"User: A mcmurray","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Franklin_Square_Sign.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User: A mcmurray</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:Franklin_Square_Sign.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893687","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Square_(Bloomington,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5491844"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/mclean-county/franklin-square-76002164/"}