{"nrhp_refnum":"76002165","name":"Belleville Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Between E, S. Belt, Illinois, and Forest Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Belleville","county":"St. Clair County","state":"IL","lat":38.511108329500075,"lon":-89.97896564399113,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about 154 acres covering much of the east side of Belleville, the St. Clair County seat in Illinois. It is made up mostly of 19th-century brick houses, laid out on an expansion of the 1814 town plat.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the district holds the heaviest concentration of an indigenous small one- to 1½-story masonry cottage type, built about 1830-1900, forming an architectural ensemble unique in Illinois. Nearly all buildings use locally made red brick, and most date from about 1845-75, giving unusual uniformity. The district also reflects Belleville's growth as an early center of German immigration and its long-standing economy based on flour-milling and beer.","narrative":"This 154-acre district covers much of Belleville's east side in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is dominated by 19th-century houses built of locally made red brick, most dating from about 1845 to 1875. The oldest documented house dates from 1830 and is in a simplified Greek Revival style. The district holds the heaviest concentration of a small one- to 1½-story masonry cottage type that the nomination describes as a local development, possibly shaped by German immigrants who arrived after 1830. Two-story Italianate brick houses form much of the background, with scattered Second Empire, Gothic Revival, late Federal and Queen Anne buildings. Belleville was platted in 1814 and became a major early center of German settlement, with an estimated 65 percent of residents of German birth or descent by 1870. Its economy long centered on coal, flour-milling, brewing and stove making. Some siding, parking lots and newer buildings weaken the streetscape, but the historic fabric remains largely intact.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Indigenous brick cottage type with Greek Revival, late Federal, Italianate, Second Empire, Gothic Revival and Queen Anne examples","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is marked good to fair. Residential use still predominates, with scattered commercial conversions and a few modern intrusions such as parking lots, siding and utility poles.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.068888-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/28/8941/28894128/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76002165.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002165/af22958296-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002165/af22958296-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_near_Garfield,_Belleville.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_near_Garfield,_Belleville.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894128","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belleville_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4883858"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/st-clair-county/belleville-historic-district-76002165/"}