{"nrhp_refnum":"78001162","name":"Near North Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Ash St., RR. tracks, Glen Flora Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waukegan","county":"Lake County","state":"IL","lat":42.37136707100004,"lon":-87.82825046338921,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-05-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large, irregular residential historic district of about 203 acres immediately north of the central business district in Waukegan, Lake County, Illinois, containing 449 structures built mainly between the 1840s and 1928.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district shows slow, organic growth that produced a varied but consistent streetscape. Nearly every major style popular in Northern Illinois from Greek Revival to Prairie School and 1920s revivals appears, with Greek Revival and Italianate especially well represented. The oldest major building dates from 1842 and the newest from 1928, with significant buildings from every decade between. Its origins visibly coincide with those of the city itself.","narrative":"North of downtown Waukegan, on and west of a bluff above Lake Michigan, lies an irregular residential neighborhood of 449 structures covering roughly 203 acres. Its houses date from 1842 to 1928, and every decade in between contributed notable buildings. Greek Revival homes from the 1840s and early 1850s include the Swartout House, described as one of the finest examples of the style in Illinois. Italianate and Queen Anne houses are numerous, and the Prairie School is represented by the Thomas Snelling House by Purcell and Elmslie and the Joseph Arthur House by Tallmadge and Watson, both from 1913. Sixty-eight buildings were judged especially significant. Former residents include nurseryman Robert Douglas, whose grounds became Upton Park, and educator and judge Frances Clarke. Many houses have been divided into apartments and about 44.5 percent have been resided in modern materials, yet the streetscape remains a visible record of the city's growth from its 1841 founding as the county seat through the early twentieth century.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Includes Purcell and Elmslie (Snelling House, 1913); Tallmadge and Watson (Arthur House, 1913); Ben Porter, contractor (Clarke House, 1877)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Prairie School, and other styles, including Romanesque, Stick, Tudor and Classical revivals","criteria":[],"status_note":"Land use is almost exclusively residential or residential related; many houses have been converted to multi-unit dwellings with little change to exteriors. 22 of 449 structures are intrusions or heavily remodeled.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.751319-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/8933/28893314/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78001162.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001162/05cc5c8727-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001162/05cc5c8727-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Genesee_and_Cory_in_Waukegan.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Genesee_and_Cory_in_Waukegan.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893314","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_North_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q78354638"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/lake-county/near-north-historic-district-78001162/"}