{"nrhp_refnum":"79000815","name":"Cairo Historic District","other_names":["See also:Magnolia Manor","Old Customhouse"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Park, 33rd, Sycamore, 21st, Cedar, and 4th Sts., and the Ohio River","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cairo","county":"Alexander County","state":"IL","lat":37.00742533800005,"lon":-89.17715926214358,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-01-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Transportation","Exploration/Settlement","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large historic district covering most of the built-up city of Cairo, Illinois, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, about 323 acres with roughly 980 structures, mostly dating from about 1850 to World War I.","why_significant":"The nomination argues Cairo's streets and buildings record its unusual history: three attempts to found a city at the river junction, its role as the southern terminus of the Illinois Central Railroad, its Civil War importance, and its rise as a river shipping center. The whole urban fabric, from Italianate mansions to workers' cottages and iron-fronted commercial blocks, is valued more than any individual building. The form also stresses that decay and vacancy threaten that character.","narrative":"Cairo Historic District takes in most of the built-up city at the southern tip of Illinois, where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers meet. The city sits on a narrow peninsula enclosed by levees. Of roughly 980 structures, 207 were judged architecturally or historically significant. Italianate houses are the most common style, joined by ornate cast-iron and galvanized-iron commercial fronts along Commercial Avenue and 8th Street, small Queen Anne and Classic cottages, and a few notable Romanesque buildings. The district matters because it records Cairo's story: repeated attempts to found a city at the river junction, the Illinois Central Railroad's southern terminus, Civil War activity tied to General Grant, and later prominence as a shipping center. The nomination values the overall townscape over single landmarks. It also warns that population loss since 1940 has left many vacant lots and decaying buildings, especially in the lower town, which threatens that historic character.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 and 1900-","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Predominantly Italianate, with ornate post-Civil War storefronts, Queen Anne and Classic cottages, Romanesque, Gothic, Classic Revival and a few Art Moderne and bungalow examples","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is marked excellent and deteriorated. Many properties in the lower town are vacant or in poor repair, and about 68 structures are intrusions.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.899503-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/10/8917/28891710/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/79000815.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000815/c1966e7cd6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000815/c1966e7cd6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Photolitherland","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ChrisLitherlandCairo.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Photolitherland</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:ChrisLitherlandCairo.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891710","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16825212"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/alexander-county/cairo-historic-district-79000815/"}