{"nrhp_refnum":"79003166","name":"Pennsylvania Avenue Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Pennsylvania Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"East St. Louis","county":"St. Clair County","state":"IL","lat":38.62830601300004,"lon":-90.14435416080295,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-07-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small residential historic district covering most of the 1000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in the Central City neighborhood of East St. Louis, Illinois. It holds four surviving houses built between 1896 and 1907 on what was once called 'Quality Hill'.","why_significant":"The block was the home of East St. Louis's turn-of-the-century political and business elite, including mayors, city attorneys and a postmaster. Its houses show late nineteenth and early twentieth century styles. Its decline after the 1917 race riots mirrors the fate of the city as a whole.","narrative":"Four houses on the 1000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois, survive from what was once called 'Quality Hill,' a small enclave for the city's turn-of-the-century elite. Built between 1896 and 1907, they include the Renaissance Revival Joyce House, the Georgian Revival Stephens House, the Midwestern vernacular Fekete House and the Queen Anne Campbell House, designed by local architect Albert B. Frankel. Residents included mayors Malburn Stephens and Maurice Joyce, city attorneys, a postmaster who became an aide to Governor Richard Yates, and livestock commission merchants. Many business leaders in this industrial city lived elsewhere, which makes this block unusual. After the 1917 race riots, the neighborhood declined along with the city. Houses were converted to institutional use or rented, and two were demolished in 1962 and 1976. Today the Joyce House serves as a museum, while the others stand vacant, though restoration of the Campbell House is under way.","period_of_significance":"1896-1945","architect_builder":"Albert B. Frankel (architect of the Campbell House and the demolished Derleth-McLean House); builders or architects of the other houses unknown","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival, Georgian Revival, Queen Anne, and Midwestern vernacular","criteria":[],"status_note":"All structures except the Joyce House at 1005 Pennsylvania Avenue (a museum/cultural center) are vacant. The Stephens House is deteriorated, with fire damage to the roof. The Fekete House has lost its porch, doors, windows and interior trim. The Campbell House is being restored.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.737008-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/42/8941/28894142/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/79003166.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003166/5bc8dc9145-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003166/5bc8dc9145-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Paul Sableman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katherine_Dunham_Museum_2014.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Paul Sableman</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katherine_Dunham_Museum_2014.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894142","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Avenue_Historic_District_(East_St._Louis,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16898188"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/st-clair-county/pennsylvania-avenue-historic-district-79003166/"}