{"nrhp_refnum":"80001418","name":"Joliet East Side Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Jacob H. Henry House"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Washington and Union Sts., 4th and Eastern Aves.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Joliet","county":"Will County","state":"IL","lat":41.51896787600003,"lon":-88.0726347648833,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-08-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 100-acre historic residential district southeast of downtown Joliet, Will County, Illinois, bounded by Washington Street, Union Street, Fourth Avenue and Eastern Avenue. It contains about 290 structures, mostly built between 1870 and 1900, with some dating from the early 1850s.","why_significant":"The district is one of Joliet's oldest neighborhoods and was once its most prominent, home to wealthy and influential citizens on what was called \"Silk Stocking Row.\" It survives as a nearly intact 19th-century urban neighborhood with a varied mix of Victorian-era styles. It also holds the city's only completely intact block of 19th-century commercial row buildings.","narrative":"Southeast of Joliet's downtown, this roughly 100-acre neighborhood preserves a largely intact 19th-century residential setting. About 290 structures fill its grid of streets, most built between 1870 and 1900, with a few from the early 1850s. Queen Anne, Second Empire, Italianate and Georgian Revival houses stand alongside limestone churches, a school and an 1880s commercial row, the only completely intact block of its kind in the city. Original limestone curbs and decorative sidewalk tiles add to the character. The area grew after 1852 near the railroad depot and became the city's most prestigious address, especially after railroad magnate Jacob A. Henry built his large Second Empire mansion in 1873. Eastern Avenue became known as \"Silk Stocking Row\" for its politicians, industrialists, doctors and lawyers. Decline came with the Depression, when large houses were divided or became rooming houses, and later vinyl siding altered some buildings. Even so, the district remains a visible record of Joliet's growth.","period_of_significance":"1850-1920","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Victorian-era mix: Queen Anne, Second Empire, Italianate, Georgian Revival, Romanesque Revival, Gothic, Prairie School and Mission styles","criteria":[],"status_note":"Chiefly residential and largely intact, with about nine intrusions; some buildings have been altered by vinyl siding. The Jacob A. Henry Mansion was undergoing extensive restoration.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.454605-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/8943/28894325/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/80001418.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001418/af18fac608-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001418/af18fac608-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bwheelerrtrm","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joliet_East_Side_Historic_District_2012-09-29_11-58-45.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bwheelerrtrm</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:Joliet_East_Side_Historic_District_2012-09-29_11-58-45.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894325","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joliet_East_Side_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6269980"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/will-county/joliet-east-side-historic-district-80001418/"}