{"nrhp_refnum":"82002583","name":"Middletown Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":["See Also:Middletown Historic District"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"3rd St. between Market and Piasa St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alton","county":"Madison County","state":"IL","lat":38.89757842550006,"lon":-90.17608870245803,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-09-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A boundary extension to the Middletown Historic District in Alton, Madison County, Illinois. It adds the north side of West Third Street along \"Pagan Hill\": lower Market Street with a mini-park, the 1908 Old YMCA at 2-8 W. Third, a stone-veneer commercial building at 12 W. Third, and the 1901 Snyder Block at 301-303 Piasa.","why_significant":"The extension is argued to be the natural continuation of a hillside streetscape that shifted from private to semi-public and commercial use over 150 years. Its stepped buildings of Alton brick and limestone are scaled to one another and separated by garden-like open spaces. The Old YMCA was a community focal point, and the Snyder Block's turreted dry goods store anchors the hill.","narrative":"This boundary extension brings the lower end of Alton's \"Pagan Hill\" into the Middletown Historic District. It covers the remainder of Market Street, with its mini-park on the two-level slope, plus three buildings along West Third and Piasa Streets. The Old YMCA, built in 1908 of red Alton brick with white limestone trim, is a three-story Georgian Revival building. It once held the area's first indoor heated pool, bowling alleys and a gymnasium, and it has stood vacant since the organization moved out in 1964. Next door is a small two-story commercial building with stone veneer. At the corner of Piasa Street stands the Snyder Block, built in 1901, with cast iron storefronts and a tin-covered corner turret. Together these buildings continue the stepped, brick-and-limestone streetscape of the existing district, which developed from frame houses and mansions into civic, commercial and semi-public uses.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"William Ash, Jr., brick contractor (named in a 1912 illustration caption for the YMCA)","architectural_style":"Georgian Revival (Old YMCA); Beaux-Arts Classic Revival and Federal-style neighbors in the streetscape","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The Old YMCA has been vacant since 1964 and was under option for reuse as apartments. The building at 12 West Third is also described as vacant. Snyder's Department Store was still operating as a dry goods store.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.557131-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/46/8935/28893546/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002583.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78001166","name":"Middletown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/middletown-historic-district-78001166/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893546","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middletown_Historic_District_(Alton,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16895140"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/madison-county/middletown-historic-district-boundary-increase-82002583/"}