{"nrhp_refnum":"88001230","name":"White Place Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"White Pl., Clinton Blvd., and E side of Fell Ave. between Empire and Emerson Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bloomington","county":"McLean County","state":"IL","lat":40.49069902450006,"lon":-88.98504957267403,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-08-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district of seven whole blocks and one half block in the near northeast part of Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois, made up of early twentieth-century houses, garages, a heating plant, an entryway, a fountain and a park.","why_significant":"The district keeps the character of a planned early twentieth-century neighborhood with very little alteration or infill. Most of its houses were built from mail-order or stock plans, with some by local architects, and they show a wide range of period styles. The nomination also cites community planning, including the heating plant, the White Place entryway and Bloomington's first municipal playground.","narrative":"White Place Historic District is a residential neighborhood of seven whole blocks and one half block in northeast Bloomington, Illinois. It holds 146 houses and 127 garages, plus a steam heating plant, a limestone entryway at the south end of White Place, a fountain now used as a planter, and Fell Avenue Park. The park was purchased by the city in 1923 and was Bloomington's first municipal playground. Houses sit on uniform lots about 50 feet wide, set back 15 feet from the sidewalk, and most are two-story balloon-frame buildings. Prairie, Craftsman and Colonial Revival influences are common. Most were apparently built from mail-order or stock plans, though architect A.L. Pillsbury designed or modified several. One house, at 1410 Clinton Boulevard, was traced to a 1920 plan book. White Place keeps its brick paving, and all three main streets retain limestone curbing. Only 11 buildings have been added since World War II, so the area retains the look of a neighborhood from more than 80 years ago.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"A.L. Pillsbury (architect, for 2 White Place, 3 White Place and 1310 Fell Avenue); most other houses built from mail-order or stock plans","architectural_style":"Prairie influence, Craftsman influence and Colonial Revival influence (vernacular houses with some high-style details)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition, with an extremely low level of alteration and infilling; 212 of 276 structures are contributing. The district is occupied, with private residences and some industrial use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.084998-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/8936/28893677/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/88001230.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88001230/a8d8391e1b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88001230/a8d8391e1b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"VermillionBird","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WhitePlace_2235.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">VermillionBird</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WhitePlace_2235.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893677","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Place_Historic_District_(Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20710629"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/mclean-county/white-place-historic-district-88001230/"}