{"nrhp_refnum":"91000687","name":"Upper Bluff Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Taylor, Center and Campbell Sts. and Raynor Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Joliet","county":"Will County","state":"IL","lat":41.529150661000045,"lon":-88.09637014367681,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-06-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district of about nine full and seven half blocks atop the upper bluff west of the DesPlaines River in Joliet, Will County, Illinois, with 616 resources, mostly single-family houses and garages dating from about 1850 to 1930.","why_significant":"The district preserves a large, largely intact collection of houses in a wide range of styles, including Italianate, Queen Anne, Neoclassical Revival, Classical Revival, Dutch Colonial, Colonial Revival and Craftsman Bungalow. It also reflects Joliet's growth as a limestone, steel, railroad and manufacturing center, which supported residential development near the city center.","narrative":"Upper Bluff Historic District covers roughly nine full blocks and seven half blocks on a gently sloping limestone bluff west of the DesPlaines River in Joliet, Illinois. Western Avenue is its focal point and links it to downtown across the Cass Street bridge. The district holds 616 resources, of which 517 contribute to its character, including 337 houses and 180 garages. Most homes are frame with limestone foundations and date from about 1850 to 1930. Lots are large, and the sloping terrain produces curving streets and wedge-shaped parcels where tall Queen Anne houses sit above the sidewalk. Styles range from Italianate and Queen Anne to Neoclassical and Classical Revival, Dutch Colonial, Prairie, Tudor Revival and Craftsman Bungalow. One house, built in 1919, is solid stone. The neighborhood grew alongside Joliet's limestone quarries, steel and wire mills, railroads and manufacturing, which shaped the city as a Midwestern industrial center. It was listed for its intact collection of architecture from that period.","period_of_significance":"circa 1850 through 1930s","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate, Queen Anne, Classical Revival (also Neoclassical Revival, Dutch Colonial, Prairie, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Craftsman Bungalow)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Most houses are intact; current uses include single and multiple dwellings, a public grade school and outdoor recreation. Street surfaces changed from brick to asphalt and street lighting was modernized.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.281044-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/17/8943/28894317/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/91000687.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000687/0eb352a0e9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000687/0eb352a0e9-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joliet_Upper_Bluff_HD_1.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joliet_Upper_Bluff_HD_1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894317","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Bluff_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7898501"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/will-county/upper-bluff-historic-district-91000687/"}