{"nrhp_refnum":"92000483","name":"Washington Park","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Bounded by Fayette Ave., Williams Blvd., Walnut St., MacArthur Blvd., S. Grand Ave. and Chatham Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Springfield","county":"Sangamon County","state":"IL","lat":39.788500387000056,"lon":-89.68483920723638,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-05-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Washington Park is a public park historic district of about 150 acres in southwest Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, laid out from 1901 to a design by landscape architect Ossian Cole Simonds for the Springfield Pleasure Driveway and Park District.","why_significant":"The park is argued to be locally significant under Criterion C for its landscape architecture. It is an early Springfield example of the national growth of public parks after the Civil War. It is also an early completed example of the Prairie style of landscape architecture by Simonds. The design has retained its original boundaries, layout and major features.","narrative":"Washington Park is a roughly 150-acre public park in southwest Springfield, Illinois, and the first project of the Springfield Pleasure Driveway and Park District, formed in 1900. The district bought land that included a small private park at the end of a streetcar line and hired landscape architect Ossian Cole Simonds to plan it. Work began in June 1901. Simonds kept the hills, ravines, creeks and mature trees, built two lagoons by damming a creek, and laid out curving drives and a maple-lined entrance boulevard on Williams Boulevard. Trees removed during construction were reused for bridges, fence posts and benches. A 1903 pavilion and a streetcar shelter by architect George Helmle remain among the buildings. The park is listed for its landscape architecture, as an early example of Simonds's Prairie style of design. The period of significance runs from 1901 to 1907, when his plan was fully carried out. Later additions include a carillon, botanical garden and maintenance buildings.","period_of_significance":"1901-1907","architect_builder":"Ossian Cole Simonds (landscape architect); George Helmle (architect of the streetcar shelter); Arthur Hay (chief engineer)","architectural_style":"Craftsman; Classical Revival (Prairie style of landscape architecture)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a public park; the form describes a retained original layout, with later additions such as a carillon, botanical garden and maintenance buildings.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.827241-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/8940/28894084/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/92000483.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000483/3d10b2ff49-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000483/3d10b2ff49-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carillon,_Washington_Park.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carillon,_Washington_Park.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894084","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Park_(Springfield,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q559261"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/sangamon-county/washington-park-92000483/"}