Austin Historic District

Central Austin, on Chicago's west side, holds a 95-acre district of Victorian wood houses that recall its days as a railroad suburb. Although the community became part of Chicago in 1899, its tree-lined streets, parkways and greenspace still set it apart from the denser neighborhoods around it. The earliest surviving buildings are Italianate houses from before annexation, such as the 1871 house at 5704 West Ohio Street. Queen Anne and Stick Style houses are common throughout. Much of the character comes from resident architect Frederick R. Schock, whose four large houses on Midway Park, built between 1886 and 1922, trace the shift from elaborate Victorian designs to simpler, more solid forms. Brick buildings from 1910 to 1930 fill in along Lake Street. The district also includes the 1937 Third Unitarian Church by Paul Schweikher and the 1898 former township firehouse. Commuter rail access drew middle-class professionals who built the suburb's homes, and most buildings remain from that era.