Decatur Downtown Historic District

Downtown Decatur's historic district covers about ten blocks of the central business district in Macon County, Illinois, built on the grid platted in 1829. It holds 75 structures, mostly brick commercial buildings of one to eight stories, with three stories most common. Nearly all date from 1854 to 1916 and show Commercial Italianate, Victorian Romanesque and Neoclassical styles. Merchant Street is the most cohesive block, with bracketed eaves, bay windows, stained glass and carved lintels, and a facade easement program has restored most of its fronts. Lincoln Square, the old town square, forms the open center, and commemorative markers recall Abraham Lincoln's early law practice in the area. The district was listed because it reflects Decatur's growth after two railroads arrived in 1854, when the town became a major retail and manufacturing center in Illinois, and because its architecture records that commercial development.