Downtown Hinsdale Historic District

Downtown Hinsdale is a compact, pedestrian-oriented business district about 21 miles west and south of Chicago's Loop, laid out beside the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad tracks. The district covers more than six blocks and includes 74 properties, of which 60 buildings and one park are contributing. Most are brick, frame or stone buildings no more than three stories tall, built up to the lot lines in One-Part or Two-Part Commercial Block forms on 25-foot-wide units. The earliest, two-story frame buildings along Washington and First Streets date from the 1880s and carry Italianate or Queen Anne details. Later buildings show Colonial, Georgian and Renaissance Revival styles, with notable terra cotta on the Hinsdale Theater and the Hinsdale State Bank. Gas stations and car dealerships reflect the automobile era, while the Village Hall and Post Office stand north of the tracks. Despite storefront changes, the character of a late-19th and 20th century suburban railroad downtown remains.