Joliet East Side Historic District

Southeast of Joliet's downtown, this roughly 100-acre neighborhood preserves a largely intact 19th-century residential setting. About 290 structures fill its grid of streets, most built between 1870 and 1900, with a few from the early 1850s. Queen Anne, Second Empire, Italianate and Georgian Revival houses stand alongside limestone churches, a school and an 1880s commercial row, the only completely intact block of its kind in the city. Original limestone curbs and decorative sidewalk tiles add to the character. The area grew after 1852 near the railroad depot and became the city's most prestigious address, especially after railroad magnate Jacob A. Henry built his large Second Empire mansion in 1873. Eastern Avenue became known as "Silk Stocking Row" for its politicians, industrialists, doctors and lawyers. Decline came with the Depression, when large houses were divided or became rooming houses, and later vinyl siding altered some buildings. Even so, the district remains a visible record of Joliet's growth.