North Geneva Historic District

North Geneva is a largely residential neighborhood on the west bank of the Fox River in Geneva, Illinois, covering the city's old First Ward. About 200 buildings stand on a regular grid of tree-lined streets, with uniform scale and setbacks. Greek Revival and Italianate houses dominate, alongside Queen Anne homes and Prairie-influenced designs by the Wilson Brothers, Swedish-born architects who lived in the district. Two buildings of local riverstone, including the neo-Romanesque United Methodist Church begun in 1872, are notable. The houses were first homes to early businessmen, tradespeople and immigrants, including many Swedish railroad workers' families, so they are modest in size and conservative in detail. Local builders such as John Schmoldt and Nelson Eck shaped much of the streetscape. Three of Geneva's first churches are here. The district was listed for its architectural character and its reflection of the social and commercial growth of a Fox River county seat. Some alterations and newer commercial intrusions exist at its edges.