Ottawa Commercial Historic District

Ottawa's central business district sits where the Illinois and Fox Rivers meet, platted in 1829 as the terminus of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The historic district spans about 65 acres and twenty-six blocks, with attached brick storefronts around the courthouse square and a mix of commercial, civic, religious and residential buildings extending north toward the former canal. Italianate buildings predominate, alongside Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, Classical Revival, Art Deco and International Style examples. Highlights include the Reddick Mansion, the Appellate Court Building, the County Court House, the Roxy Theater and the 1913 Central Life Building. Many storefronts were modernized in the early twentieth century, and those changes are treated as part of the district's story. The area is recognized as the commercial and social center of the city from 1831 through 1962, and most of its buildings retain their original massing and character-defining features.