Meekerville Historic District
Also known as: Lake Shore Drive West Historic District
Why it's listed
Meekerville is a small enclave of large early twentieth-century houses on Chicago's north side, near Lake Michigan and Lincoln Park. It occupies three one-block streets, Barry, Wellington and Oakdale Avenues, between Lake Shore Drive West and Sheridan Road. The district includes eight contributing houses, three contributing carriage houses or garages, and several non-contributing resources, built between 1913 and 1930 on landfill along the shoreline. The houses are two and a half to four stories tall and sit close together behind a uniform setback, creating a consistent street wall. Their styles include Georgian Revival, Italian Renaissance Revival, Beaux Arts and Tudor Revival. Architects include Charles A. Platt, who designed the Arthur Burr Meeker Sr. house, and Howard Van Doren Shaw. The first owners were members of Chicago's business elite, including meat-packing families such as the Armours and Mayers. High-rise buildings now surround the district on all sides, and its houses remain in residential use.
Significance in brief: The district preserves a group of large houses built for Chicago's business and cultural elite in the 1920s, on landfill beside an expanded Lincoln Park. The houses display Georgian Revival, Italian Renaissance Revival, Beaux Arts and Tudor Revival styles and were designed by noted architects including Charles A. Platt and Howard Van Doren Shaw. It is the surviving core of a single-family area now surrounded by high-rises.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 06000383, listed May 12, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 303 Barry Ave., 325,303-341,344 Wellington Ave., 340 Oakdale Ave., Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | Cook County |
| Listed | May 12, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000383 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Charles A. Platt, Howard Van Doren Shaw, Mayo & Mayo, Rissman and Hirschfeld, E.H. Frommann and Frederick Lindquist |
| Architectural style | Italian Renaissance, Beaux Arts, Tudor Revival, Georgian Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is still domestic, with single dwellings and secondary structures; some garages have been altered or rebuilt since the period of significance. |
| Acreage | 3.9 |
| Within district | Lincoln Park |
| Coordinates | 41.93707, -87.63799 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 06000383.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6807529
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.