Downtown Hinsdale Historic District
Why it's listed
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.
Significance in brief: The district holds the oldest commercial buildings in the village and shows more than 130 years of small-town suburban railroad downtown development. Its One-Part and Two-Part Commercial Blocks display Italianate, Queen Anne, Colonial and Georgian Revival, Renaissance Revival and Commercial styles. Government buildings and auto-related businesses show how the downtown adapted to new needs. The text in the provided pages does not state the criteria or the formal period of significance.
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 06000011, listed May 30, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly Bounded by Maple St., Lincoln St., Garfield St. and Second St., Hinsdale |
|---|---|
| County | DuPage County |
| Listed | May 30, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000011 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | R. Harold Zook, William Gibson Barfield, Philip Duke West, Louis A. Simon, Lorin A. Rawson, Edwin H. Clark and others (inventory lists various architects and builders) |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian (Italianate, Queen Anne); Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals (Colonial Revival, Italian Renaissance); Commercial Style; Modern Movement (Art Deco) |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still an active business district with commerce, government, post office and rail functions; some storefronts and upper stories have been altered. |
| Acreage | 17 |
| Coordinates | 41.80223, -87.92909 (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 06000011.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5303458
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.