Villa Avenue Train Station
Also known as: Villa Park Historical Society Museum
Why it's listed
Built between August and November 1929 for the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railway, this one-story station on South Villa Avenue in Villa Park measures 28 by 104 feet. It is made of wood, stucco and limestone in the Tudor Revival style, with rough-cut limestone arches, half-timbered gables and patterned stucco-and-wood lintels. Alone among the line's stations, it held both a passenger waiting room, in the western half, and a Western United Gas and Electric Company office and showroom, in the eastern half. It replaced two small waiting rooms across the street. The interurban line helped shape Villa Park by carrying buyers to new subdivisions around 1910 and by serving commuters and workers at the Ovaltine plant, making the village the railway's largest commuter customer. Only three of the line's seventy-three stations survive. The village bought the building in 1976, and it became the historical society's museum in 1979. Alterations have been minor, mostly maintenance and replacement windows.
Significance in brief: The station was the only one on the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin line to combine a passenger waiting room and a business office and showroom in one building. It is a good example of Tudor Revival architecture with limestone arches and half-timbered, stuccoed gables. The railroad drove the residential and industrial growth of Villa Park, which became the line's largest commuter customer.
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 86001480, listed August 22, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 220 S. Villa Ave., Villa Park |
|---|---|
| County | DuPage County |
| Listed | August 22, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86001480 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- (specific date 1929) |
| Architect / builder | Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railway (apparently designed in the office of the railway's Chief Engineer) |
| Architectural style | Tudor Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the Village of Villa Park and in use as the Villa Park Historical Society Museum and visitor center for the Illinois Prairie Path. Condition is good, with minor alterations. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.89494, -87.97045 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 86001480.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7930273
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.