Hunter-Hattenburg House
Why it's listed
Built in 1898 on the east bank of the Kankakee River, this large Queen Anne house was commissioned by attorney William R. Hunter, who lived there until his death in 1939. The two-story frame building has wood weatherboard and shingle siding, a quarry-face limestone foundation, and a dominant twelve-sided corner tower. A deep front porch with paired round and square Ionic columns, a projecting dormer on heavy brackets, and leaded and stained-glass windows add to its detail. Inside, varnished white oak, Cuban mahogany woodwork, original fixtures and a carved fireplace survive. Local newspapers reported its cost at $6,800, more than three times the average for a Riverview house. It was later home to Albert Hattenburg, a pharmacist and longtime mayor. The house is recognized as an exceptionally intact example of the Queen Anne style and as one of the earliest fully developed examples of that style in Kankakee, after a careful recent restoration.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be an excellent, well-preserved example of the Queen Anne style, with a wide range of the style's distinctive features and high-quality workmanship. It is one of the largest and most elaborately finished Queen Anne houses in Kankakee and a stylistic benchmark for comparing other houses of the type and period locally.
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 07001475, listed January 31, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 825 S. Chicago Ave., Kankakee |
|---|---|
| County | Kankakee County |
| Listed | January 31, 2008 |
| Reference number | 07001475 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1898 |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still a single dwelling; the house has been carefully and comprehensively restored, retaining nearly all original design and materials apart from the roof shingles. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Within district | Riverview Historic District |
| Coordinates | 41.10902, -87.85962 (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 07001475.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16845690
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.