Sycamore Historic District
Sycamore Historic District | |
Italianate [2] | |
NRHP reference No. | 78003104[1] |
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Added to NRHP | May 2, 1978 |
The Sycamore Historic District is a meandering area encompassing 99 acres (400,000 m2) of the land in and around the downtown of the DeKalb County, Illinois county seat, Sycamore. The area includes historic buildings and a number of historical and Victorian homes. Some significant structures are among those located within the Historic District including the DeKalb County Courthouse and the Sycamore Public Library. The district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 2, 1978.
There are over 200 properties within the irregular boundaries of the Sycamore Historic District. Of those, 187 are considered
History
The 1966
The field surveyor who traveled to Sycamore in 1973 found a large number of late 19th and 20th century examples of architecture that he recommended the establishment of a historic district. The mayor of Sycamore then appointed a citizens' committee to assist the state with the work involved in listing the district.[3]
The residential areas within the district achieved their maturity before 1900, though Sycamore has grown considerably from the 3,330 or so that lived there from about 1900 until the 1970s most of the historic district remains intact as it was organized in 1978.
Boundaries
The Historic District is bounded by Somonauk Street on the west and Main Street on the east, a stretch of two blocks. On the north end the district is bounded by Page Street and extends to the end of South Main street. Main and Somonauk are both north/south roads while Page is an east/west street. The district also extends along State Street (Illinois Route 64) to the west until the 300 block. Somonauk Street is included through its 900 block. In addition section of Locust, Maple and California Streets are within the Sycamore Historic District. Other east/west streets also have portions included in the district, these are: Elm, High, Ottawa, Waterman and Lincoln.[3]
The boundaries were drawn up by Robert Wagner, a Chicagoan who worked as a National Register assistant with the
Architecture
Of the 226 properties within the Sycamore Historic District 40 are identified as "strongly contributing" to the overall character of the district. Twenty-one of those are ranked as the most significant structures in the district. The majority of the rest of the buildings date from 1860-1900.[3]
Properties
Sycamore Historic District includes a combination of residential, commercial, government and religious buildings. A number of Victorian homes along Main Street are enclosed in the historic district as well as a number of buildings in downtown Sycamore.[4] South of the courthouse are other homes included in the district, each important structure is marked with a plaque near the sidewalk.
226 properties are located within the Sycamore Historic District's 99 acres (400,000 m2).[3] Of those properties, 187 are listed as contributing structures in the district while an additional 22 are non-contributing.[5] Of all the homes and other buildings within the district a full 75% fit within the historic district concept.[6]
Churches
As of 2007 there are five church buildings in the Sycamore Historic District. When it was nominated to join the National Register there were seven church buildings within the district. One of those included is a residential structure that was utilized as a church when it was first constructed; the Arthur Stark House was once home to the Sycamore Universalist Church congregation. In the time since its listing, two churches have been destroyed or demolished. The Evangelical Church of St. John was destroyed by fire in 2004 and the United Methodist Church in Sycamore is no longer extant, replaced by a modern office building. The extant churches are the Old Congregational Church, Bethel Assembly of God Church, St. Peter's Church, the Universalist Church/Stark House and St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
Commercial buildings
The commercial buildings in the Sycamore Historic District, located in Sycamore, Illinois, United States are mostly located in and around the city's downtown. The largest concentration of commercial contributing properties to the historic district are found along Illinois Route 64 as it passes through Sycamore. They include several buildings known as "blocks" which can consist of more than one adjacent and attached structure, as is the case with the Waterman Block, one of the Sycamore commercial buildings.
DeKalb County Courthouse
Possibly the gem of the Sycamore Historic District is the DeKalb County Courthouse. The Courthouse sits in the center of a square facing
Frederick Townsend Garage
This building on Main Street was originally a garage owned by Sycamore resident Frederick B. Townsend. Townsend's
George's Block
Though quite altered from its original state in the mid 19th century George's Block remains one of the more eye catching structures in the Historic District.
Houses
The houses in the Sycamore Historic District cross a variety of architectural styles and span from the 1830s to the early 20th century. There are 187
U.S. Post Office
The
Sycamore Public Library
Sycamore Public Library, the only structure on the east side of Main Street, between State and Page Streets, that is included in the Sycamore Historic District. The library, still operational today, was constructed in 1905 with a combination of philanthropical gifts from different sources including Andrew Carnegie. The building was designed, in part, by architect Paul O. Moratz.
Significance
The district includes 226 properties over its 99 acres (400,000 m2), of those, 187 are considered contributing members of the historic district. The buildings consist of a mix of residential, religious, commercial and governmental buildings. Many of the residential buildings are 2 or 2½ stories in height and feature generous setbacks from the street. These factors, along with the growth of mature shade trees, combine to give the streetscape a well-balanced and integrated look and feel.[2] While the usage of the properties in Sycamore Historic District is similar to that in other small, Illinois county seats the district's properties are separated by their survival through the 20th century. The buildings themselves are most significant for their architecture which contributes to what the National Register of Historic Places nomination form in 1978 said conveyed "a gracious calm very close to the popular American image of an ideal small town."[2]
Notes
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Sycamore Historic District Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine," (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bigolin, Steve. The Sycamore Historic District: Introduction, Daily Chronicle, August 14, 2006. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
- ^ Sycamore Historic District, Recreation and Tourism, City of Sycamore, Official site. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
- ^ HAARGIS Database, Property Information Report, Sycamore Historic District, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
- ^ Sycamore Historic District, (PDF), Illinois Historic Sites Inventory Survey, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency [1]. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
- ^ DeKalb County Courthouse Archived August 31, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Wild Prairie Digitization Project, Northern Illinois University, 2004. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
- ^ a b c Bigolin, Steve. The Sycamore Historic District: Location 1, Daily Chronicle, August 21, 2006, Retrieved January 14, 2007.
- ^ a b c Bigolin, Steve. The Sycamore Historic District: Location 9, Daily Chronicle, November 20, 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2007.