About this property
The Downtown East St. Louis Historic District is a historic commercial district in downtown East St. Louis, Illinois. The district includes 35 buildings, 25 of which are contributing buildings, along Collinsville Avenue, Missouri Avenue, and St. Louis Avenue; all but one of the buildings was historically used for commercial purposes. While development in the area dates back to the late 19th century, the first of the extant buildings in the district were built around 1900 after a tornado devastated the area in 1896. By 1910, the area had become a prosperous commercial district with stores, offices, and entertainment venues; a surviving building from this period includes the Cahokia Building. Another large building boom took place in the 1920s, adding buildings such as the Spivey Building, the city's only skyscraper; the Union Trust Bank Company Building, the largest bank in the city; the Grossman Building; and the Majestic Theatre. The new buildings both coincided with a population and economic expansion in the city and allowed it to forge an architectural identity distinct from neighboring St. Louis. Beginning in the 1960s, East St. Louis and its downtown entered a period of dramatic decline. Several major businesses left the city for other suburbs, urban decay and blight struck the city, resulting in the abandonment or demolition of several major commercial buildings. In addition, the rise of the automobile and the construction of new expressways took foot traffic away from the downtown area, furthering the decline of its businesses. The city's population is now one-third of its peak in 1950, and many of the district's buildings are abandoned and at risk of demolition or major decay. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 2014.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Downtown East St. Louis Historic District
This page lists Downtown East St. Louis Historic District. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
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Questions about this property
When was Downtown East St. Louis Historic District listed on the National Register?
Downtown East St. Louis Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 16, 2014.
What type of historic resource is Downtown East St. Louis Historic District?
Downtown East St. Louis Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Downtown East St. Louis Historic District?
The period of significance for Downtown East St. Louis Historic District is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near Downtown East St. Louis Historic District?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Downtown East St. Louis Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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An Aubrey US report for an address near Downtown East St. Louis Historic District will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.