Glen Ellyn Downtown North Historic District

About this property

The Glen Ellyn Downtown North Historic District is a historic business district in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States. It is found on Main Street between Crescent Boulevard & Pennsylvania Avenue, the north side of Crescent between Main & Forest Avenue and the south side of Pennsylvania between Main and Glenwood Avenue. There are thirty-four buildings in the district, twenty-eight of which contribute to its historical fabric. Glen Ellyn, Illinois, was first settled in the 1830s. The first commercial establishment was Stacy's Tavern, built to serve stagecoach travelers. In 1849, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad opened a station one mile south of the tavern on land owned by Dr. Lewey Quitterfield Newton. The railroad did not originally intend to build a station at the then-uninhabited area, but Newton was able to convince the company to run trains to the area if he raised the funds for the station. David Kelley, who named the station (and thus the ensuing settlement) Danby after his birth town in Vermont, built the Mansion House Hotel at the corner of Main Street and Crescent Boulevard in 1851, the first commercial development in the district. The Town of Danby was platted in 1855 by Newton. Commercial activity was initially limited to the north side of the tracks. The village changed its name to Prospect Park in 1874 and to Glen Ellyn in 1891. The latter name change was prompted by the development of the Glen Ellyn Hotel & Springs Company, a resort overlooking the nearby lake. Although the resort was not a financial success by the time it was destroyed in a 1906 fire, it helped develop Glen Ellyn's reputation as an idyllic suburb and encouraged growth to its town center. In November 1891, a fire destroyed most of the buildings on the west side of Main Street between Crescent Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue. In the first two decades of the 20th century, the city invested in public improvements such as paved roads to attract business. As suburban living gained in popularity in the 1920s, Glen Ellyn became one of the most popular destinations for former Chicago residents. The following twenty-eight buildings contribute the historic district. There are two dominant architectural styles: eight buildings are in the Chicago school style and six are in the Tudor Revival style. 504 Crescent Boulevard, 1925, one-part commercial block in the Chicago school style 515 Crescent Boulevard, 1961, one-part commercial block in the Colonial Revival style. Designed by Perkins & Norris Glen Ellyn State Bank, 1926-1929, arcaded block in the Classical Revival style 528 Crescent Boulevard, c. 1925, two-part commercial block in the Tudor Revival style. Altered in 1986.

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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.

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