Larkin Home for Children
National Register of Historic Places

Larkin Home for Children

Elgin, Kane County, Illinois
Listed
December 31, 2018
Type
Building
Period
Pre Contact
Ref No.
100003264

About this property

The Larkin Home for Children is a former orphanage at 1212 Larkin Avenue in Elgin, Illinois. The Larkin Home originated from the Elgin Children's Home Society, which was founded in 1898; it operated from a donated building until 1912, when it built its own orphanage due to space concerns. The home was funded by private donors and sought to provide a stable domestic environment for the children it housed, making it a typical example of a Progressive Era orphanage and contrasting it with earlier government-run programs. Architect George Morris designed the 1912 building in the Georgian Revival style. A hospital was built on the home's property in 1926 to address the home's difficulties caring for ill children. The home continued to house children until 1966, when it was converted to an administrative building due to changes in the Larkin Home's mission; it closed entirely in 2013. The orphanage was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 2018.

Location

1212 Larkin Ave.
Elgin, Kane County, Illinois
42.03635, -88.30882

Categories

SOCIAL HISTORY
Sources

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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Nearby Historic Sites

Elgin Tower Building
Industrial
1.3 mi
Pelton, Ora, House
Industrial
1.4 mi
First Universalist Church
Industrial
1.5 mi
Gifford-Davidson House
Civil War
1.6 mi
Elgin Academy
Industrial
1.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Larkin Home for Children listed on the National Register?

Larkin Home for Children was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 2018.

What type of historic resource is Larkin Home for Children?

Larkin Home for Children is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Larkin Home for Children?

The period of significance for Larkin Home for Children is recorded as the pre_contact era, specifically around 1212.

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