Riverview Historic District

About this property

The Riverview Historic District is a historic district in Kankakee, Illinois, United States. The 78.2-acre (31.6 ha) area, located around the Kankakee River, is the oldest intact residential neighborhood in the city. It was initially settled by Emory Cobb, who used the land as pasture before erecting a resort hotel. After the hotel burned down, the property was subdivided. The district includes 118 contributing buildings, including two Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Kankakee, Illinois, was founded in 1853 shortly after the Illinois Legislature approved the creation of Kankakee County; Kankakee was selected as the county seat. The Illinois Central Railroad built a station at this time, spurring rapid growth. By 1858, the population had swelled to 5,000. Early settler Lemuel Milk drained marshes to create a habitable space along the Kankakee River. Emory Cobb was the first settler to what would become the Riverview Historic District. Cobb was instrumental in founding Western Union, but retired in 1866 at age 34. He moved to Kankakee at this time and built his house at the southwest corner of what is now River Street and South Chicago Avenue. Cobb owned much of the land that would become the district, which he initially used as pasture. Heavily involved in Kankakee's early commercial development, Cobb built a resort hotel on his property. The Riverview Hotel, located in what is now the triangle formed by Park Place, South Chicago Avenue, and South Greenwood Avenue, opened in 1887 and operated for ten years before it was destroyed in a fire. After the fire, Cobb subdivided most of his property for residential use. The neighborhood immediately became the most desired development in Kankakee. Merchants, lawyers, and industrialists built their houses in contemporary high styles. Foremost of these houses were in neighboring B. Harley Bradley House and the Warren Hickox House, both designed by prominent architect Frank Lloyd Wright. These were among Wright's first houses in the Prairie School style. Other houses in the district reflected Classical Revival and American Craftsman architecture. By 1935, almost the entire district had been developed. H. Topping House (1926), American Foursquare with Prairie School details. Harry Topping was a real estate developer who later served in the Illinois House of Representatives. Louis E. Beckman House (1920), Queen Anne. Beckman was mayor of Kankakee from 1925 to 1933. He also served two terms in the Illinois House of Representatives and three in the Illinois Senate. Warren R. Hickox House (1900), Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie School design. Hickox was an attorney.

Location

Categories

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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