Washington Park Historic District

About this property

Washington Park Historic District, also known as Washington Square is a historic district in and around Washington Park in the city of Ottawa, Illinois, United States. Washington Park was the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 and is surrounded by several historic structures. The park was platted in 1831 and the historic district was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The boundaries of the Washington Park Historic District are limited to the area around Washington Park, known as Washington Square. On its north, the district is bounded by the east-west Lafayette Street, on the south by Jackson Street. The east side of the district is bounded by Columbus street, and the west side by LaSalle Street. The historic district includes seven separate properties as contributing members, there were originally eight but one has been demolished since the district was designated. Washington Park was platted in 1831 and created by the Illinois-Michigan Canal Commission when the "states addition" of Ottawa was laid out. This was part of the original plat for the city. The park was the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate in 1858, and has served other civic functions through the years. In 1973 the park and surrounding area was designated a historic district by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and several of the properties have local landmark designations as well. In 2002 a project to install Lincoln-Douglas debate statues was undertaken and completed. Washington Park occupies a square of one city block on the edge of downtown Ottawa and is surrounded by several significant historic structures. Within the park are objects and structures such as the 1873 Civil War Memorial, cannons from the Civil War, World War I and World War II, and a marker noting the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate. The park's central patio is dominated by a fountain and reflecting pool centered with larger-than-life depictions of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. The fountain and reflecting pools, and thus, the statues, are in a plaza which is surrounded by limestone. The statue project was completed by artist Rebecca Childers Caleel with metal casting completed by Art Casting of Illinois. The bronze statues were completed under the guidance of the city's historic preservation commission and dedicated on September 14, 2002. The Lincoln statue is 11 feet (3.4 m) tall and the Douglas statue is 9 feet (2.7 m) tall. Because of their recent installation, the statues are not part of the historic district. The park has been popular during the holiday season as well as being a major focus of civic life in Ottawa from the 1850s into the present. In addition to the historical features within and surrounding the park there are features more traditional to parks such as greenspace, benches, lighting and walkways. Plant life includes well-manicured lawns, shade trees, evergreens, and tea roses.

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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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