Chicago's Edgewater Glen District added to National Register of Historic Places
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Edgewater Glen district on Chicago's north lakefront has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The district — located within the Edgewater neighborhood — is bounded by Broadway, Clark Street, Norwood Street, and Granville Avenue.
The Edgewater Historical Society said the district was nominated in October 2024 for placement on the register by the State of Illinois Historic Preservation on it, and the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the nomination on Dec. 30.
Longtime Andersonville resident and Edgewater Glen Association board member Justin Colombik proposed the idea in late 2023, the historical society said.
He was surprised that Edgewater Glen was not a historic district like the Lakewood Balmoral District — also in Edgewater about a mile to the south – given that the same developer, John Lewis Cochran from Philadelphia, was behind many of the homes and streets in Edgewater Glen, the historical society said.
The Edgewater Glen District has been so named only since the early 70s, with "Glen" coming from the first syllable of Glenlake and Glenwood avenues in the neighborhood. But the houses in the neighborhood are much older — displaying the changes in housing trends from 1890 to 1920, the Edgewater Glen Association notes.
Ornate Queen Anne houses, American Foursquares, Prairie-style houses, and Chicago bungalows can be found on the charming streets of the neighborhood.
The National Register of Historic Places designation brings perks. Homeowners are now eligible for tax incentives to fix up their homes, and public projects would need to avoid damaging or destroying buildings.