The ambience of the core of the district extends along Central Park Avenue south of Grant. This is not surprising since the developer who had subdivided Lincolnwood Avenue north of Grant in 1921 laid out the southern two blocks of Central Park Avenue in 1923 and 1927.

Eighty per cent of the houses within the proposed Northwest Evanston Historic District were built between 1918 and 1931; most of those houses are brick, but a number of houses are stone, stucco, wood and combinations thereof.

In December 1988 the State of Illinois Historic Preservation Office asked the City of Evanston to suggest additional preservation districts. Gwen Sommers Yant, then Evanston’s Preservation Coordinator, suggested two possible districts: northeast Evanston and northwest Evanston.

When Design Evanston authors began working on their book Evanston: 150 Years 150 Places,
hundreds of homes, multi-family buildings, institutional and religious structures were
considered for inclusion. In the yearlong process, a few important places were inadvertently left
off the list.

As the Central Street bridge nears completion this summer, preliminary discussions have already
started at the city to begin planning for the next bridge replacement project in Evanston – the
Lincoln Street bridge.

Dwight Perkins, while not as well known today as other Evanston architects such as Daniel
Burnham, was no less important in his impact on 20th century American architecture.

Thomas Eddy Tallmadge (1876-1940) was a lifelong Evanston resident and one of the talented architects who left their mark on our city. Tallmadge built extensively in Evanston, and in the 1930s he designed Evanston’s now historic streetlights.

When Design Evanston published its book Evanston’s Design Heritage in 2020, one important planner was missing from the collection of essays: Diane Korling was not available to be interviewed for the book because of a serious injury.

When we think of landmarks we generally think of historically or architecturally significant buildings. Many of the 150 places mentioned in Design Evanston’s book Evanston: 150 Years 150 Places fall into these categories.

Have you ever wondered about the exquisite wrought iron fence, gate and stone steps at the corner of Ridge and Lake streets? They are all that is left of the estate that once stood there. It was built in 1901 for James Patten (1852-1928), Evanston’s mayor from 1901 to 1905.