Riverside in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Riverside

National Historic Landmark Status

Photographed by Sean Flynn

1. Riverside Marker

Inscription. The Riverside Historic District/Riverside Landscape Architecture District is an area recognized for its significance as one of the first planned communities in the United States. The district includes most of the Village of Riverside and is bounded by 26th Street, Harlem Avenue, Ogden Avenue, the Des Plaines River and Forbes Road. It features curving streets, expansive parks, numerous parkways, gas-lit street lanterns and many homes designed by world renouned architects. Some homes, like the F.F. Tomek House and the Coonley House, have been designated National Historical Landmarks individually.

In 1869, The Riverside Improvement Company was formed to build a modern suburban neighborhood about 11 miles west of Chicago's downtown lakefront. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who had previously designed New York's Central Park, were chosen to plan and design the site. It was a stunning design featuring winding roads that mimicked the curves of the river and extensive public green areas along the river and throughout the village to create a park-like setting. The area covers about 1600 acres of land along the Des Plaines River.

[Below the National Historic Landmark certificate:]
Since these early beginnings, Riverside has remained a beautiful "Village in the Forest" and still retains many elements of Olmsted

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

and Vaux's original plan. On August 29, 1970 this legacy was formally recognized when the Riverside Landscape Architecture District was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the National Historic Landmarks series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1869.

Location. 41° 49.65′ N, 87° 49.195′ W. Marker is in Riverside, Illinois, in Cook County. It can be reached from Pine Avenue near Longcommon Road. The marker is one of several inside the pavilion next to the platform at the Riverside Railroad Depot. The pavilion is across the street from Riverside's landmark water tower. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Riverside IL 60546, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Brookfield Zoo (here, next to this marker); Historic Riverside (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Historic Riverside (a few steps from this marker); Riverside, Illinois (within shouting distance of this marker); Private Albert Edward Moore (within shouting distance of this marker); Reverend Hedley Heber Cooper (within shouting distance of this marker); War Dead of World Wars I and II

Riverside Metra north platform image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn

2. Riverside Metra north platform

The Riverside marker is on the right. The platform for train travel to the west is immediately outside, and the fully enclosed Riverside station can be seen on the other side of the tracks.

(within shouting distance of this marker); Veterans Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Riverside.

Regarding Riverside. The Riverside Historic District, also known as the Riverside Landscape Architecture District, encompasses all but 100 acres of the village of Riverside, including its streets, parkland, gas lighting and many of its homes and buildings designed by architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan, many of which are their own individual landmarks.

Olmsted and Vaux layout of Riverside, 1869 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, September 25, 2023

3. Olmsted and Vaux layout of Riverside, 1869

This marker, featuring Olmsted and Vaux's original 1869 design of Riverside's layout, is also located in the pavilion near this Riverside Historic District marker.

Riverside National Historic District marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn

4. Riverside National Historic District marker

Located about 50 yards north of the train depot, on the grounds of the Riverside Water Tower.

Close-up of National Landmark certificates image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, September 27, 2023

5. Close-up of National Landmark certificates

Photographed by Sean Flynn, September 25, 2023

6. Riverside National Historic District Marker

A bronze National Historic Site marker is on the tablet in the foreground of this photo, to the east of the water tower. The east well house that houses the Riverside Historical Society is on the right.

Riverside Water Tower image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, September 25, 2023

7. Riverside Water Tower

The Swiss gothic-style Riverside Water Tower built in 1869, was designed by William LeBaron Jenney, who also designed some of the village's original 1870s homes as well as Chicago's Home Insurance Building (the first steel-supported skyscraper). The original wooden water tank was surrounded by a 70-foot-high observation balcony offering a view of downtown Chicago. The wooden portion of the water tower was destroyed by a fire in 1913 and later replaced by a taller, iron structure that included the first electric switchboard for a waterworks in the United States. In 2005, the tower underwent a $1.37 million restoration that brought it back to its 1913 appearance. The Riverside Recreation Department is located in the base of the tower. The east well house (out of this picture, behind and to the right of the tower) has been home to the Riverside Historical Society since 1969. Markers from the Illinois chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the American Water Works Association can be seen on either side of the doorway.

"An American Water Landmark" image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, September 25, 2023

8. "An American Water Landmark"

This tablet, dedicated by the American Water Works Association, honors the Riverside Water Tower as an American water landmark that is "significant in the history of public water supply." It is on the south entrance to the water tower.

Riverside Water Tower AIA 150 marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, September 25, 2023

9. Riverside Water Tower AIA 150 marker

In 2007, the Water Tower was named by the Illinois Council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as one of the 150 great places in Illinois.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 31, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 29, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 556 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on September 29, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 2. submitted on September 30, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 3, 4. submitted on October 4, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 5. submitted on September 30, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 6, 7, 8. submitted on October 2, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 9. submitted on October 4, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.