Washington Avenue Historic District (Evansville, Indiana)

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(Listed on Historic Landmarks Foundation 10 Most Endangered since 2007)

Roughly bounded by Madison and Grand Avenues, East Gum and Parrett Streets, Evansville.

Most houses in the Washington Avenue Historic District date from the 1880s through the 1900s, a time of rapid growth in Evansville’s population. The district earned National Register of Historic Places status in 1980 because of its important collection of late-Victorian frame houses. The variety of architecture captures the range of styles popular in the period: Italianate, Gothic Revival, Queen Anne, Stick Style, Neo-classical Revival, and simpler structures that borrow elements from the grand styles of the time. On Washington Avenue, the main thoroughfare in the district and a gateway to downtown, the houses are large and imposing. On the parallel and cross streets, houses and lots are smaller. Historically, the structures’ sizes offered places to live for people across the economic spectrum, from comfortable merchants and small business owners to laborers. The district’s 525 buildings (down from 684 in 1980) include churches and a handful of commercial structures and apartment buildings in addition to houses.

The threat: Demolition and city orders for more demolition of unsafe buildings, abandonment, dilapidation, and damaging alterations threaten Evansville’s Washington Avenue Historic District. The district lies adjacent to the Riverside Historic District but a world away in terms of recognition and protection. The loss of historic houses and the accelerating decline of what remains could jeopardize the area’s status in the National Register of Historic Places.

www.historiclandmarks.org/SavingPlaces/10Most/Pages/Was...