The Lakewood Balmoral Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

in the Edgewater community area of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on February 12, 1999. The district covers an area of about ; its boundaries are Magnolia Avenue to the east, Wayne Avenue to the west, Foster Avenue to the south, and Bryn Mawr Avenue to the north. The area is easily accessible from the Berwyn station on the

Chicago "L" The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated railway, elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the four ...

Red Line.

History

John Lewis Cochran, the first major developer in the Edgewater area, purchased the land which makes up the Lakewood Balmoral district in 1890. Known as Cochran's Third Addition to Edgewater, the region was marketed to middle-class families, as opposed to the Edgewater lakefront, which was mostly mansions at the time. Many of the streets in the district were named by Cochran. Berwyn Avenue, Bryn Mawr Avenue and Wayne Avenue were named after stations on the Main Line running north of his native

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Catalpa Avenue was named after a street in Philadelphia, Lakewood Avenue after the town of

Lakewood, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community, as of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 135,158, its highest decennial count ever and ...

, and Balmoral—a nod to Cochran's Scottish ancestry—after

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

in Scotland. The Lakewood Balmoral district was listed on the

in 1999. In 1999, it included 490 buildings deemed to contribute to the historic character of the area.

References

Historic districts in Chicago North Side, Chicago Neighborhoods in Chicago Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Populated places established in 1890 Shingle Style architecture in Illinois Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois {{Chicago-geo-stub