This Old House: Elgin, Illinois

Elgin has a long history for an Illinois city, filled with old Victorian era homes of the Queen Anne style.  Recently, Elgin was featured by a famous remodeling publication and made a distinguished list for old house hunters.

ThisOldHouse.com recently released its choices of ‘Best Old House Neighborhoods 2009′ in the U.S.  Among This Old House staff Editors’ Picks, named Elgin as a great place to purchase an ‘Old’ home.

The bulk of these beautiful old homes reside in the Spring-Douglas neighborhood.  Designated a National Historic District in 2000, many of these homes remain surprisingly affordable for architecture of this type around the region.  Many of the homes in this neighborhood were built in the mid to late 19th century with the oldest dating back before the Civil War!

One of northern Illinois oldest cities, it was founded along the banks of the Fox River in 1836.  After years of decline and the loss of much of the industry that once occupied the town, Elgin has seen a resurgence in the last decade.  Now topping 100,000 people, this established river town is projected to become one of Illinois’ most populous cities with it’s aggressive growth strategy.  Specifically, the expansion west dubbed the ‘far west development strategy’, just west of Randal Road.  The revitalization of downtown has also created a great atmosphere for festivals and a reason for people to live, work and play in Elgin.