The development of this residential neighborhood began in the mid-nineteenth century with a scattering of Greek Revival houses. However the resulting district of 135 buildings was primarily developed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This expansion relates to the economic growth and subsequent housing booms that affected the city, first with lumber boom of the 1870s and then the industrial expansion of the 1910s and 1920s. The neighborhood’s location near the Main Street commercial area made it a popular residential area and it was the home of many area businessmen.

Representative of the prevailing architectural styles of those times, Italianate, Gothic Revival, Queen Anne, American Craftsman, and Period Revival style residences are prominent. George Franklin Barber, a noted mail order architect from Knoxville, Tennessee, designed the elaborate Queen Anne style house at 294 East Division Street. It was constructed for Thomas Dockery in 1900. The district contains three houses designed in the Mediterranean style favored in the early twentieth century, but rarely found in Wisconsin. The largest is the Edward Lyons House located at 105 Sheboygan Street.

Most of the homes in this district are private residences. Please respect the rights and privacy of the residents.