Ottawa Commercial Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

From the record

“The Ottawa Commercial Historic District is a historic district in downtown Ottawa, Illinois. The district includes 195 buildings and structures, most of them commercial buildings, spread out over 26 city blocks.”
Wikipedia article Ottawa Commercial Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 29 National Register listings published here for LaSalle County · listed in 2011 · category: District.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Address. Roughly 600-1129 Columbus St., 601-1215 LaSalle St., Ottawa, 61350
When was it listed? November 2011
Category. district
Township. Ottawa township
National Register reference number. 11000850 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

6 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Ottawa Commercial Historic District between 2008 and 2018, burning about 7 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3
Arson/incendiarism	2
Debris and open burning	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
2 June 2017	Debris and open burning	2.0 acres	Illinois Division of Forestry Resources	17-142
6 April 2008	Arson/incendiarism	1.0 acres	Illinois Division of Forestry Resources	BUFFALO
29 March 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Illinois Division of Forestry Resources	1023
29 March 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Illinois Division of Forestry Resources	1023
28 March 2008	Arson/incendiarism	2.0 acres	Illinois Division of Forestry Resources	GRASS
19 March 2018	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Illinois Division of Forestry Resources	180318007

Every fire recorded in LaSalle County

Mines and quarries near this property

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Ottawa Commercial Historic District: 6 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Silica. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Lasalle County Highway Pit	Stone	Past Producer
Ottawa Industries Sand Pit	Silica	Producer
Dickens Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Ottawa Pit No. 8	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Ill.Valley Min.Co.Clay Shale Pit	Clay	Past Producer
Materialite Pit	Clay	Past Producer
Ottawa Shale Pit	Clay	Past Producer
Porter Co.Clay Pit	Clay	Past Producer

Storms near this property

60 of 82 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ottawa, the town this property stands in, in 82 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 49 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 6 flood, 4 lightning. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
August 2011	Lightning	Ottawa	1 hurt	A man working near a window in his basement felt a big jolt, as lightning struck near his house. He later found a natural gas line damaged by the lightning and while on the way to buy replacement parts, his right arm became numb. He stopped at fire station, who then transported him to a local hospital. He was not expected to have any long lasting injuries.
July 2003	Hail	Ottawa	1 hurt	no account filed
August 2007	Flash Flood	Ottawa	$250,000	Several inches of flowing water over Route 23 in and north of Ottawa. Flash flooding occurred in Utica as Clark Run Creek overflowed its banks sending floodwaters down the main part of town. According to reports, about 45 residents responded to a request for evacuation. Widespread basement flooding was reported in the Peru-La Salle areas. Many streets and county roads flooded within La Salle County. Flash flooding was also reported in Triumph, Naplate, and Grand Ridge in La Salle County. Dee Bennet Road near Buffalo Rock State park was closed due to flooding. Portions of Route 178 were also closed.
October 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	$100,000	no account filed
August 2011	Lightning	Ottawa	$50,000	A house in Ottawa was struck by lightning.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	$30,000	Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down across Ottawa. Two homes were damaged by falling tree limbs. Route 23 was closed due power lines that fell across the road.
July 2011	Lightning	Ottawa	$20,000	Lightning damaged the chimney of the historic Reddick Building, which was built in the 1850s. Falling bricks damaged an air conditioner and broke a window.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	$5,000	Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. A large tree limb fell on a pickup truck.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	$5,000	Tree limbs and power lines were blown down on Hillside Avenue in northern Ottawa.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	$5,000	Several trees, utility poles and power lines were blown down across parts of Southern Ottawa.
August 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	$3,000	Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Ottawa.
December 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	$2,000	A utility pole was snapped off. Part of the pole went through the roof of a building.
September 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	$2,000	A tree limb was blown down on York Street which took down power lines.
March 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	$1,000	Law enforcement relayed reports of power poles and power lines down just south of Ottawa. A large tree was also blown down onto Illinois Route 71.
April 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	A photo was shared of a tree down across Columbus St just north of E Jackson St in Ottawa.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Power poles were leaning in Ottawa.
January 2024	Flood	Ottawa	-	An ice jam occurred along the Fox River at the Route 6 bridge which caused some water and ice chunks to spill out of the river banks near a medical center.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	A large tree was uprooted in the 700 block of Guthrie Street, which also brought down power lines and snapped a utility pole.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Power outages, downed trees, and a flipped picnic table were reported on the north side of Ottawa. A semi truck was also rolled on I-80 near Ottawa.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Tree limbs were blown down in Ottawa. One tree was snapped and a utility pole was bent.
August 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Tree limbs 6 to 8 inches in diameter were blown down.
May 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Trees were blown down on the east side of Ottawa.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Ottawa. A shed was destroyed. Multiple signs in downtown Ottawa were blown down.
August 2020	Tornado (EF1)	Ottawa	-	A tornado with peak winds of 100 mph touched down south of Marquette Street west of La Salle Street. The tornado impacted several businesses ripping off well anchored roofing material and snapping a utility pole at its base. The roof of a flooring business was blown off and hit a nearby building. It was here the tornado reached peak intensity. The tornado continued east ripping shingles off of roofs of buildings and houses and shredding trees. One tree was shredded badly near Canal Street and a large tree limb fell onto a new pickup truck causing significant damage. Fallen trees and tree limbs covered most areas along the path to the Fox River. The tornado is believed to have lifted in an inaccessible forested area east of the Fox River. Eye witnesses indicated the tornado may have had multiple vortices with clear rising and rotating motion of debris.
February 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Wind gusts were estimated to 70 mph.
July 2017	Flood	Ottawa	-	Up to five inches of standing water was reported covering Route 6 west of the Fox River.
February 2017	Hail	Ottawa	-	Hail was estimated to be the size of baseballs in Ottawa.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Measured by U.S. Army Corp of Engineers sensor.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Several large trees down along Oaklane Drive. Relayed via Facebook.
July 2016	Hail	Ottawa	-	Intersection of Boyce Memorial Drive and Ottawa Avenue.
July 2015	Hail	Ottawa	-	Golf ball size hail fell just north of Route 6.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Tree branches to around 12 inches in diameter were blown down.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Winds were measured to 62 mph at a mesonet site approximately a mile south-southwest of Ottawa. Large trees were uprooted on the south side of Ottawa.
September 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	A large tree was blown down onto power lines near the intersection of Route 6 and Route 23.
August 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	A large tree was blown down near Marcy and Guthrie Streets.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Tree limbs were blown down.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Wind gusts were estimated to 65 mph.
June 2007	Flood	Ottawa	-	One to two feet of standing water in Madison Street, 2.07 inches of rain measured in on hour from 130 pm CST to 230 pm CST.
May 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	On Interstate 80, near mile marker 85, a car was picked up and turned around.
March 2007	Hail	Ottawa	-	Penny size hail was reported on Route 23, just south of Interstate 80.
August 2007	Flood	Ottawa	-	Covel Creek affecting homes near Route 23 south of Ottawa. Water on roadways throughout the county, 4.51 inches of rain since 10 am on August 23rd.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Several large trees blown down on the north side of Ottawa.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Measured gust to 70 mph.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Measured gust to 63 mph.
August 2007	Flood	Ottawa	-	Four inches of water over Route 23.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Trees blown down along Jack Dougherty Road.
August 2006	Flood	Ottawa	-	Three to four inches of water was reported covering streets in Ottawa, where 1.49 inches of rain was measured.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph.
March 2005	Hail	Ottawa	-	Nickel sized hail was reported south of Rt. 80 on E. 16th rd. in the Autumnwood subdivision, 1830-1840 CST.The ground was reported to be covered with 2 to 3 inches of quarter sized hail, 1842-1847 CST.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Several large trees were blown down on the west side of Ottawa.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	A gust to 60 mph was reported in Ottawa with some tree damage.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Trees were blown down at the water tower.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Many tree limbs were blown down on the south side of town.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	Trees were down on Highway 71 near Ottawa. A spotter reported 60 to 65 mph winds near Streator.
June 1997	Tornado (F0)	Ottawa	-	State police reported a tornado over an open field. There were no damages.
April 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Ottawa	-	no account filed
May 2020	Hail	Ottawa	-	no account filed
May 2020	Funnel Cloud	Ottawa	-	no account filed
September 2010	Hail	Ottawa	-	no account filed
September 2010	Hail	Ottawa	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in LaSalle County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Washington Park Historic District	0.2 miles	1973
Knuessl Building	0.4 miles	1992
Jeremiah Strawn House	0.6 miles	1995
Ottawa East Side Historic District	0.6 miles	2013
John Hossack House	0.8 miles	1972
Andrew J. O'Conor III House	0.8 miles	1993

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 11000850 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
LaSalle County	All 29 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.