Alton Chapter House

The Alton Chapter House is a historic building located at 509 Beacon St. in Alton, Illinois. The building was constructed between 1909 and 1910 as a meetinghouse for Alton's chapter of the American Woman's League. The American Woman's League was a political and social organization founded by magazine publisher Edward Gardner Lewis in 1908. The organization was created to promote feminist causes, particularly the women's suffrage movement; Lewis also intended for the organization to promote and sell his women's magazines. Lewis commissioned the St. Louis architectural firm of Helfensteller, Hirsch & Watson to design five classes of buildings which the League would use as meetinghouses. The Alton Chapter House is an example of a Class II building, which was designed for clubs with 60 to 100 members. The building was designed in the Prairie School style and cost $2,500. After the club disbanded, the building was converted to a private home.^[2]

Alton Chapter House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Streetside view
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Location	509 Beacon St., Alton, Illinois
Coordinates	38°53′43″N 90°11′24″W
Area	1.1 acres (0.45 ha)
Architect	Helfensteller, Hirsch and Watson
Architectural style	Prairie School
MPS	American Woman's League Chapter Houses TR
NRHP reference No.	80001388[1]
Added to NRHP	November 28, 1980

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1980.^[1] It is one of nine American Woman's League chapter houses on the National Register in Illinois.

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Meyer, Pauline (July 12, 1980). "American Woman's League Chapter Houses in Illinois Thematic Resource". Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service. Retrieved February 5, 2014.