NRHP: Brownbilt Residential Historic District

[[Image: |thumb|right|upright=1.0|alt= |Brownbilt Residential Historic District]]

Brownbilt Residential Historic District

NRHP Reference #: 12000565

NRHP Listing Date: 20120829

Location

bounded by A and D Streets, S 37th to S 40th Streets, Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska

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Summary

Brownbilt Residential Historic District in central Lincoln is a 47-acre neighborhood platted in several subdivisions between 1925 and 1946. The District's significance derives from its very strong concentration of residences financed by the newly created Federal Housing Administration (FHA). FHA was the New Deal's response to a near-cessation of housing construction during the Great Depression. Of note was FHA's explicit support of racial segregation in its lending policies, resulting in Brownbilt District's racially restrictive covenants. Brownbilt District is also locally significant as an exemplary collection of smaller residences of the 1930s and '40s, with a large majority constructed by a single contractor, Howard A. Brown.

About the National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the country’s official list of historically significant properties. To be eligible for the NRHP a property must generally retain their historic appearance, be at least 50 years old, and have the potential to be documented as historically or architecturally significant at either the local, state, or national level. The National Register of Historic Places is a National Park Service program administered by the Nebraska State Historical Society for the state of Nebraska. Visit the Nebraska State Historical Society's website to learn more about the program.