The five-bedroom Victorian at 414 North Washington Street sold Tuesday, June 16, for $1.32 million. The sale raises a familiar question on this block: will the new owner restore it or tear it down?
At $389 per square foot, the price lands well below what comparable historic homes on nearby streets have fetched. A four-bedroom home at 117 North Hickory Street sold in July 2025 for $561 per square foot, according to Shaw Local sale records. The $1.32 million price also falls below the village's trailing 12-month median of $1,425,000 for detached single-family homes, per Midwest Real Estate Data through February 2026.
That middle ground matters. Hinsdale's $700,000-to-$1.2 million tier is where homes are most often purchased as teardown candidates, according to MRED data. This sale sits just above that line but below neighborhood norms, which is exactly where the preservation question lives.
Public records show conflicting lot sizes for the property: 13,504 square feet per the Shaw Local sale record and 9,625 square feet per Zillow. The discrepancy could not be reconciled from available sources. DuPage County Recorder of Deeds records would confirm. A larger lot would make the property more attractive to builders seeking a teardown.
What's on the lot
The house is a two-story, 3,379-square-foot home with three fireplaces and a first-floor primary suite opening to a private deck. Prior listing descriptions call it a "lovingly restored and renovated" Victorian. The exterior is HardiePlank siding. The property last sold in June 2008 for $975,000. The 2023 property tax bill was $16,983, according to BlockShopper.
The build year is listed as 1897 in the sale record, though a prior MLS listing describes it as built in 1888. Either date places it among the oldest surviving homes on North Washington Street.
The preservation question
North Washington Street sits within one of Hinsdale's oldest platted sections. A 2004 architectural survey by Granacki Historic Consultants found that 43% of the 294 structures in the surrounding North Hinsdale area contribute to its historic character, and 30 are rated architecturally significant. The survey area encompasses the Stough's and Ayres' Addition subdivisions, platted in 1868 and 1869.
The village's Historic Overlay District, established by a unanimous Village Board vote in September 2022, offers incentives to owners of historically significant properties: property tax rebates on the village's roughly 7% share for up to five years, matching grants up to $10,000, and flexible zoning regulations that waive FAR and height restrictions. The program is voluntary, and being on the approved list does not prevent demolition.
Whether 414 North Washington is on the village's Historically Significant Structures Property List could not be confirmed from available public records. The list was last updated in November 2025.
Robb McGinnis, the village's director of community development, said when the overlay district was created in 2022: "Personally I'm tired of seeing good houses come down, the truly special houses."
No demolition permit or building permit has been filed for 414 North Washington Street as of Tuesday, July 1. Buyer and seller names were not available in public sale records reviewed for this article. DuPage County Recorder of Deeds records at recorder.dupageco.org would confirm the grantee and grantor for the June 16 deed transfer.
