The Highland Park Historic District encompasses the area lying within the plat of Highland Park as well as additional property located north of the platted area. Laid out in the early 1850s, Kossuth Street was for more than 40 years the southern boundary of Lafayette until the platting of Highland Park in 1891. The new addition was formerly a section of the Ross and Reynolds farm pastures where in 1853, the second Indiana State Fair was held drawing over 60,000 people.
The Highland Park Land Company was formed by James M. Reynolds, William Ross and David Linn Ross. Initially the area contained 136 lots. A southern addition, Highland Park II, was platted in 1893 and added 28 more lots. Included in the plat was a lot reserved for a public school which became the site of the Columbian School. Today, the Highland School, constructed in 1924, is located on the site.
Highland Park developed as a typical, early twentieth century neighborhood. Bungalows and period revival-style houses lined the winding tree-lined streets. The residents ranged from merchants and businessmen to two Indiana governors.
J. Frank Hanley, governor from 1904-1908, lived at 739 Owen Street and Roger D. Brannigan, governor from 1965 to 1969, lived at 611 South Seventh Street. The home of Purdue University presidents from 1923 to 1975 was located at 515 South Seventh Street. The district includes a number of significant homes designed by local architects Walter Scholer, Sr. and Charles W. Nichol. Scholer, who designed many of the buildings on the Purdue University campus, designed the Colonial Revival Callahan House. Nichol designed the William Blistain House, the Marshall Haywood House and a house at 605 South Seventh Street. Most of the remaining architecture is more modest in scale. Craftsman bungalows such as three houses on Owen Street and American four-square houses such as four houses on Pontiac Avenue are typical of many middle-class houses in the district.
Period revival architecture is also prominently featured. Colonial Revival houses are found throughout the area. The Tudor Revival style is represented by the Marshall Haywood House and on a more modest scale by a house on Cherokee Street.
The original plat boasted a triangular park, an island bordered by Miami, Pontiac and Highland Avenues. The area also has a deep ravine which is traversed by means of a "bicycle bridge" built to assist school children in reaching Highland School.
Another noteworthy non-residential structure, the St. Joseph's Orphanage was designed by Charles W. Nichol in 1914. Brick sidewalks and brick streets also contribute to the character of the neighborhood.