It is centered on the campus of the Church of the Sacred Heart, but consists mainly of apartment block dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1870, the first major development in the area was the Church of the Sacred Heart, a Gothic Revival structure that was soon accompanied by a Second Empire rectory (1878).

[2] The Sacred Heart complex occupies a city block bounded by Chestnut, Sargeant, Maple, and Franklin Streets, and forms the center of the district.

It extends north to include buildings facing Chestnut Street Park on Chestnut and Sargeant Streets, as well as the German Reformed Church just northwest of the park.

The majority of buildings in the district are brick and stone multiunit apartment houses.