The Haskell Playhouse was built for Lucy Jane Haskell , daughter of Dr. William A. and Florence Hayner Haskell. Dr. Haskell commissioned Alton architect Lucas Pfeiffenberger to design and build the playhouse in the spring of 1884.

The playhouse consisted of a single room measuring fourteen by sixteen feet. There is a large front porch and a small back porch on the south side of the house. Inside there is a large wall cabinet with glass doors for the placing of dolls and toys on the shelves. The house also has stained glass windows and ornamental iron work on the roof, plus gingerbread (carpenter’s lace) woodwork around the windows and porches. The architectural style of the playhouse is Queen Anne Stick.

On July 29, 1885, Mrs. Haskell hosted a lawn party at the playhouse to celebrate Lucy’s fifth birthday. The next day it was reported in the Alton Telegraph “the children had a delightful time romping, playing and riding a pony, and were fascinated by the beautiful playhouse.

Lucy Jane Haskell died March 27, 1890, at the age of nine of ‘black diphtheria’ just four years after the playhouse was built.

Following the death of Florence Hayner Haskell in 1932, the City of Alton learned she had bequeathed the large house, the playhouse, and 6.4 acres of ground to the city, to be used as a playground and facility for children. The playhouse is to be retained forever in memory of Lucy Jane Haskell.

The house is located at Twelfth and Henry Streets in beautiful Alton, Illinois.

Listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1974