Like Wacker Drive in Chicago, Villa Street actually runs both East and West as well as North and South. It eventually changes its name to Center Street once it reaches the downtown district. One of the first brick houses in Elgin was built on Villa Street at 251-253 Villa Avenue. Many of Elgin's elite lived on Villa Street.  Their names include Jesse A. Townsend, an assistant foreman at the watch factory, as well as several of James Gifford’s brothers and sisters.