A downtown Coeur d’Alene neighborhood that is home to some of the city’s oldest houses, first public schools and earliest churches has taken another important step toward being recognized as a state historical district.

Lisa Benscheidt, president of the Garden District’s board of directors, said neighborhood boosters recently received word it had been awarded a $13,000 grant to help pave the way for the prestigious historic destination.

“It’s fantastic — the money has been approved and we’re moving forward with details,” Benscheidt said Tuesday.

Representatives from Idaho Historical Society in Boise and National Partners in History Foundation from Seattle will be in Coeur d’Alene this evening to discuss details of the funding and how it will be used to shore up the historical designation.

The meeting is 6:30-8 p.m. at The Art Spirit Gallery, 415 Sherman Ave.

The historic Garden District is located north of Sherman Avenue between Fourth and 11th streets and bordered by Montana Avenue to the north. The quiet, tree-lined streets include more than 300 largely Craftsman and Victorian-style homes built in the early 1900s — and as early as 1893.

Recognizing the Garden District’s historic charm and character, officials have been quietly working to have the 63-block neighborhood designated as an official Historic District recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.

The grant will be used to fund a reconnaissance survey, recording, site form preparation, survey report preparation and information and training workshops. Local volunteers would chip in a match of $13,000 in donated time toward the cause, local historian Robert Singletary said.

The comprehensive survey of each building/property will be evaluated by Idaho State Historic Preservation Office for final approval.

If the Garden District is officially designated a historic district, it would be only the second such district in Coeur d’Alene to receive the distinction. The first was the Sherman Addition in the Fort Ground neighborhood, which was designated in 1992, said Tricia Canaday, director of the State Historic Preservation Office in Boise.

“We believe this is something that is long overdue,” Canaday said Tuesday. “There are so many great things of historical significance in the downtown area of Coeur d’Alene. We think a designated historical district would be great.”