Lake Forest’s train station on McKinley Road and Western Avenue
is a contributing structure in the Original Lake Forest National
Register Historic District established in 1976. It is significant for its
historic role in the community and for its architecture. It replaces an
earlier depot built to serve the Lake Forest College-centered east Lake
Forest street plan of 1857, developed by Almerin Hotchkiss. This
larger replacement structure was designed to serve the needs of the
new Onwentsia Club southwest of the station on Green Bay Road,
with its large city crowds for horse shows (1900-70), polo matches,
and other events.

It was planned by architects Frost & Granger for their father-in-law,
Marvin Hughitt, president and builder of the Chicago & North
Western Railway. All three men lived in Lake Forest, the architects
each in homes they designed. By 1900 the firm already had designed
other local buildings: City Hall (1899), Lois Hall, Lake Forest
College (1899), and Reid Library and Chapel, Lake Forest College
(1900). Soon, too, Howard Shaw’s 1916 Market Square would take
its style cues from the Tudor brick and half-timbered train station
and City Hall, also nearby to the southwest. Indeed, it was the first
of the four sides of the Square, which is recognized as the first town
center built around motor vehicles – the first City Beautiful town
center not dependent on public buildings as anchors...in a word, the
first shopping center.

As railroads went through difficult transitions in the 1960s and
1970s, the need to restore the train station came to the attention
of the 1976-founded Preservation Foundation, which raised the
$400,000 needed then for renovation. This sparked a Renaissance
of train stations along what became the North Line of Metra. It
reflected the town’s heritage of public/private partnerships for
improvements. Now, once again, the train station needs restoration
and improvements, including a new roof (back to the original, longlasting
slate) and new climate systems, interior floors, and many
other features.

The Preservation Foundation is undertaking a survey
of the building by a Chicago-based, recognized preservation architect
to craft a plan for the rehabilitation of this important and still very
vital local landmark. We are working with the City and will report
more on this as we proceed.

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400 East Illinois Road, Lake Forest, Illinois, 60045 • Phone: 847-234-1230 • Fax: 847-234-9250 • Email
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