2019 Spring Newsletter

2019 Spring Newsletter

Spring 2019

Photo by

Cappy Johnston

Inside:

“Celebrating Shaw’s 150th”

“Little Orchard” 1897

1917 image of Shaw’s Market Square, shortly after completion.

Howard Van Doren Shaw at 150:

Photo Copyright 1917

E.L. Fowler

Assessing the Architect

on this Significant Anniversary of His Birth in Chicago

Howard Van Doren Shaw, an architect of major significance to Lake Forest, was born on May 7, 1869, 150 years ago. One day short of age 57, May 6, 1926, as he lay dying in Baltimore, he learned that he was selected to be awarded the 9th American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, for presentation at the 1927 AIA Annual meeting. Shaw slipped away just as he received word of the award being approved, almost his last thought his pleasure at this recognition. Perhaps he also grasped the significance of the award going to an American architect whose practice was located in Chicago, west of the East Coast’s centers of architectural power and authority.

Shaw’s American Institute of Architects Gold Medal is often cited, but rarely discussed. Shaw was the ninth recipient of this recognition begun in 1907, and the fourth American so honored, with four of the other nine being English and French architects. The well-known architectural historian Richard Guy Wilson, in his 1984 book, The AIA Gold Medal, divided the Gold Medalists into cohorts or generations, with Shaw being in the second group of Americans. In this group, he followed Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (1925), the architect of Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago, completed in 1930. The earlier group of Americans had studied abroad and their work reflected French classicism. According to Wilson, the second cohort including Shaw was made up of a new generation of U.S.-trained architects, such as Shaw, who studied at MIT’s architecture school in 1891, the year after he graduated from Yale. The awardees in this cohort, by Wilson’s analysis, strove for more picturesque and emotional effects even while relying on classic planning and guidance. Henry Bacon (1923), from the first group of honorees, had begun his education at the German-inspired architecture program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, prior to extensive travel in Europe.

Portrait of Howard Van Doren Shaw

Bacon, though, practiced on the East Coast, creating the structure for the 1923 Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC. Shaw, with his office in Chicago, was the first of the Americans honored with the Gold Medal to practice in the Midwest. It was a couple of decades later that the AIA honored with Gold Medals Chicagoans Louis Sullivan (1944, posthumously) and Frank Lloyd Wright (1949). By 1957 the AIA began to honor a new generation of Chicago modernists, with Louis Skidmore. But Howard Shaw was the first Midwestern practicing Gold Medalist.

Shaw’s practice was among the most varied by type of project among his AIA U.S. Gold Medalist peers: residential design for a variety of settings, including city, town, and suburban/country place, subdivision, campus, and industrial-town; commercial, including

automobile show rooms and shops; public auditoriums; clubs; churches; warehouses; industrial; high-rises; a planned company town; and mixed-use—as at Lake Forest’s Market Square. Shaw’s body of work also varied geographically, mostly around the Midwest (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin, plus a commercial building in New York City and a cottage for his father-in-law, Connecticut). He was, as well, a partner in real estate development in Lake Forest: his 1897 North Green Bay Road three-estate development on a Swanton farm, his 1906 Atteridge farm mixed middle-class residential and recreational plan, and his Lake Forest estate houses. Real estate development also included in Chicago his 1910 and 1920s lakefront apartment buildings, again, in Lake Forest, with his 1912-17 Market Square, and in Indiana with his only partially-realized 1918 Marktown model factory village, East Chicago. Virginia A. Greene’s 1998 book on Shaw and his work documents this range of commissions.

Shaw practiced under his own name without a full partner. He did, however, employ capable trained draftsmen, beginning with Armour Institute-trained architect Robert Work in 1897, and others such as engineer George Eich, David Adler, Stanley Anderson. There also were Ralph Milman, who continued to practice in Lake Forest, Bertrand Weber who built homes in Lake Forest and Highland Park, and other engineers, likely beginning in a major way with the first 1898-1902 Donnelley Lakeside Press plant, Chicago’s Printers’ Row.

Perhaps Shaw’s most galvanizing work among his architect peers was Market Square, 1916. This was a significant coup of trans-Atlantic British modern town and U.S. City Beautiful planning. It was envisioned, planned, strikingly designed, and built under his exacting

2

supervision, supervision revealed in the original plans discovered in 1999 in the John Griffith office archive. As revealed in those plans, Market Square has come to be recognized as a majorstepincreatinganewtypeofbuiltprojectin the 20th century, the town center planned around convenient motor vehicle access, later identified as the “shopping center.” This catapulted the Lake Forest version of this new type into Hegeman’s book on trans-Atlantic, but mostly European, civic art in 1922, as noted in Stuart Cohen’s 2015 book on Shaw’s residential design.

The tremendous success of Shaw’s suburban and country houses between the Alleghenies and the Rockies was a major achievement. His work tied together threads of classic planning and, sometimes, design with English Arts & Crafts ideals, integrating gardens into house designs, while also using subtilty, materials, and construction methods reflecting modern design trends. Shaw often anchored his planned and developed residential projects with places for him and his family: Ragdale, one of the three estates on the Swanton farm, 1897; his Lake Shore Drive co-op with his town residence on the top floor, 1910; and his early 1920’s larger apartment house near Fullerton, Chicago, again with his own apartment.

Overcome in mid-life by chronic illness, at age fifty-six in 1926, he cut back and then died as the boom of the 1920’s was just beginning. His peer, Lake Forest resident Alfred H. Granger, born in 1867, lived on and practiced in Chicago for another decade and a half of influence. Shaw’s talent did not survive to influence the further refinement of the Market Square type of development elsewhere in that decade, which would have been a logical follow-up. Instead, other architects took the next steps, such as Edwin Hill Clark at Plaza del Lago, Wilmette, 1925. Even so, Shaw’s genius in residential design, detailed in Stuart Cohen’s 2015 study, was passed on to his associate and mentee, David Adler. Richard Guy Wilson, writing in the Art Institute’s 2002 book on Adler, found Adler to be the leading traditional architect of his period—the first third of the 20th century. Shaw’s later associate, Stanley D. Anderson, worked on a variety of buildings that continued the Gold Medalist’s English Arts & Crafts and classic templates intensively in Lake Forest and also beyond–across the North Shore and following his clients to resorts from the seashore to the Rockies.

*The discussions of (1) Shaw’s AIA Gold Medal with his being the first Midwestern-practicing awardee and of (2) the significance of Market Square draw on a draft by Arthur H. Miller for a book on Shaw’s Market Square, the draft currently out for review at a university press.

supervision, supervision revealed in the original plans discovered in 1999 in the John Griffith office archive. As revealed in those plans, Market Square has come to be recognized as a majorstepincreatinganewtypeofbuiltprojectin the 20th century, the town center planned around convenient motor vehicle access, later identified as the “shopping center.” This catapulted the Lake Forest version of this new type into Hegeman’s book on trans-Atlantic, but mostly European, civic art in 1922, as noted in Stuart Cohen’s 2015 book on Shaw’s residential design.

The tremendous success of Shaw’s suburban and country houses between the Alleghenies and the Rockies was a major achievement. His work tied together threads of classic planning and, sometimes, design with English Arts & Crafts ideals, integrating gardens into house designs, while also using subtilty, materials, and construction methods reflecting modern design trends. Shaw often anchored his planned and developed residential projects with places for him and his family: Ragdale, one of the three estates on the Swanton farm, 1897; his Lake Shore Drive co-op with his town residence on the top floor, 1910; and his early 1920’s larger apartment house near Fullerton, Chicago, again with his own apartment.

Overcome in mid-life by chronic illness, at age fifty-six in 1926, he cut back and then died as the boom of the 1920’s was just beginning. His peer, Lake Forest resident Alfred H. Granger, born in 1867, lived on and practiced in Chicago for another decade and a half of influence. Shaw’s talent did not survive to influence the further refinement of the Market Square type of development elsewhere in that decade, which would have been a logical follow-up. Instead, other architects took the next steps, such as Edwin Hill Clark at Plaza del Lago, Wilmette, 1925. Even so, Shaw’s genius in residential design, detailed in Stuart Cohen’s 2015 study, was passed on to his associate and mentee, David Adler. Richard Guy Wilson, writing in the Art Institute’s 2002 book on Adler, found Adler to be the leading traditional architect of his period—the first third of the 20th century. Shaw’s later associate, Stanley D. Anderson, worked on a variety of buildings that continued the Gold Medalist’s English Arts & Crafts and classic templates intensively in Lake Forest and also beyond–across the North Shore and following his clients to resorts from the seashore to the Rockies.

*The discussions of (1) Shaw’s AIA Gold Medal with his being the first Midwestern-practicing awardee and of (2) the significance of Market Square draw on a draft by Arthur H. Miller for a book on Shaw’s Market Square, the draft currently out for review at a university press.

Historic Second Presbyterian Church:

Restoring Chicago’s Arts & Crafts Jewel

Sunday, March 17, 3:00 PM • Gorton Community Center

Historic Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago’s South Loop played an important role in Lake Forest’s early development and ever since has shared strong connections to the city’s institutions and residents, including

the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, Lake Forest College, and Lake Forest architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, himself, who designed Second Presbyterian’s landmarked 1901 Arts & Crafts interior.

Glessner House Executive Director and Curator Bill Tyre and architect Nate Lielasus will discuss the history of Chicago’s Second Presbyterian Church, its ties to Lake Forest, and recent efforts to restore this National Historic Landmark.

Program free of charge, reservation requested – LFPF.org

Next Event

Historic Second Presbyterian Church:

Restoring Chicago’s Arts & Crafts Jewel

Sunday, March 17, 3:00 PM • Gorton Community Center

Historic Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago’s South Loop played an important role in Lake Forest’s early development and ever since has shared strong connections to the city’s institutions and residents, including

the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, Lake Forest College, and Lake Forest architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, himself, who designed Second Presbyterian’s landmarked 1901 Arts & Crafts interior.

Glessner House Executive Director and Curator Bill Tyre and architect Nate Lielasus will discuss the history of Chicago’s Second Presbyterian Church, its ties to Lake Forest, and recent efforts to restore this National Historic Landmark.

Program free of charge, reservation requested – LFPF.org

Next Event

Plaque by Sylvia Shaw Judson of her father, copied by Paul Myers.

At Lake Forest College Library Special Collections.

Join the Celebration

150th Anniversary

of the Birth of

Howard Van Doren Shaw

Saturday, May 11, 2019 k 9:30 a.m.

Second Presbyterian Church

1936 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago

A Half-Day Symposium

Organized by Glessner House and Its Director, William Tyre

More about this Symposium, its speakers and topics, can be found at

https://www.glessnerhouse.org/programs/. The Symposium’s admission charge of

$25 offers a very full program with experts discussing Ragdale’s preservation, Shaw and the Arts & Crafts Movement in turn-of-the-20th-century Chicago,

and Market Square. Art Miller will present on Market Square. The event is partially

funded by the Donnelley Foundation and by the Lake Forest Preservation Foundation.

Shaw renovated the notable 1871 James Renwick-designed Second Presbyterian Church in 1899 after a fire. Glessner House, 1801 S. Prairie Avenue, leads studies on the history of the Prairie Avenue District, including the 1860’s house of Sarah Van Doren and

Theodore Shaw (demolished. 1937), where Shaw was born in 1869.

That was the year of the completion of the trans-continental railroad and

Annual Holiday Celebration

Thank you to Meredith Mitchell for closing our yearlong

celebration of the works of Stanley Anderson at her beautiful, iconic SDA home on December 2nd.

What a great year 2018 was; we have lots to be thankful for!

Annual Holiday Celebration

Thank you to Meredith Mitchell for closing our yearlong

celebration of the works of Stanley Anderson at her beautiful, iconic SDA home on December 2nd.

What a great year 2018 was; we have lots to be thankful for!

two years before the Chicago Fire.

two years before the Chicago Fire.3

Thank You To our 2018 MeMbers, Donors, VolunTeers anD sponsors

MeMbership

Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Abbattista * Ms. Nancy Akred

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Alfe Mr. and Mrs. James Allen * Mr. Stanley Anderson

Ms. Sara Anderson *

Mr. and Mrs. James Armstrong Mr. and Mrs. Bill Athenson Ms. Rachel Noel Avigad

and Mr. Paul Piotrowski * Ms. Brunhild Baass

Mr. Chris Bacon

Mr. and Mrs. David Baier Mr. Dan Baigelman

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Banks Ms. Caryl Barclay

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Barnhart Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Barry Mr. and Mrs. Howard Bass Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Behrens

Mr. and Mrs. Francis Beidler III Ms. Patti Belmonti

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Benjamin * Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Bennett

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Bennett III * Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Bent *

Mrs. Joan Bent *

Mr. Craig Bergmann and Mr. Paul Klug Mr. Paul Bergmann *

Mr. and Mrs. Doug Cassidy Mr. Bill Castle

Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Chabraja Ms. Catherine Champ

Ms. Annette Champion Mrs. Clarissa Chandler Mr. and Mrs. Ed Chandler Mr. and Mrs. Luke Chang Mr. Richard Chapman

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Cirrincione Mr. Jerome Claeys

Ms. Debbie Clark Mr. Stuart Cohen

and Ms. Julie Hacker Mr. and Mrs. Steve Cole

Mr. and Mrs. Liam Connell Mr. and Mrs. Vince Conroy Mr. and Mrs. Ron Coolley Mrs. Katie Cordell

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Coutant * Mr. George Covington

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Crawford * Mr. and Mrs. Scott Cummings Mr. and Mrs. Michael Cummins Mr. and Mrs. Todd Curry

Mr. Richard Cutler

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Daly

Mr. and Mrs Neal Dann-Fenwick Mr. James DeActis

and Ms. Anne Morgan *

Dr. Alexia Gordon

Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Grabbe Mrs. Leslie Graham

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Grant Mr. Edward Gray

Mr. and Mrs. Will Gregg

Mr. and Mrs. David Grinnell * Mrs. Katharina Grossi

Mr. and Mrs. Ernst Haberli Ms. Blanche Hall

Dr. and Mrs. James Hall Mr. and Mrs. Ed Halle Mrs. Elizabeth Hamilton Mr. Philippe Hans

Mr. Gunny Harboe Mr. Phil Hartung

Ms. Sharon A. Harvey

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Havey * Mr. and Mrs. Ed Hayman

Mr. Douglas Hayward Mrs. Molly Heizer Mr. Kip Helverson

and Mr. Trey Gonzales * Mr. and Mrs. David Henkel

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel J. Henry * Mrs. Carrol Herber *

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hermes Ms. Susan Hetzel

Ms. Lucia Heyworth Ms. Mary Lynne Hickey

Mr. and Mrs. John Kozak Mr. and Mrs. Paul Krauss * Mrs. Posy Krehbiel

Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Kruse Mr. Desmond La Place * Lake Forest Garden Club * Lake Forest Open Lands

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lamphere Mr. and Mrs. Michael Lane

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lanigan Mr. and Mrs. James Leahy Mr. and Mrs. Sean Leahy

Mr. Michael Lewandowski Ms. Linda Liang *

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Lind Mr. Mark Linenberg *

Mr. and Mrs. David Linville Mr. and Mrs. William Lloyd Mrs. Susan Lovell

Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Luce * Mr. Don Lynch

and Ms. Lori Lennon

Mr. and Mrs. William Madden Ms. Mary Anna Malich

Mr. and Ms. Jeff Mandel

Mr. and Mrs. Reese Marcusson * Mrs. Miles Marsh

Mrs. Carol Marwede

Mr. and Mrs. David Mathis * Mr. David Mattoon *

Ms. Andra O’Neill Mr. C. J. Oates

and Dr. Heather Heiberger Mr. Larry Obermeyer

and Ms. Anne O’Connell Mr. and Mrs. James Opsitnik * Mrs. Shirley Paddock

Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Pairitz

Mr. and Mrs. George Pandaleon Mrs. Ellen Peter

Ms. Evelyn Phelps Mrs. Judy Polk

Mr. and Mrs. Alex Pollock Mr. Christopher Pommer and Mrs. Lisa Pommer Ms. Carol Post

Mr. Byron Prais

Mr. and Mrs. Rick Preiss

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Price * Mrs. Juliet Priebe

Mr. James Proesel

Mr. Todd Protzman-Davis Ms. Kathleen Pyle

Mrs. Diane Quinn

Mr. and Mrs. David Radcliffe Ms. Kathy Rafferty *

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Rajkovich Dr. and Mrs. Nabih Ramadan * Mr. William Redfield *

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Reilly

Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Bernish

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Deemer *

Mr. Steve Hill and Ms. Eva Heilman Mr. and Mrs. Brian Maxwell

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Reinkemeyer

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bernthal Mr. and Mrs. James Bertram Mr. and Mrs. Robert Binkley Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bischoff Mr. and Mrs. William Block Mrs. William Boggess

Mrs. Nancy Bolton Ms. Suzanne Boren * Mr. and Mrs. Jim Borg Messrs. Richard Bories and James Shearron

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bowen * Ms. Ann Bowen

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Brandel Ms. Nancy Brankis *

Mr. and Mrs. Leland Brewester Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Brewster * Mr. and Mrs. Don Brown

Mr. and Mrs. Cameron Brown Mrs. Jean Brown

Mr. Robert Brown Mr. Jackson Brown *

Ms. Anna Marie Brucker Mr. and Mrs. David Bruskin Mrs. John Bryan *

Mr. and Mrs. James Bryant Dr. and Mrs. Brian Bryzinski * Dr. Barbara Buchbinder

Mrs. Mignon Buehler

Mr. and Mrs. David Burgess Mr. Raymond Buschmann * Mrs. Rhett Butler *

Mr. John Capstick Mrs. Betty Carbol

Mr. and Mrs. George Cardenas Mr. and Mrs. Norman Carlson Mrs. Peter Carney

Mrs. Barry Carroll Ms. Julie Carter Ms. Patricia Carter Ms. Mollie Casey

4

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Deering Mr. and Mrs. Roger Deromedi * Mr. and Mrs. Tim Derr

Mr. and Mrs. David Dezelan Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Dixon * Mr. and Mrs. John Doheny Mrs. Barbara Donnelley

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Douglas Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Douglass Mr. John Drummond

and Ms. Rommy Lopat

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Dunbeck Mrs. Thomas E. Eckland

Ms. Adrienne Eckerling Mrs. Leeni Ellis

Ms. Laurel Kay Ellwein Mr. and Mrs. Bill Emerson

Mr. and Mrs. James Engelland Mr. and Mrs. Morton Engle Mr. and Mrs. James Estes

Mr. and Mrs. Les Finkel Mrs. Patricia Finn

Mr. Brian Floriani

Mr and Mrs. Anthony Fontana Mr. and Mrs. John Foran

Mr. James Fouts Ms. Maria Gabaldo

Mr. and Mrs. Ron Garriques Ms. Janet Gates

Ms. Susan Gaud Ms. Carol Gayle *

Mr. Perry Georgopoulos

Mr. and Mrs. Dan Gescheidle Mrs. R. Thomas Gibson

Ms. Jan Gibson Mr. Sean Gilmore Mr. Tom Gleason *

Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose Glombowski Mr. Jack Goggin

Dr. Hugh Gogins

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Goldstein

Mr. and Mrs. James Hodges * Mrs. Joyce Holson

Ms. Sharon Hoover

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Huber Ms. Sarah Hughes *

Mrs. William Hughes * Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hull Ms. Judith Inglese

Ms. Susan Ipsen *

Mr. and Mrs. James Isenberg Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Isola Mr. and Mrs. Fred Jackson * Dr. and Mrs. Bill Janes *

Mr. and Mrs. Allan Janis * Mr. and Mrs. Chris Jensen Mrs. Sarah Jimenez *

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnsen Mr. and Mrs. John Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Johnston Mrs. Rosemary Kehr

Mr. and Mrs. James Kenney Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Kerr * Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Kim Mr. and Mrs. Doug Kinney Mr. and Mrs. William Kirk Ms. Sally Kirkpatrick

Mrs. Donna Kissel Mr. Henry Kleeman

and Ms. Joan Boughton * Mr. Fred Klein

and Ms. Frieda Jacobs * Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Klein Mr. Carl Klein

Mrs. Robert Kleinert

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Klepitsch Ms. Betty Klingenberg

Mr. and Mrs. Bill Knauz Mr.and Mrs. Tim Knight Ms. Pamela Knowles

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kolar Mr. and Mrs. Michael Koob

Mr. and Mrs. John McDonough Mr. and Mrs. William McFadden Ms. Mary Ellen McGoey

Mr. and Mrs. Tom McIntosh Ms. Kelly McKee

Ms. Mary McMahon Ms. Lisa McWeeny Ms. Mary McWilliams Ms. Diana Melichar

Mr. Richard Mentzinger * Mr. Terry Mieling

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Milani * Mrs. Pamela Miles

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur H. Miller * Ms. Meredith Mitchell

Mr. and Mrs. Roger Mohr * Mr. Steven Monz *

Mr. and Mrs. Scott Moore Mr. and Mrs. Chris Moore *

Mr. and Mrs. German Moreno Ms. Wendy Moreno

Mr. and Mrs. David Morgans Mr. and Mrs. Larry Mosner

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Moulton-Ely Mr. and Mrs. Fred Moyer *

Mr. and Mrs. John Mueller Mrs. Catherine Murphy Mr. and Mrs. Karl Nagel

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Neaman Dr. and Mrs. Mark Neerhof * Ms. Leslie Newman

Mr. and Mrs. Neil Nicastro Ms. Lois Nicol

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Norton Mr. Brian Norton

and Ms. Kathryn Grace Mr. and Mrs. John Notz * NSDAR *

Mr. Michael O’Connell

Mr. and Mrs. Jim O’Connor Mr. and Mrs. Peter O’Malley *

Mr. Lawrence

and Dr. Linda Remensnyder * Ms. Martha ReQua

Mr. Timm Reynolds Ms. Betty Rich

Mrs. Patricia Riess * Ms. Sandra Riggs *

Mr. Theodore Roberts * Ms. Sylvia Robinson Mr. Bill Robinson

and Ms. Nancy Green

Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Roebel Mr. and Mrs. Frank. Rogalski Mr. Ted Rojahn

Mrs. James Roselle

Dr. Carlos and Dr. Carlotta Rotman

Ms. Monica Artmann Ruggles Mr. and Mrs. Edmond Russ Mr. and Mrs. William Russell Dr. Stephen Russo

and Dr. Anna Bendron Russo Mr. and Mrs. Bob Salzwedel Mr. and Mrs. Mark Saran

Ms. Katherine Saville Mr. Franz Schulze

Mr. and Mrs. Bill Schumann Mrs. William Searle *

Ms. Mary Seyfarth Mrs. Julia Shackleford Mrs. Hollis Shank

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Shannahan Mr. and Mrs. Robert Shaw * Ms. Christine Shaw

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Sheffield Mrs. Linda Shields *

Ms. Patricia Shuma and Mr. Craig Fox * Ms. Dianne Siekmann

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Slavin Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Smith *

Preservation publication is provided three times a year to the entire community of Lake Forest free of charge through our generous members listed.

MeMbership, continued          

Mr. Sidney T Smith

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Sommers Mrs. Mary Southworth

Ms. Linda Spanberger Ms. Elizabeth Sperry

Mr. and Mrs. Bill Sprague Ms. Dorr St. Clair

Col. and Mrs. Lawrence Stack * Dr. and Mrs. John Stamelos Mr. Charles Starcevich

Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Steans * Mr. and Mrs. James Stebbins * Ms. Kathleen Stevenson

Mr. and Mrs. James Stirling *

Mr. Jim Stokes Mrs. James Stokes Ms. Tina Strauss Mrs. Carole Stroh * Ms. Heather Strong

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Sunseri Mr. D. Jeffery Swinson

Mrs. Elizabeth Taylor Mrs. Beth Teich

Mr. and Mrs. Ken Temkin Ms. Marsha Temple

Mr. and Mrs. James TenBroek Ms. Anne Thomas

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Thomson *

Ms. Linda Tomchuck

Mr. and Mrs. John Travers * Mrs. Marilyn Turchi

Mrs. Robert Tweed Rev. Ronald Valentine

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Van Cleave Ms. Cathy Van Dorpe

Ms. Kathleen Van Ella

Ms. Betty Jean Van Gorkom Mr. Peter Van Nice

Mr. and Mrs. William Vance Ms. Cassandra Vermillion Dr. Alan and Mrs. Susan Stetson Vertrees

annual FunD

Mr. John Vratimos

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wacker * Mr. Frank Waldeck *

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Walsh Mrs. Rheda Walton

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Washlow * Ms. Emily Watts

Mr. and Mrs. David Waud * Mr. and Mrs. Ron Waud Ms. Nicki Weeden *

Mrs. Louise Weithas

Mr. and Mrs. Peter West * Mr. and Mrs. Henry West

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Wettermann

Ms. Laura Whistler

Mr. and Mrs. Emmett White Mr. George White

Mrs. Donna Williams Ms. Louise Wilson

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Wisner Ms. Lisa Wolfe

and Mr. Mark Diganci * Dr. Susanne Woloson * Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Wolter

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wood Mrs. Anna Jean Woroch Ms. Gina Zisook

Mr. Lloyd Zuckerberg

  • denotes Annual Fund donor also

Contibutions to the Annual Fund are dedicated to new local preservation efforts

Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Abbattista * Mr. and Mrs. James Allen *

Mr. James Anderson Ms. Sara Anderson * Ms. Rachel Noel Avigad

and Mr. Paul Piotrowski *

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Benjamin * Mr. and Mrs. Edward Bennett III * Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Bent *

Mrs. Joan Bent *

Mr. Paul Bergmann * Ms. Suzanne Boren *

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bowen * Ms. Nancy Brankis *

Mr. and Mrs. Chip Brennan

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Brewster * Mr. Jackson Brown *

Mrs. John Bryan *

Dr. and Mrs. Brian Bryzinski * Mr. and Mrs. Googan Bunn Mr. Raymond Buschmann * Mrs. Rhett Butler *

Mr. and Mrs. David Cain Mr. and Mrs. Peter Cherry

Mr. and Mrs. Roger Christoph Mr. and Mrs. Peter Coutant * Mr. and Mrs. Robert Crawford * Mr. Richard Cutler

Mr. Mike Dau

Mr. and Mrs. John Davidson Mr. and Mrs. Toby Davis

Mr. James DeActis

and Ms. Anne Morgan *

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Deemer * Mr. and Mrs. Roger Deromedi * Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Dixon * Mrs. Suzanne Dixon

Ms. Jennifer Donnelly

Ms. Charenton Zelov Drake Mrs. Maddie Dugan

Mr. and Mrs. Mathew Frekko Ms. Carol Gayle *

Mr. and Mrs. Otto Georgi Mr. and Mrs. Jim Glasser Mr. Tom Gleason *

Mr. John Glynn

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Grieve Mr. D. Kendall Griffith

Mr. and Mrs. David Grinnell * Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Gross Mr. and Mrs. Michael Havey * Mr. Kip Helverson

and Mr. Trey Gonzales *

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel J. Henry * Mrs. Carrol Herber *

Mr. and Mrs. James Hodges * Dr. Eugene Hotchkiss

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Huber * Mrs. William Hughes *

Ms. Sarah Hughes *

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Hunter Ms. Susan Ipsen *

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Jackson * Dr. and Mrs. Bill Janes * Mr. and Mrs. Allan Janis * Mrs. Sarah Jimenez *

Mrs. Phyllis Johnson Mr. Thomas Keim

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Kellock Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Kerr * Mr. and Mrs. Bob Klaskin Mr. Henry Kleeman

and Ms. Joan Boughton * Mr. Fred Klein

and Ms. Frieda Jacobs * Mr. and Mrs. Paul Krauss * Lake Forest Garden Club * Mr. Desmond La Place * Ms. Linda Liang *

Mr. Mark Linenberg *

Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Luce * Mr. and Mrs. Reese Marcusson * Mr. and Mrs. Miles Marsh *

Mr. and Mrs. David Mathis * Mr. David Mattoon *

Mr. and Mrs. Keith McClintock Ms. Mary McWilliams

Mr. Richard Mentzinger * Mr. and Mrs. Robert Milani *

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur H. Miller * Mr. and Mrs. Roger Mohr *

Mr. Steven Monz *

Mr. and Mrs. Chris Moore *

Mr. and Mrs. David Moore Mr. and Mrs. James Morris Mr. and Mrs. Fred Moyer * Dr. and Mrs. Mark Neerhof * Mr. and Mrs. John Notz * NSDAR *

Mr. and Mrs. Peter O’Malley * Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Oddi Mr. and Mrs. James Opsitnik * Mrs. Shirley Paddock

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Pasquesi Mr. and Mrs. L. Robert Pasquesi Ms. Cheryl Pettit

Ms. Paula Polito

Mr. and Mrs. John Poth

Mr. and Mrs. John Preschlack Mr. and Mrs. Richard Price * Ms. Kathy Rafferty *

Dr. and Mrs. Nabih Ramadan * Mr. Robert Reda

Mr. William Redfield * Mr. John Reilly *

Mr. Lawrence

and Dr. Linda Remensnyder * Mrs. Patricia Riess *

Ms. Sandra Riggs *

Mr. Theodore Roberts * Dr. Mark Rudberg

and Ms. Ellory Peck

Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Schlax Mr. and Mrs. John Schreiber

Mrs. William Searle *

Mr. and Mrs. John Sentell Mr. and Mrs. Robert Shaw * Dr. and Mrs. Kirk Shepard Mrs. Linda Shields *

Ms. Patricia Shuma and Mr. Craig Fox *

Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Smith *

Ms. Marguerite Solberg Mr. William Springer

Col. and Mrs. Lawrence Stack * Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Steans * Mr. and Mrs. James Stebbins * Mr. and Mrs. James Stirling * Mrs. Carole Stroh *

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Thomson * Mr. and Mrs. John Travers *

Mr. and Mrs. Scott Turner Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wacker * Mr. Frank Waldeck *

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Warnke Mr. and Mrs. Robert Washlow * Mr. and Mrs. David Waud * Ms. Nicki Weeden *

Mr. Chris Werwicki

Mr. and Mrs. Peter West * Mrs. Henry Wheeler

Ms. Lisa Wolfe

and Mr. Mark Diganci * Dr. Susanne Woloson *

  • donotes LFPF Member also

                  DocenTs anD VolunTeers         in MeMorY oF

Elizabeth Abbattista

Robert Alfe Jane Alfe Adeeba Arustu Susie Athenson

Rachel Avigard-Noel Paul Bergmann

Judy Boggess Ingrid Bryzinski Julie Carter Paula Clair

Peter Coutant Janet Cummings Michelle Curry Sue Dye

Angela Fontana Jan Gibson Tom Gleason Diane Gregg Gail Hodges Sarah Hughes Susan Ipsen

Laura Jacobson Cappy Johnston Dennis Johnston Romayne Kazmer Ted Kazmer Stewart Kerr Mark Linenberg Laura Luce

Debbie Marcusson Bill McFadden Sharon McFadden

Art Miller Pauline Mohr Roger Mohr Steven Monz Liz Moore Wendy Moreno Fred Moyer Margaret Moyer

Rosemary O’Connell Jim Opsitnik

Ellen Peter

Natalie Reinkemeyer Patricia Riess

Monica Artmann Ruggles Pam Russell

Linda Shields Linda Spanberger Jean Sullivan Sara TenBroek

Catherine Van Dorpe Caryl Vehe

Stanley D.Anderson Edward Bennett Jr. John H. Bryan Barry Carroll William J. Hughes Jeanne La Place Deborah MacKenzie

Michael and Elizabeth Rafferty Daniel M. Riess

sponsors anD in-kinD Donors                in honor oF

Elizabeth and Anthony Abbattista

April’s Linens Bernie’s Book Bank Crab Tree Farm Craig Bergmann

Landscaping

Cappy Johnston JWC Media

Knauz Motor Group Kogen Friedman

Development

Lake Forest Bank & Trust Lake Forest Book Store

Lynch Construction Mariani Landscaping Market House Melichar Architects Arthur Miller Meredith Mitchell Alice Moulton-Ely

Lawrence and Linda Remensnyder

Robb Orthodontics Steve and Anna Russo Brian and Molly Sarver Jack and Renate Schuler Robert Sharoff

SilverPepper Sunset Foods

Ron and Julie Thauer The Davey Tree Expert

Company

The Organic Gardener John Vinci

Roger Mohr Jim Opsitnik

Dave and Kelly Delaney

Lake Forest Hearing

Northwest Vascular and Vein Shea Lubecke Design

UPS

DiVinci Painters Fitness Together

Lake Forest Place Lake Forest Shop

Jim and Elaine Opsitnik

Linda Shields

Webb Financial Group

Every effort was made to list the names of all our contributors. If we inadvertently omitted your name or listed it incorrectly, please contact the office at 847-234-1230 or [email protected] so we can correct our records.

Every effort was made to list the names of all our contributors. If we inadvertently omitted your name or listed it incorrectly, please contact the office at 847-234-1230 or [email protected] so we can correct our records.5

From the President    

Recently I had the pleasure of seeing the 10th anniversary screening of the historical documentary Discovering Deerpath in the John and Nancy Hughes auditorium at our Gorton Community Center. The DVD is also available at the Library. The film wonderfully recreates the finding and founding of Lake Forest. It tells the stories of the many interesting and dynamic people who helped shape and then preserve our city’s character. Equally as interesting was the acknowledgement and appreciation of the many civic minded residents who have stepped forward through the decades with their time, talent and energy to make Lake Forest the community what it is today. That commitment is as important today as it was in the past, perhaps more so.

I realize that there are many demands of family, career, and everyday life that most of us face. But there often comes a time when your focus may shift and an opportunity arises to give back to the community. The varied interests of the many talented and accomplished Lake Foresters can well be matched to the diverse organizations serving the community. The learning and personal growth through the commitment to the good of the community can be very satisfying. As a thirty-five-year resident, but one who was late to this participation, I can attest to its rewards. The growth comes through the association with the many dedicated people who share similar values.

As these organizations, foundations, city boards and commissions evolve, some with term limits, new members are welcomed and needed. Lake Forest is known as a family-oriented community. So being a part of that family, it is important for individuals to step forward. The quality of life in Lake Forest is greatly enhanced by the public/private partnerships throughout the city. Forest Park, Elawa, Open Lands, Ragdale, Gorton, and the downtown train station renovation, to name a few, are the result of this collaboration.

The magical quality of life in Lake Forest is not dependent entirely upon the city, but on the continued participation of its residents. It has been an honor to serve as your President for the past two years and I look forward to continuing to serve on the Foundation’s Executive Committee.

Sincerely,

Jim Opsitnik, President

Nominations for 2019 Historic Preservation Awards

Due by March 25th

Every year, coinciding with National Historic Preservation Month, the Lake Forest Preservation Foundation honors families, businesses, and organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in preserving Lake Forest’s architectural heritage. The annual Historic Preservation Awards are based on criteria established by the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and fall into five categories, a description of each can be found on the Foundation’s website.

Preservation • Rehabilitation • Restoration Reconstruction • New Construction or Infill

Any building, structure or landscape fifty years or older is eligible to be nominated. For the category of New Construction or Infill, new and recent construction is eligible. Nominations may be made by any interested person – the owner, the designer, a neighbor or friend, an admiring passerby. Handsome bronze plaques will be presented to award recipients at the Preservation Foundation’s Annual Meeting.

Nominations for the 2019 awards are being accepted now through March 25th and can be submitted by downloading a nomination form available on the Foundation’s website, www.LFPF.org/preservation-awards, or by contacting the LFPF office, 847-234-1230 or [email protected].

Results of the First Lake Forest Preservation Foundation Survey

On January 10, 2019, the LFPF surveyed its constituents, including members, non-members, friends and donors. We received a very good response rate for a first time survey.

Gardens of the

Arts and Crafts Movement

Iconic gardens from the Arts and Crafts era defy

91%

95%

rated our programs

as very good to excellent

were satisfied with the

LF Preservation Foundation

definition. Designed to accentuate the beauty and personality of both house and region, these gardens made a lasting impact on gardens worldwide, from public parks to small cottages. Gardens of the Arts and Crafts Movement, the newest book by renowned landscape historian Judith B. Tankard, surveys the rich history of the era and unlocks the secrets to creating a garden faithful to the movement. Arts and Crafts aficionados and garden designers alike will find inspiration in hundreds of contemporary photographs and historic illustrations detailing works that stretch from Gertrude Jekyll’s Munstead Wood to storied California estates to Lake Forest’s own Ragdale.

Judith B. Tankard is a landscape historian, award-winning author, and preservation consultant.

Please join us at Gorton Community Center on May 9 at 1:00 P.M. Judith Tankard will present a program featuring her updated edition of Ellen Shipman and the American Garden, winner of the John Brinckerhoff Jackson Book Prize for 2019. Signed books will be available for sale.

Tickets are $15 at LFPF.org

The most popular programs were:

the annual house tour, closely followed by the garden strolls.

Suggestions for Improvement:

  • Thheamveomstoprerepvraolgernatmcsowmimtheanrtcshwiteecrets: and owners of historic homes

we need to attract young families with children and have more educational programs

more programs about historic landscapes and their preservation

We received 16 pages of valuable comments about our programs and suggestions for how to connect with the community. We will seriously consider all ideas and we want to thank you very much for taking the time to complete the survey. Your input is very valuable to us. Special thanks to the committee members, Susan Athenson, Elizabeth Abbattista, Ingrid Bryzinski, Marcy Kerr, Elizabeth Moore, Linda Shields, and the Chair, Linda Liang.

6

e

If not now, When?

If not you, Who?

If you aren’t already a member of the LFPF, please consider joining today! With your support the Preservation Foundation can continue being your community advocate. What would Lake Forest look like without its beautiful and historic landmarks, streetscapes, parks and gardens, and historic districts? With your membership dues LFPF will continue its efforts to preserve the unique visual character of Lake Forest by:

Contributing to City meetings of the Building Review Board and Historic Preservation Commission, adding valuable insight and awareness of preservation issues.

Funding restoration projects in Lake Forest, such as most recently the historic downtown train station and the original 1857 Surveyor’s Plot Map of Lake Forest.

Presenting educational programs about preservation issues, architects, historic estates, and neighborhoods.

Offering Strolls and Tours of important Lake Forest gardens and architectural treasures.

Recognizing preservation projects throughout the city through our annual awards.

And so much more!

The time is Now to join or renew your membership to the LFPF.

With it you will be supporting our programs, communications, educational

outreach, and dedicated staff. Take part in preserving Lake Forest’s legacy.

We couldn’t do it without YOU!

e

Join the Lake Forest Preservation

Foundation today!

e

If not now, When?

If not you, Who?

If you aren’t already a member of the LFPF, please consider joining today! With your support the Preservation Foundation can continue being your community advocate. What would Lake Forest look like without its beautiful and historic landmarks, streetscapes, parks and gardens, and historic districts? With your membership dues LFPF will continue its efforts to preserve the unique visual character of Lake Forest by:

Contributing to City meetings of the Building Review Board and Historic Preservation Commission, adding valuable insight and awareness of preservation issues.

Funding restoration projects in Lake Forest, such as most recently the historic downtown train station and the original 1857 Surveyor’s Plot Map of Lake Forest.

Presenting educational programs about preservation issues, architects, historic estates, and neighborhoods.

Offering Strolls and Tours of important Lake Forest gardens and architectural treasures.

Recognizing preservation projects throughout the city through our annual awards.

And so much more!

The time is Now to join or renew your membership to the LFPF.

With it you will be supporting our programs, communications, educational

outreach, and dedicated staff. Take part in preserving Lake Forest’s legacy.

We couldn’t do it without YOU!

e

Join the Lake Forest Preservation

Foundation today!

For Jeanette and Dan Hodgkinson, buying and restoring the old white clapboard mansion on Ridge Road may have always been predestined.

Once the childhood home of Ginevra King—the lost love of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the inspiration for the character Daisy Buchanan in the book, The Great Gastsby—the house had fallen into serious disrepair over the past 10 years and its property recently subdivided.

Dan grew up down the street and was always aware of the home. He recalls his first visit to the estate as a young child. “When I was about 5 years old, I was riding my bike with my mom up Ridge Road. As we passed the property, Mr. Reilly (the previous longtime owner) was in the yard and he invited us inside for lemonade. He showed us around his beautiful house. It was really a nice gesture and goes to show you what Lake Forest was all about,” Dan explained. “When we left, Mr. Reilly told us we could come back anytime.”

“We’ve come back!” exclaims Jeanette.

The couple has been fixing and flipping houses as a hobby for several years. In fact, it’s grown into a full-time business for Jeanette who now runs Bell Design, a remodeling company that handles anything from whole house renovations to smaller kitchen, bath, and basement remodels.

“When we first drove up to this house, we realized this wasn’t another flip. This was a home we had to save,” said Jeanette.

It’s also a home they intend to make their own. Working with Susan Benjamin of Benjamin Historic Certifications, the Hodgkinsons recently submitted an application to the City of Lake Forest for Local Landmark designation, a process that will allow them to apply for the Illinois Historic Property Tax Assessment Freeze. The program freezes the assessed value of historic owner-occupied, principal residences for 8 years, followed by a four-year period during which the property’s assessed value steps up to the new level. The program is a major financial incentive for homeowners who are sensitively investing in the rehabilitation of their historic homes.

According to a report prepared by Benjamin, the main house, as originally designed in 1905 by Howard Van Doren Shaw, was considerably altered in 1938 by designer George Senseney. The remodeling has become significant in its own right because of the sensitive design. Some of Shaw’s imprint remains—but the house now mostly reflects Senseney’s influence. The interior was largely reorganized and redecorated. On the exterior, the window openings and roofs were modified to both serve the redesigned spaces and update the house’s popular Colonial Revival style.

One of the most striking features of Senseney’s design is the extensive use of Carrara glass on the walls in the master and guest suite bathrooms. Also known as pigmented structural glass, Carrara glass was available in 30 colors and manufactured in flat panels or curves, and in a wide range of sizes and thicknesses. Its use in the house is indicative of the chic, ultra-modern character of 1938 remodeling, as well as its high-end sophistication.

Walking through the home, the Hodgkinsons’ excitement for their endeavor is as apparent as their commitment to a faithful rehabilitation. “The master bathroom is the most significant room in the house and will be preserved,” said Dan. Working with the experienced local architectural firm, Landmark Development, 95% of the house will be preserved and restored, with major modifications only being made to accommodate a new master bath in the area of a sleeping porch connected to the master bedroom, as well as reconfiguration of the kitchen area.

They also intend to replace many of the decorative features that were previously stripped from the home, including crystal chandeliers and sconces in the foyer and dining room. “We have pictures of the original crystal fixtures which are being custom made to match,” said

Jeanette. “We are trying to blend the history of the original King residence with bringing in some of the Gatsby glam.”

7

LAKE FOREST PRESERVATION FOUNDATION

2018-2019

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Jim Opsitnik

President

Peter Coutant

VP Communications

Laura V. Luce

VP Development

Elizabeth Abbattista Natalie Reinkemeyer VP Programs

Susan Rafferty Athenson

Secretary

Debbie Marcusson

Treasurer

DIRECTORS

Robert Alfe Ingrid Bryzinski Michelle Curry Angela Fontana Tom Gleason Linda Liang

William McFadden Roger Mohr Elizabeth Moore Fred Moyer

Kurt Pairitz

Monica Artmann Ruggles Sara TenBroek

HONORARY DIRECTORS

Herbert Geist Gail Hodges Arthur Miller Pauline Mohr Shirley Paddock Linda Shields Lorraine Tweed

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Marcy Kerr

Preservation

SPRING 2019

VOLUME 12, NUMBER 1

Contributors:

Gail Hodges, Marcy Kerr, Arthur Miller, Pauline Mohr, Jim Opsitnik

Editor: Peter Coutant

PhotograPhy:

Cappy Johnston

Lake Forest Preservation Foundation 400 East Illinois Road

Lake Forest, Illinois 60045 www.lfpf.org

NON-PROFIT ORG

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT NO. 184 LAKE FOREST, IL

60045

NON-PROFIT ORG

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT NO. 184 LAKE FOREST, IL

60045

ECRWSS

Residential Customer Lake Forest, IL 60045

Lake Forest Preservation Foundation

Programs for 2019

Visit LFPF.org for details and to register

Sunday, March 17, 2019          Historic 2nd Presbyterian Church:

3:00 PM               Restoring Chicago’s Arts & Crafts Jewel

Gorton Community Center

Sunday, April 28, 2019               Annual Meeting and 2019

2:00 PM               Historic Preservation Awards Gorton Community Center, Member only reception following at historic residence

Thursday, May 9, 2019               Ellen Shipman and the

1:00 PM               American Garden

Judith Tankard lecture & book signing Gorton Community Center

Tickets: $15

Saturday, May 11, 2019            Howard Van Doren Shaw

8:30 AM – 1:00 PM       Symposium

2nd Presbyterian Church, Chicago

www.glessnerhouse.org for tickets

Friday, June 28, 2019 Early Summer Garden Stroll

5:30 PM – 7:30 PM       Members $20 Non-members $30

Saturday, July 27, 2019             Annual Summer Tour of

10:00 AM or 1:00 PM  Crab Tree Farm & Art Collections

Members $20 Non-members $30

Friday, August 23, 2019            Late Summer Garden Stroll

5:30 PM – 7:30 PM       Members $20 Non-members $30

Sunday, October 6, 2019 Architectural House &

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM       Garden Tour, Annual Benefit

Advance ticket $100

Sunday, December 8, 2019 Annual Member

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM       Holiday Celebration

Members only

 

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