Tag Archives: #AmericanArchitecture

Wilmette’s Trinity United Methodist Church (1929): Willett Stained Glass and a Home Alone Legacy.

FEATURE Image: Reformation and the 18^th century missions of Methodist founder John Wesley, detail of Willet stained- glass window, Trinity United Methodist Church, 1024 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. March 2017. Author’s photograph.

Trinity United Methodist Church in Wilmette is a remarkable example of early twentieth-century ecclesiastical architecture whose artistic significance is enriched by its exceptional Willett Studios stained glass and an unexpected place in popular culture through its association with the film Home Alone.

The church buildings complex displays the key ecclesiastical architectural features of late American Gothic Revival style. Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 4.38mb DSC_0634 (1).

Architecture of Trinity United Methodist Church, Wilmette.

The Ashlar limestone church has stood on a prominent triangular corner of Lake and Wilmette Avenues for nearly 100 years. In the late American Gothic Revival style that flourished in the first third of the 20th century, the church displays in my photo its key ecclesiastical architectural features of (1) pointed‑arch windows with stone tracery, (2) tall bell tower with louvered openings, (3) buttress‑like vertical stonework emphasizing height, (4) a steep slate roof and (5) stained‑glass windows set in deep stone. Designed by Granger & Bollenbacher, the church building completed in 1929 is designed to feel ancient, monumental, and rooted in medieval Christian tradition — exactly what Methodist congregations of the era wanted. Trinity UMC stands out on the North Shore because it is scaled to frame its narrative, more medieval stained glass and not for grandeur comparative to its neighbors such as Christ Church (Episcopal) in Winnetka designed by Bertram Goodhue, or for crisp academic lines such as First Presbyterian in Wilmette designed by Coolidge & Hodgdon, among others. Of Gothic Revival churches built between 1900–1935. Trinity fits squarely into that movement, but with its own personality, specifically its didactic windows. The building was erected when the congregation outgrew its earlier 1908 Romanesque brick church. The church’s current Gothic Revival building, designed by Chicago architects Granger and Bollenbacher, reflects inspiration from European cathedrals. Construction began in the late 1920s, but the 1929 Stock Market Crash halted many of the planned interior details. The stained- glass windows, including the prominent façade window, were designed and installed by Henry Lee Willet in 1954.

Founding History and Its “Home Alone” Legacy.

Trinity United Methodist Church in Wilmette is one of the North Shore’s oldest congregations, with a history that stretches back to the 19th century. Founded on March 24, 1874, the church originally bore the name First Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilmette. Over the decades, it evolved through several identities — Wilmette Parish Methodist Church (1930–1968), Trinity Church of the North Shore (1968–1989), and finally Trinity United Methodist Church of Wilmette, the name it carries today. The church’s historic bell — once used to call worshippers, toll for local deaths, and warn the village of fires — now sits on display near the parking lot.

While its spiritual and community roles define its core identity, Trinity United Methodist Church is also widely recognized for its unexpected place in American pop culture. The church’s exterior appears in two memorable scenes in the 1990 Christmas classic “Home Alone.” In the film, directed by John Hughes, young Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) first spots the church while fleeing the burglars and hides in the Nativity scene on the lawn. Later, Kevin approaches the church at night, drawn by the sound of the choir singing “O Holy Night.” These moments set the stage for one of the film’s most emotional sequences — Kevin’s conversation with Old Man Marley — though that interior scene was filmed at Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park. Securing permission to film at Trinity was not straightforward. When Twentieth Century Fox approached the Village of Wilmette in early 1990, the Village Board narrowly approved the request in a 4–3 vote after discussion and date changes. Filming took place in late winter of that year, and the church’s brief but iconic appearance has since become a point of local pride. Today, Trinity embraces this connection, often noting that to many visitors, it is simply “the Home Alone church.”

Beyond its religious and architectural significance, the church gained broader recognition through its connection to the beloved film Home Alone.

More than a movie landmark, Trinity United Methodist Church in Wilmette remains a vibrant congregation committed to worship, music, community service, and hospitality — a place where history, faith, and a touch of Hollywood intersect on the corner of Lake and Wilmette Avenues.

Designed by Granger & Bollenbacher, a procession of stained‑glass windows that line the nave are set in deep stone. Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 3.40mb DSC_0635 (1)

How the architecture relates to the stained‑glass program.

The stained glass was created by Henry Lee Willett of Willett Stained Glass Studios in Philadelphia, one of the leading American studios of the mid‑20th century. The major façade window, dated February 14, 1954, shows Willett’s signature use of rich blues, jewel‑tone reds, elongated Gothic figures, and clear narrative panels. Its scale and design were chosen for narrative clarity, while the church’s deep window wells intensify color saturation and create a natural shadow‑frame that draws the eye toward the visual telling of Scripture — a hallmark of Methodist stained‑glass design. While Trinity’s windows feel sacred and are tall enough to make a visual statement, they are also narrow enough to keep scenes readable and, like most narrative stained-glass windows, arranged in story cycles. The church’s façade and nave proportions create a natural processional reading of the windows, allowing each panel — and the entire cycle together — to unfold as a coherent theological arc. Methodist churches of the 1920s often used architecture to shape a catechetical journey, with the Gothic style providing both a sense of transcendence and a visual link to the continuity of the church across the millennia. The building and the glass tell the same story: God speaks, calls, teaches, transforms.

Interior Analysis: Gothic Revival Structure.

The sanctuary speaks in the familiar Gothic vocabulary. Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 4.48 mb DSC_0654 (1)

A procession of rounded arches line the nave arcade, a testament to the congregation’s former Romanesque church building, with Gothic pointed-arch stained -glass windows above them guiding the eye upwards and forward. Above these, a ribbed or groin‑vaulted ceiling lifts the gaze further upward into a sense of height and devotion that feels almost instinctive. Reinforcing this vertical pull, the tall, narrow stained‑glass windows have proportions echoing centuries of Gothic design stretching light into color. Stone columns with simple capitals mark each step of the nave, guiding you along the long central aisle toward the chancel. The sanctuary is familiar Gothic interpreted through the American 1920s–30s lens—lighter, more vertical, devotional rather than medieval.

Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 3.89mb DSC_0657 (1)

The space warms into Methodist Gothic. Dark wood pews, wooden chancel furnishings, a prominent pulpit or lectern, and a central cross create an interior that feels both sacred and approachable. The materials and layout quietly affirm the Methodist emphasis on Scripture, preaching, and congregational participation.

Overhead, hanging lantern chandeliers complete the atmosphere. Their medieval‑inspired metalwork casts a warm glow that softens the stone and wood. Evenly spaced along the nave, they reinforce the processional rhythm, drawing the eye—and the worshipper—toward the chancel and the unfolding narrative held in glass and architecture. Gothic in form, Methodist in function, Willett in storytelling, and 1920s–30s American in craftsmanship, including acoustics shaped for congregational singing, the interior of Trinity UMC is a space designed to make worship feel like a journey: from the world outside, through the nave, toward the light of the chancel and the story told in glass.

How Methodist theology shaped 20th‑century stained glass.

Methodist stained glass in the early–mid 1900s has a distinctive character shaped by Methodist convictions about Scripture, preaching, and discipleship. Because windows were expected to teach, almost every Methodist window cycle from this era functions as a visual sermon. Their imagery is intentionally accessible, with a strong Biblical orientation and a clear narrative movement through salvation history.

Methodists understand themselves as heirs of the Old Testament, followers of Jesus, children of the Reformation, and participants in the church’s ongoing renewal. As a result, their stained‑glass programs blend Old Testament, New Testament, and Reformation themes. Typical cycles include scenes of the prophets, episodes from the Life of Christ, and depictions of key Reformers such as Martin Luther (1483-1546), William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536), and Methodist founder John Wesley (1703-1791).

Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 5.29mb DSC_0655 (1)

Its stained glass windows were created by the renowned Willett Studios of Philadelphia, among the most respected American ecclesiastical glass firms.

Façade window – Jesus Calling the First Disciples:

Façade window of Jesus Calling the First Disciples. Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 7.65mb DSC_0649 (2)

A foundational moment in the Gospels — and a favorite subject in mid‑20th‑century Methodist stained glass — is Jesus calling the first disciples. In this scene, Jesus summons fishermen from their boats with the words, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

The boat anchors the story in the Sea of Galilee, while the iconography makes the identification unmistakable. Jesus is shown with a cruciform halo and red and blue garments, signaling his dual nature. His authoritative, summoning gesture directs attention to the haloed figures of Peter, Andrew, James, and John, who look up toward him in response to the call.

Detail of Façade window depicting Reformers.

At the bottom of the façade window are four scenes from the life of the Reformers. At LEFT is MARTIN LUTHER nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church (All Saints’ Church) in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517, that sparked the Reformation. At the bottom right of the panel is a white rose with a red heart and black cross. That is Luther’s personal emblem, designed in 1530 and used on his letters and publications. He is wearing scholarly robes in the colors of deep red, green, and brown that Willett often used for Reformers.

At LEFT CENTER is the burning at the stake of WILLIAM TYNDALE in 1536 whose crime was translating the Bible into English for the ordinary people. Tyndale believed Scripture should be accessible to ordinary people and died for that conviction. The Reformation’s gift is to take the Bible out of the hands of the elite and place it into the hands of the people.

At CENTER RIGHT is JJOHN WESLEY, founder of Methodism, preaching in the open air to Native Americans — specifically the Muscogee (Creek) people —during his mission to the Georgia colony between 1735 to 1737 which, after his return to England, accelerated the Methodist Movement which Wesley founded at Oxford in 1729. Wesley began preaching in the open air, embracing traveling ministry and forming societies as he did in America. By 1739, he built the first Methodist meeting house in Bristol, England.

At RIGHT John Wesley preaching to early American settlers. Wesley served as Anglican pastor of Christ Church in Savannah, Georgia, where he introduced strict spiritual disciplines. His time was marked by conflict, including a failed romantic relationship, and backlash from residents against his strictness, causing him to return to England heartbroken and disillusioned after only two years.

Methodist stained glass seeks to be beautiful where clarity is key. The style tends to bold outlines, well delineated figures and readable gestures with minimal abstraction.

Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 5.20mb DSC_0645 (1)

Traditional enough to feel sacred – Modern enough to feel fresh – narrative enough to teach – artistic enough to inspire: Why Willett Studios was chosen.

Christ the Teacher — sometimes also read as Christ the Good Shepherd window. Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 3.95mb DSC_0664 (2)

This Willet window is a Life of Christ triptych, arranged in the traditional Methodist/Willett narrative pattern.

At the left, the window shows the ministry of compassion: a haloed Christ blessing or forgiving a kneeling woman, possibly inspired by the woman who washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Willett often preferred such non‑specific healing scenes, using them to emphasize Christ’s compassion rather than tie the image to a single Gospel episode.

At the center, Christ stands elevated and alone in Willett’s characteristic depiction of Christ the Teacher — sometimes also read as Christ the Good Shepherd when paired with lamb symbolism above. He bears the cruciform halo (reserved only for Jesus) and wears red and blue robes to signify his dual nature as God and Man. His arms extend slightly in a gesture of blessing and invitation.

At the right, the scene shifts to Christ’s agony in the garden before his betrayal and arrest, capturing the moment of solitary struggle that precedes the Passion.

“Do all the good you can.”

Taken together, these panels proclaim a unified message: Christ at the center of the Christian life, the one who heals, restores, and calls disciples to follow. The sequence echoes the Methodist conviction embodied in the familiar motto: “Do all the good you can.”

Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 4.12.mb DSC_0637 (1)

Prairie Architecture in Transition: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Frank J. Baker House (1909) in Wilmette, Illinois.

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Feature image: Frank J. Baker House, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1909, Wilmette, Illinois. Frank J. Baker (1864–1922) was a driving force in Wilmette’s early growth — a sharp‑minded engineer and influential executive with the North Shore Electric Company and Commonwealth Edison who helped bring electricity to the North Shore. He is most remembered for the remarkable 1909 Frank J. Baker House, a Prairie‑style landmark designed for him by Frank Lloyd Wright. A civic leader as well as an innovator, Baker co‑founded the First National Bank of Wilmette. He died in his Wright‑designed home just a week before Christmas in 1922 at 58 years old. December 2017. 99% 7.20mb DSC_0560. Author’s photograph.

The Frank J. Baker House is a beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright residence and represents a critical moment in Wright’s architectural evolution, when the architect was pushing Prairie School design beyond earlier single-story compositions and experimenting with new approaches to space, volume, and the relationship between horizontality and verticality

The Frank J. Baker House, situated at 507 Lake Avenue in Wilmette, Illinois, is a 4,800‑square‑foot residence that stands as a significant example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s evolving Prairie School vocabulary. Designed in 1909, the house incorporates five bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, and three fireplaces, yet its architectural importance lies less in its programmatic elements than in its role within Wright’s broader experimentation with spatial organization and structural expression during this period.

**Frank J. Baker House, 507 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, 1909, Frank Lloyd Wright. “Frank J. Baker House” by Zol87 from Chicago, IL, USA is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.**

By the first decade of the twentieth century, Wright had begun to move beyond the predominantly single‑story Prairie houses of the late 1890s, exploring the potential of vertically layered two-story domestic space. The Baker House reflects this transitional moment through its T‑shaped floor plan—a configuration Wright employed in several contemporaneous works, including the Isabel Roberts House (below) built the previous year in River Forest, Illinois.

The Frank J. Baker House illustrates a pivotal stage in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School development, where experimentation with the T-shaped plan, two-story living spaces, and environmental continuity produced one of the architect’s most significant domestic designs of 1909

My Architecture & Design Photography: RIVER FOREST, Illinois. (21 Photos & Illustrations).

**Isabel Roberts House, 603 Edgewood Place, River Forest, Illinois, 1908, Frank Lloyd Wright. It was remodeled in the 1950s.** 69% 7.99 mb Author’s photograph.

The T‑plan allowed Wright to choreograph circulation along a dominant longitudinal axis while creating subsidiary wings that modulated privacy, light, and spatial hierarchy. In the Baker House, this plan form becomes a mechanism for integrating interior volumes with the surrounding landscape, reinforcing the Prairie School’s emphasis on horizontality and environmental continuity.

The exterior composition demonstrates Wright’s mature command of Prairie Style principles: a pronounced horizontal orientation, low‑pitched rooflines, and deeply cantilevered overhangs that visually anchor the structure to its site. These elements work in concert to diminish the building’s vertical massing, producing the characteristic “sheltering” effect that Wright associated with Midwestern domestic architecture.

The Frank J. Baker House (1909) and the Isabel Roberts House (1908) are closely related works that belong to Frank Lloyd Wright’s transitional Prairie period. Both employ a T-shaped plan that allowed Wright to organize circulation along a dominant central axis while projecting subsidiary wings outward into the landscape, strengthening the Prairie School ideal of spatial openness and environmental continuity. The Isabel Roberts House can be viewed as a direct precursor to the Frank J. Baker House, with Wright developing it into a more sophisticated architectural statement through greater spatial complexity, a monumental two-story living room, and a richer interplay between horizontality and volume.

**Frank Lloyd Wright in 1903, likely a self-portrait. Public Domain.**

**In 1909 42-year-old Frank Lloyd Wright reportedly personally brought the plans to Baker in Wilmette by horseback.** Public domain. see – New owners to breathe life into 1909 Wright home – Wednesday Journal – retrieved March 30, 2026.

The two‑story living room is the spatial and symbolic core of the house. Its brick fireplace—an archetypal Wrightian hearth—functions as both a literal and conceptual center, organizing the surrounding spaces and reinforcing Wright’s belief in the fireplace as the spiritual heart of the home. The sloped ceiling and continuous band of leaded‑glass windows along the north wall create a dynamic interplay of light and volume, while the vertical expansion of the room contrasts deliberately with the home’s otherwise horizontal emphasis. Few surviving Wright houses retain this particular combination of a T‑shaped plan and a two‑story principal interior, making the Baker House an important artifact in understanding Wright’s spatial experimentation.

The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 8, 1974, acknowledging its architectural significance. A comprehensive restoration initiated in 2020 under new ownership has sought to preserve both the material integrity and the spatial logic of Wright’s original design.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie‑style design features strong horizontal porches framing a two‑story diamond‑leaded glass window wall in the living room. The home includes five large bedrooms, three‑and‑a‑half bathrooms, and three fireplaces. The second level offers a primary suite with en‑suite bath, fireplace, and private porch, plus two additional en‑suite bedrooms, two more bedrooms, and a sitting room. The kitchen and breakfast room overlook the expansive yard. Wright designed the home’s 1922 addition. Public Domain.

Through a deliberate sequence of compression and release, Wright choreographed movement through the Baker House so that ordinary domestic spaces culminate in a soaring central living room that serves as the spiritual and architectural heart of the home.

Interior Analysis.

Upon entry, the visitor encounters a twenty‑two‑foot dining room articulated with diamond‑patterned leaded‑glass windows, a pitched ceiling, and extensive wood trim. This space exemplifies Wright’s strategy of compressing and releasing volume: the relatively intimate proportions of the dining room heighten the dramatic expansion experienced upon entering the adjacent living room.

The main‑floor kitchen, accompanied by a modest breakfast nook, reflects Wright’s early efforts to modernize domestic workspaces by integrating them more fluidly into the overall plan. The living room, by contrast, adopts a quasi‑ecclesiastical spatial character. Its cantilevered ceiling, which extends into a loft above, creates a sense of upward movement unusual in Prairie houses. The continuous horizontal and vertical window bands dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior, a hallmark of Wright’s belief that architecture should mediate rather than separate human habitation from the natural environment.

At the center of the home stands the principal brick fireplace, accompanied by an overhead balcony that provides an elevated vantage point and reinforces the vertical layering of the space. On the second floor, the master bedroom includes one of the home’s three fireplaces and a private enclosed balcony, further demonstrating Wright’s interest in creating intimate, retreat‑like upper‑level spaces within an otherwise horizontally oriented composition.

see – Frank Lloyd Wright’s Frank J. Baker House for Sale – Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation – retrieved March 30, 2026.

**Frank J. Baker House, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1909, Wilmette, Illinois.** 6.85mb DSC_0562 (1) December 2017. Author’s photograph.

The Entrance to an Era: Chicago’s Metropolitan Tower (1924) and the Rise of Modern Michigan Avenue.

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Feature Image: Main Entrance, Metropolitan Tower (1924), 310 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White. December 2015. 4.89 mb DSC_0963 (1). Author’s photograph.

Metropolitan Tower’s main entrance is more than an architectural detail: it is a surviving gateway to one of Chicago’s most significant early skyscrapers, a building that embodied the ambitions, craftsmanship, and corporate prestige of the 1920s while reflecting the evolution of Michigan Avenue and modern Chicago.

Located at 310 South Michigan Avenue on the southwest corner of Jackson Boulevard, Metropolitan Tower originally served as corporate headquarters for S.W. Straus and Co., a banking and investment firm. The building was erected in 1924 by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White in their signature classical style. The architectural firm was one of the largest in the first half of the twentieth century and went on to build Chicago’s Civic Opera Building in 1929. Founded in 1912, the firm was the successor to D. H. Burnham & Co. by way of partner, Ernest R. Graham (1868-1936), and Burnham’s sons, Hubert and Daniel Jr. Five years later the Burnhams left to form their own firm (Burnham Brothers) and Graham partnered with others of the firm’s members: William Peirce Anderson (1870-1924), Edward Mathias Probst (1870-1942), and Howard Judson White (1870-1936). No expense was spared for the Straus Building’s interior, though of the original lobby’s opulence all that remains are the elaborate bronze elevator doors. The entrance’s coffered bronze doors by Italian sculptor Leo Lentelli (1879-1961) were destroyed. see – Saliga, Pauline A., editor, The Sky’s The Limit A Century of Chicago Skyscrapers, Rizzoli New York, 1990, p. 117.

The Metropolitan Tower was built in 1924 as the headquarters of S.W. Straus & Co. and designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, successors to the Burnham architectural tradition.

Ernest R. Graham (1868-1936).

William Peirce Anderson (1870-1924).

Edward Mathias Probst (1870-1942).

Howard Judson White (1870-1936).

The elaborate entrance and lobby originally featured exceptional decorative work, including bronze doors created by sculptor Leo Lentelli, although many original elements have been lost.

Leo Lentelli (1879-1961). The Italian sculptor created the original main entrance doors for Metropolitan Tower that were later destroyed. Public Domain.

The 30-floor classical-style Straus Building was renamed over the years for other of its famous inhabitants including Continental National Insurance Co. and Britannica Center for Encyclopedia Britannica. Metropolitan Tower was the first building in Chicago that took advantage of the new 1923 zoning ordinance for skyscrapers that allowed buildings taller than 260 feet (30 or more floors) with the necessary setbacks. Metropolitan Tower’s required setbacks begin at the 21st floor on which sits a nine-story tower until there is a second setback and then the final two stories. Crowned by a stepped pyramid and possessed of a powerful beacon that opened in 1924, the building is Chicago’s first Michigan Avenue skyscraper.

Metropolitan Tower was the first skyscraper on Michigan Avenue and one of the earliest buildings to take advantage of Chicago’s new 1923 zoning regulations permitting greater height through setbacks. Its distinctive stepped crown, beacon, and symbolic ornamentation made it a recognizable feature of the Chicago skyline.

Built in 1924, Metropolitan Tower was Michigan Avenue’s first skyscraper. PHOTO: “Metropolitan Tower, Chicago in May 2016” by MusikAnimal is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Unused for years, the building’s 1,500-pound carillon bells were restored in 1979 for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Chicago. Just steps from Metropolitan Tower, the papal visit included an outdoor mass in Grant Park on October 5, 1979, which attracted over one million attendees, the largest gathering ever in Grant Park history up to that time. see – CBS Chicago Vault: Pope John Paul II enthralls Chicagoans on 1979 visit – CBS Chicago – retrieved March 18, 2026.

At one time, the thirtieth floor was the Straus Tower Observatory, which was open to the public for viewing the city in all four directions. see – Home | Metropolitan Tower – retrieved February 24, 2026. Home to the Continental National Insurance Company soon after it was built, this iconic skyscraper is located within Chicago’s Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District. The glass “beehive” supported by four bison figures at the top of the building held the blue light of a four-direction beacon. The ensemble, symbolizing industry, strength, and thrift, saw its beacon, signifying global reach, permanently shut down in 1934 following the financial failure of the S.W. Straus and Company during the Great Depression. The building was converted to residential condominiums in 2007. see – Metropolitan Tower | Powered by Baird & Warner– retrieved February 24, 2026; AIA Guide to Chicago, 2nd Edition, Alice Sinkevitch, Harcourt, Inc., Orlando, 2004, page 42.

The building was constructed in a classical style and represented the high quality and prestige associated with major Chicago commercial architecture of the 1920s. Over time, the building adapted to changing uses and occupants, including Encyclopedia Britannica and residential condominiums, demonstrating its continued relevance and preservation.

Built for the World’s Fair: The Congress Plaza Hotel (1893/1907) and Chicago’s Gilded Age Ambitions.

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Feature Image: Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago built in 1893 during the World’s Columbian Exposition features this later ornate Beaux-Arts gold elevator bank and the celebrated Gold Room. December 2015. Author’s photograph. 6.20 mb DSC_0617 (1).

The Congress Plaza Hotel embodies Chicago’s transformation during and after the World’s Columbian Exposition, linking the city’s emergence as a world-class destination with the architectural legacy of Clinton J. Warren and later expansions by Holabird & Roche. Through its strategic location, grand design, continuous operation since 1893, and association with major historical figures, the hotel serves as a living monument to Chicago’s Gilded Age ambitions and early twentieth-century prominence.

A Hotel of the Columbian Exposition Era

The original North Tower was built in 1893 during the World’s Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago from May 1 through October 31 of that year. The project was developed by famed hotel entrepreneur R.H. Southgate and designed by architect Clinton J. Warren (1860-1938), one of Chicago’s most prolific young hotel specialists during the late nineteenth century.

Warren moved from Massachusetts to Chicago in 1879 and joined the firm of Burnham and Root the following year. After establishing his own practice in 1886, he designed an impressive roster of Chicago hotels, including the ten-story Virginia Hotel (1889-1890) at Ohio and Rush Streets; the eight-story Metropole Hotel (1891) at Michigan Avenue and 23rd Street; the Plaza Hotel (1891-1892) at Clark Street and North Avenue; the Lexington Hotel (1892) at 22nd Street and Michigan Avenue; and the Auditorium Annex (1893) at 504 South Michigan Avenue, today known as the Congress Plaza Hotel.

Built in 1893 during the World’s Columbian Exposition and originally opened as the Auditorium Annex, it was designed by architect Clinton J. Warren, one of Chicago’s leading hotel specialists of the era.

By 1900, Warren had returned to Boston. He died in San Diego in 1938, by which time his significant contribution to Chicago architecture had largely faded from public memory. Notably, his New York Times obituary made no mention of his training under Daniel Burnham, his role in shaping Chicago’s hotel architecture over two decades, or the later notoriety of his Lexington Hotel, which served as Al Capone’s headquarters from 1928 to 1931. The obituary read in full:

“Clinton J. Warren SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 17 (AP). Clinton J. Warren, architect, who designed buildings in Europe, Mexico and Eastern United States, died at his home here last night at the age of 80. Mr. Warren formerly lived in Winchester, Mass. His widow and two sons, Clinton Jay Jr. of San Francisco and John of New York, survive.” see – TimesMachine: March 18, 1938 – NYTimes.com and The Chicago Hotels of Architect Clinton J. Warren – Owlcation – retrieved February 22, 2026.

Beaux-Arts elevator banks at 504 S. Michigan Avenue were installed in 1907. December 2015. Author’s photograph. 3.99mb DSC_0958 (2).

The Auditorium Annex and a Strategic Location

Originally known as the Auditorium Annex, the hotel opened in 1893 to accommodate the enormous influx of visitors attending the World’s Columbian Exposition. Remarkably, it has operated continuously as a hotel ever since and has also become well known for its reputed ghost hauntings.

Its location was one of its greatest advantages. The hotel stood only five blocks from both Dearborn Station and Illinois Central Station, making it the closest major hotel to two of Chicago’s principal railroad terminals. It was also the southernmost major hotel in downtown Chicago and sat just a block and a half from the elevated railway line that carried visitors directly to the exposition grounds in Jackson Park.

Expanded with the South Tower between 1902 and 1907 designed by Holabird & Roche and featuring the ornate Beaux-Arts gold elevator bank, the hotel grew to more than 1,000 rooms by 1908.

Expansion and the Famous Gold Elevators

The celebrated gold elevator bank is located in the hotel’s South Tower, an addition constructed between 1902 and 1907 and designed by the distinguished architectural firm Holabird & Roche. Executed in an ornate Beaux-Arts style, the elevators remain among the building’s most striking historic features.

The South Tower expansion also included the luxurious Gold Room banquet hall, reinforcing the hotel’s status as one of Chicago’s premier accommodations during the early twentieth century.see – Holabird & Roche. See- Chicago Landmarks – Architect Details – retrieved February 22, 2026.

William Holabird (1854-1923) and Martin Roche (1855-1927) of the architectural firm of Holabird & Roche designed the South Tower of today’s Congress Plaza Hotel between 1902 and 1907. Public Domain.

From Auditorium Annex to Congress Hotel

By 1908, the enlarged complex contained more than 1,000 guest rooms. In 1911, the property adopted the name Congress Hotel, a reference both to nearby Congress Parkway (today Ida B. Wells Drive) and its prominent location facing Grant Park.

Over the years, the hotel welcomed numerous American presidents. Among those who stayed there, and who may well have ridden these gilded elevators, were Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, and Calvin Coolidge. Today, the elevators stand as elegant reminders of the hotel’s origins in the era of the World’s Columbian Exposition and of its long history as one of Chicago’s most prominent grand hotels. See – Congress Plaza Hotel History | Congress Plaza Hotel – retrieved February 22, 2026.

Renamed the Congress Hotel in 1911, it has hosted numerous U.S. presidents and remains one of Chicago’s longest-operating and most historically significant hotels.

Stone, Spires, and Industry: Batavia’s Architectural Heritage Along the Fox River, from the 1830s to Today.

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FEATURE Image: 143 First Street, c. 1863. Since the 19th century Batavia, Illinois, 40 miles west of Chicago, was a railroad and manufacturing center in addition to its farmsteads. This mid-19th century limestone factory building is testament to Batavia’s industrial heritage. After the U.S. Civil War, Batavia was a major manufacturer of Conestoga wagons used in the country’s westward expansion. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 7.52 mb_6360.

Batavia, Illinois, reveals how a small Fox River community evolved from a frontier settlement and manufacturing center into a town rich with architectural diversity, where industrial buildings, churches, houses, and civic landmarks collectively preserve the story of nineteenth and early twentieth century Illinois.

Text & Photographs John P. Walsh.

143 First Street, c. 1863.

The limestone factory building’s square-shaped south façade’s stone cut is more grandiose than the longer west side indicating that it is the front face of the building. The tower at the north end likely held the building’s water tank and added more room and height for pulleys and other equipment. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 7.52 mb_6360.

Batavia’s architectural heritage reflects its origins as a Fox River settlement established in the 1830s and its later development as a railroad and manufacturing center.

Batavia is one of the towns along the Fox River settled in the 1830’s between Geneva and St. Charles to the north and larger Aurora to the south. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 95% 7.75 mb DSC_6350.

Batavia’s history intersects with larger national stories, including the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, westward expansion, and nearby Fermilab’s scientific legacy.

Fermilab is adjacent and to the east of Batavia. Since 1969 it has housed a herd of bison when Fermilab’s first director, Robert Wilson, established the herd as a symbol of the history of the Midwestern prairie and the laboratory’s pioneering research at the frontiers of particle physics. Each spring new calves are born signaling the herd’s rejuvenation. July 2016. Author’s photograph. 4.70mb _0577 see – https://www.fnal.gov/pub/about/bisoncam/ – retrieved 1.24.25.

Campana Sales Company Factory, Batavia, Illinois, East Elevation, 1936-1937.

The Campana Factory was built in the International Style to manufacture cosmetics for The Campana Company. At the time Campana’s “Italian Balm,” heavily promoted on the radio, was the nation’s best-selling hand lotion. The building was designed by Frank D. Chase & Company (founded in 1913) with Childs and Smith in Chicago. Frank David Chase (1877-1937) built newspaper plants in St. Louis, Milwaukee and Oklahoma City and a number of important buildings in Chicago including hospitals and office buildings. The central tower reflects the 19^th-century heritage of Batavia’s limestone factories. The far one-story wings were added in the late 1940’s. The factory was purchased by the laundry detergent brand Purex who later closed Campana operations in 1982. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 77% 7.72mb _6437.

Limestone industrial buildings and former factories testify to the town’s important manufacturing history, including wagon production and later consumer industries such as Campana and Purex.

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/102112/campana-sales-company-factory-batavia-illinois-east-elevation – retrieved January 22, 2025.

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/102113/campana-sales-company-factory-batavia-illinois-landscape-perspective – retrieved January 22, 2025.

The main entrance is stainless steel set into black polished marble at the bottom of the tower. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 7.48mb _6446.

Religious institutions played a central role in Batavia’s civic development, with churches tied to abolitionist causes and community building.

The Congregational Church, 21 S. Batavia Avenue, 1856.

The locally quarried limestone central section dates to September 1856. The church displays the eclecticism of New England Colonial and Classical styles. Though the building’s classical detailing of capitals and pilasters is today mostly missing, the precisely cut and laid stone are original. These cut ashlar blocks include neatly finished arches, sills, and entablatures. The church’s design is attributed to architect Elijah Shumway Town (1804-1890) who built Batavia’s Bellevue Place Sanitarium in 1853 where Mary Todd Lincoln was committed for four months in 1875. When the original steeple was knocked down in a storm in 1877 it wasn’t replaced until 97 years later in 1974 and is the tallest steeple in Kane County. There have been additions to the church in the last 60 years. Established in Thompson Paxton’s cabin in 1835 as “Church of the Big and Little Woods” and affiliated with the Presbyterians, the church relocated to Batavia Avenue in 1841. Sharing a common belief in the anti-slavery doctrine, the church was supported by church members and the community-at-large so that the church changed its name to “Congregational Church and Society of Bavaria” in 1843. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 89% 7.73mb _6372.

Methodist church, 355 First Street, 1852.

Batavia’s first Methodist church was built in the Greek Revival. The pilasters are Doric order that meet the main beam resting across the tops of columns (architrave), blank frieze, cornice, and classical pediment. After 1886 the building was used as a schoolhouse in the Batavia school system. Today it is law offices. In 1836 a group meeting in William Van Nortwick’s home in Batavia organized the “First Methodist Class” which marked the establishment of the Methodist church in Batavia. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 96% 7.83mb DSC_6389.

West wall stonework and window of former Methodist Church built in 1852. July 2013. Author’s photograph. 7.02mb _0004

Born in Maine, Elijah Gammon (1819-1891) was a spiritual and business powerhouse in Batavia. After he moved to Illinois, he was the Methodist church’s first preacher in 1854. Having to give up preaching because of health in 1858, he changed careers to the manufacture of harvesting machinery. As he substantially contributed to the industry’s development and earned a fortune, his business responsibilities and success in no way limited his spiritual vision. https://aaregistry.org/story/elijah-gammon-supported-black-ministry/ – retrieved January 23, 2025.

United Methodist Church of Batavia, 8 N. Batavia, 1887.

United Methodist Church of Batavia was built in 1887. The rugged eclectic Richardsonian Romanesque-type building was designed by Solon Spencer Beman (1853 –1914) and inspired by a church in France that its donors had admired. The structure was almost entirely the gift of abolitionist Elijah J. Gammon (1819-1891), the church’s first preacher and local businessman, and Captain Don Carlos Newton (1832-1893), an active local businessman who had a house investment property right across the street.

Noted architect Beman designed the planned Pullman community and Pullman Company factory complex in Chicago as well as Chicago’s Fine Arts Building (1884) on Michigan Avenue. At the top of the church tower is a Palladian window under a pyramidal roof while in the back are hipped roofs. The building’s boulders were taken from the contractor’s farm about one mile south from the building site. The new church building replaced the first Methodist church in Batavia built in 1852 in Greek Revival and which still stands today. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 87%7.91mb _6498.

Chicago-based architect Solon Spencer Beman designed the United Methodist Church of Batavia in 1887. Several of his largest commissions, including the Pullman Office Building, Pabst Building in Milwaukee (1891), and the Romanesque Revival Grand Central Station (1890) in Chicago, have been demolished. A number of architects trained with Beman, including Prairie School architect William L. Steele (1875-1949), church architect Charles Draper Faulkner (1890-1979) and Spencer Solon Beman (1887-1952).

Born in New York, Captain Newton was a very active businessman and described as ”a persevering, self-made man.” He died unexpectedly at his home in Batavia after attending the Chicago World’s Fair for a week with his family in 1893. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16849480/don-carlos-newton – retrieved January 23, 2025.

Batavia contains an unusually broad range of architectural styles, including Greek Revival, Italianate, Richardsonian Romanesque, Gothic Revival, Classical influences, and International Style design.

415 Main Street, 1860.

Eclectic Gothic Revival with Italianate features including scroll-cut square brackets tailored to the pitched roof line, segmental arches above the windows, and the heavy outlines of the door entrance. A polygonal bay and wings are informal features found in the Italianate that balances a formal façade. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 89% 7.87mb.

415 Main Street (1860). The door is larger than the windows and offset by the small ventilating window at the top in the gable. July 2011. Author’s photograph. 2.54mb100_3328 (1)

360 Main Street, 1855.

The house is an example of the evolving transition from Greek Revival to Gothic Revival to Italianate. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 74% 7.72mb DSC_6409.

33 S. Lincoln Street, 1850.

The lengthy 1850 Greek Revival is formal and simple. It has corner pilasters and there are four pairs of windows with an architrave, frieze and cornice characteristic of its type. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 73% 7.85mb DSC_6520.

505 Main Street, 1858.

The house is in the Swiss style and has a peacock feather spread motif above the second-floor balcony. There are also trifoils set in circles in the gable. The brick sunroom was added to the east around 1910. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 92% 7.81mb DSC_6426 (1)

505 Main Street. in-vogue late 1850’s peacock feather motif was made by scroll cut boards nailed to a backing and long tubes made by a lathe. To the left under the roof extension there is incised ornamentation with a tall thistle plant motif. July 2011. Author’s photograph. 1.54mb 100_3331 (1)

356 First Street, c. 1850.

Greek Revival frame clapboard house. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 62% 7.80mb DSC_6395

637 N. Batavia Avenue, 1906.

The Prairie style house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) in 1906. It is frame and stucco with massive chimneys. With its horizontals, low pitched roof, casement windows and thin eaves, it is the Prairie style fully developed. May 2024. Author’s photograph.

Frank Lloyd Wright in 1903, likely a self-portrait. Public Domain.

Fabyan Villa was the home of George and Nelle Fabyan from 1908 to 1939. A mid-19th century farmhouse was acquired by the Fabyans in 1905 and extensively remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1907. The house, on a hilltop looking east to the Fox River was the centerpiece of the Fabyans country estate called “Riverbank.” In 1914, the Fabyans purchased a windmill (photo below) that was located on a farm near Oakbrook, Illinois, and had it relocated opposite Riverbank on acreage that they acquired that same year. July 2013. Author’s phtograph.

The Fabyan Windmill, 1850s.

Between Batavia and Geneva, Illinois, The Fabyan Windmill is an authentic, working Dutch windmill dating from the 1850s. It was built by a German craftsman, Louis Blackhaus, and moved to this location in July 1915 next to the Fox River from its original site near Oakbrook, Illinois. July 2011. 2 mb 100_3357

111 S. Lincoln Street, c. 1850.

Though obscured by modern adaptations, the severe cube of the structure indicates its Greek Revival roots. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 92% 7.84mb DSC_6396.

125 S. Lincoln, 1852.

The Greek Revival design centers on a temple-like main block, where paired pilasters ascend to a pediment. The composition is subtly unconventional, however, as the entablature is only partially realized, one side implied by modest returns above the pilasters. Extending from the central section are a one-story entrance wing and a two-story addition featuring a pronounced cornice, dormers, arched windows, and tiny pitched roofs. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 88% 7.78 mb DSC_6400

432 Main Street, c. 1850.

The front porch may or may not be original but befits the broad formal mid-19th century Greek Revival structure. May 2024. Author’s photograph. 93% 7.82mb DSC_6431 (1)

Batavia’s historic buildings remain visible markers of changing economic, cultural, and social priorities across nearly two centuries.

333 S. Jefferson Street, Batavia Institute, Bellevue Mental Hospital, 1853.

Following the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, Bellevue became the residence of Mary Todd Lincoln briefly in 1875. July 2011. Author’s photograph. 2.87mb 100_3332

Mary Todd Lincoln in 1846. Mary Todd was 23 years old when she married 33-year-old Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois on November 4, 1842. Their four sons were all born in Springfield. In 1875 Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926), her eldest son, had her institutionalized following a jury trial. She was committed to this private asylum in Batavia on May 20, 1875. Estranged from her finances and her son, she fell into a deep depression in the mental institution. Making contact with her lawyer and the press, the former First Lady got the wheels of justice and public opinion on her side. The resulting bad publicity for Robert Lincoln prompted the asylum director to pre-emptively change his opinion of Mary’s mental fitness so that in September 1875 she was released into the care of her sister Elizabeth Todd Edwards (1813-1888) with whom she was close and moved to Springfield. Following a second jury trial on June 19, 1876 that declared Mary “restored to reason,” Mary Todd Lincoln was back in charge of her money and freedom and promptly fled the country. She lived in France for the next four years. When she returned to Springfield in poor health in 1880, she lived again with her sister in Springfield. On July 16, 1882. Mary Todd Lincoln died of a stroke in Elizabeth’s home. Mary was 63 years old. Before her burial in Oak Ridge Cemetery next to her slain husband, her funeral was held at First Presbyterian Church in Springfield. Just steps from the Lincoln home, this was the church Abraham Lincoln started attending in 1850 after the death of their second son, four-year-old Eddie. The present church building was dedicated in 1868 and remains standing at 7th Street and Capitol Avenue today. see – https://www.nps.gov/features/liho/25/25.htm – retrieved January 23, 2025.

Elizabeth Todd Edwards. She and Mary were long close both in Springfield in the 1830’s and, later, at the White House. In 1875 Elizabeth accommodated her sister and the 64 trunks of her possessions with two rooms in her Springfield mansion. see – https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042129/https://www.civilwarwomenblog.com/elizabeth-todd-edwards/ – retrieved January 23, 2025.

333 S. Jefferson Street, Batavia Institute, Bellevue Mental Hospital, 1853.

The monumental Italianate structure was designed by Elijah Shumway Town (1804-1890), who also built Batavia’s Congregational Church. The projecting two-story wings, capped by a Mansard roof containing a third story of dormers, were constructed of slightly cruder stone and added before 1870. July 2013.

419 Union Street, 1863.

The exuberance of the Italianate style is evident in the soaring polygonal bay anchoring one side of the façade and the cupola rising from the other. Large windows and multiple curved brackets are characteristic features of the style. Contrasting textures of stucco and heavy stone add visual interest while creating the impression of more costly materials and construction than were actually employed. The house served as the residence of one of the physicians associated with the Batavia Institute across the street. July 2013. Author’s photograph. 4.77mb _0092 (1)

Calvary Episcopal Church (222 Main Street), 1880.

Designed in the American Gothic style, the church reflects the mid-to-late nineteenth-century revival of medieval Gothic forms that arose in English Protestant architecture as a reaction against the prevailing Neoclassicism of the previous two centuries. American influences are evident in the building’s overall massiveness, particularly in its square tower, which is crowned by a double-pitched roof. Between the tower’s stages is an unusual sheet-metal band ornamented with bosses and discs and encircling the dormers of the steeple.
April 2016. Author’s photograph. 2.82 mb DSC_0476 (1)

Through its factories, churches, houses, and landmarks, Batavia offers a remarkably intact architectural record of how industry, religion, transportation, and community shaped a growing Midwestern town from the nineteenth century into the modern era.

Details:

July 2013.

July 2013. 5.11mb 0479

Sources:

A Guide to Chicago’s Historic Suburbs on Wheels and on Foot, Ira J. Bach, Swallow Press/Ohio University Press, 1981, pp. 304-319.

Randolph Tower (1929): A Chicago Skyscraper at the Crossroads of Classicism and Modernism.

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FEATURE Image: View from the west, Steuben Club Building/Randolph Tower, 188 W. Randolph Street, Chicago. The building’s telescoping tower anticipates the design direction of the firm’s celebrated 1 North LaSalle Street Building completed in 1930. August 2021. Author’s photograph. 12.72mb_9354 (1)

The Steuben Club Building, later known as Randolph Tower, embodies a pivotal moment in Chicago skyscraper design when architects Karl M. Vitzthum and John J. Burns were moving from traditional historic styles toward a more vertically expressive modern skyscraper aesthetic. The building stands as both a significant product of late-1920s Chicago architecture and a precursor to the firm’s even more monumental work, especially the 1 North LaSalle Building.

The 1929 limestone tower whose shape may be the last surviving skyscraper reflective of the 1923 zoning law with setbacks and a telescoping tower presages Vitzthum & Burns’ mighty 1 N. LaSalle Street Building in 1930. Randolph Tower was restored in 1993 by Stenbro, Ltd. and in 2013 opened as the residences of Randolph Tower City. In addition to its 15-story tower, the building is 27 stories tall and 465 feet high built on rock caissons. German-born Karl Martin Vitzthum (1880-1967) and John Joseph Burns (1886-1956) built some of Chicago’s best-known skyscrapers of the 1920s and 1930s. The firm also built, in 1953, St. Peter’s Church in the Loop at 110 W. Madison Street two doors down from the corner skyscraper of 1 N. LaSalle Street Building. Karl M. Vitzhum was architect on the Midland Hotel (then the Midland Club Building ). Built in 1927, it is 22 stories of roaring 1920’s Beaux-Arts architecture.

Karl Martin Vitzthum (1880-1967). One of the architects of the Steuben Club Building/Randolph Tower with partner John J. Burns. The skyscrapers they built starting in 1925 until the Great Depression became taller and more vertical as time progressed and are some of the most visible soaring stone structures of the period in downtown Chicago.

Randolph Tower demonstrates the firm’s progression away from Beaux-Arts classicism toward streamlined modernism and greater vertical emphasis. Its massing and setbacks may represent one of the last surviving Chicago skyscrapers reflecting the influence of the 1923 zoning law.

Karl Martin Vitzthum (Architect), Steuben Club Building, Chicago, Illinois, Perspective Randolph Street, 188 West (Building address), 1924-1928, Watercolor and tempera on paper 86 × 35.6 cm (33 7/8 × 14 in.) The Art Institute of Chicago. see – https://www.artic.edu/artworks/158560/steuben-club-building-chicago-illinois-perspective – retrieved September 21, 2024.

With each building the move from classicism to Modernism is clear as well as pure verticality. During the 1980s and 1990’s, I worked in one of Vitzthum & Burns’ mid1920s office buildings in Chicago – The Old Republic Building at 307 North Michigan Avenue built in 1925. My airy office on the 7th floor looked right onto Michigan Avenue where I could admire the Carbide and Carbon Building across the street built in 1929.

At 27 stories and 465 feet tall, it remains a prominent feature of Chicago’s Loop skyline. Vitzthum & Burns were major contributors to Chicago’s architectural identity during the city’s final great skyscraper boom before the Great Depression.

**Steuben Club Building/Randolph Tower. August 2021. Author’s photograph. 82% 7.88 mb _9354**

Vitzthum arrived in Chicago from Germany in 1914 and worked with architectural firms such as Graham Anderson Probst and White, Burnham & Co., and White, Jarvis & Hunt. He often worked with Fredrick J. Teich (1874- n.a) prior to establishing his own firm with John J. Burns in 1919. Vitzthum was a young architect on Burnham’s staff when he worked on some engineering details for the old Comiskey Park (1910-1990). The partnership of Vitzthum and Burns started in 1919 and ended with Burns’ death in 1956. Though known for eclectic styled bank buildings throughout the Midwest, the pair had built the one-screen 1,000 seat The Hollywood Theatre at Fullerton Avenue and Greenview Avenue in 1926. The theatre closed in 1957 after being renamed the Holly Theatre and was demolished soon afterwards. It is a parking lot today for a local Walgreens across the street from Facets movie theatre.

The building’s restoration in 1993 and residential conversion in 2013 illustrate the adaptive reuse of historic skyscrapers for contemporary urban life.

SOURCES:

Frank A. Randall, History of Development of Building Construction in Chicago, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded by John D. Randall, University of Illinois Press, Urbana and Chicago, 1999, pp. 331 and 319.

Saliga, Pauline A., editor, The Sky’s The Limit A Century of Chicago Skyscrapers, Rizzoli New York, 1990, p. 133.

Alice Sinkevitch, AIA Guide to Chicago, 2nd Edition, Harcourt, Inc., Orlando, 2004, p. 84.

https://www.thechicagoloop.org/arch.vbur.00000.html – retrieved September 20, 2024.

https://rpwrhs.org/w/index.php?title=Holly_Theatre – retrieved September 20, 2024.

https://rpwrhs.org/w/index.php?title=Vitzthum,_Karl_Martin – retrieved September 20, 2024.

Dearborn Street Station (1885): Echoes of Chicago’s Rail Empire and Last Great Link to the Railroad Age.

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FEATURE Image: Completed in 1885 at a cost of $500,000 (equivalent to nearly $16 million in 2024), Dearborn Street Station in Chicago’s South Loop stood as a grand Romanesque composition of Italian brick and granite. Its architect, New Yorker Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, would later design One Times Square (1904), the famed Manhattan tower that has served as the site of the annual New Year’s Eve ball drop since 1908. see – https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1885?amount=500000 – retrieved February 27, 2024. November 2017. Author’s photograph. 6.44mb

Dearborn Street Station is one of Chicago’s most significant surviving railroad landmarks, embodying the city’s rise as a national transportation hub while showcasing the architectural achievement of Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz. Despite fire, alteration, and the end of passenger rail service, the station endures as a rare and tangible link to Chicago’s railroad age and urban development.

The Hoosier leaving Dearborn Street Station in Chicago (its clock tower visible at right) for Indianapolis. Public Domain (Pre-1978, no mark).

The Dearborn Street Station in Chicago with its original hipped roofs, including on the tower, c. 1908. Public Domain.

The Dearborn Street Station is Chicago’s oldest existing train station though it has not operated as one since 1971. It is a U-shaped Italian brick three-story Romanesque structure with a granite base that was originally 80 feet tall to the roof line.

The 32-year-old architect of Dearborn Street Station, Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, came from an illustrious East Coast family of builders and architects.

Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz who built the Dearborn Street Station in Chicago in 1885 was from an influential American family of architects and builders—his father, Leopold Eidlitz (1823-1908), was a founder of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz is best known for designing One Times Square, the former New York Times Building, on Times Square in 1904. He also founded HLW International, one of the oldest architecture firms in the United States. The reconstruction of Dearborn Station in Chicago in 1923 following its devastating fire was done by an unknown architect two years after Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz’s death.

Original facade completed in 1904 of One Times Square in 1919 by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz who designed and built the Dearborn Station in Chicago in 1885. Public Domain.

Dearborn Street Station (1885) is Chicago’s oldest surviving railroad terminal building. Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz designed the station in a robust Romanesque style using Italian brick and a granite base.

Today’s flat roof is a modification by an unknown architect from its elaborate original hipped roof that was lost in a 1922 fire. The eye-catching Flemish tower, originally 166 feet tall, was also modified after the same conflagration. The station building marks the southern terminus of Dearborn Street which today extends about 4 miles to its northern terminus at the southern boundary of Lincoln Park. Author’s photograph.

Looking south to the Dearborn Street Station which sits at the southern terminus of the 4-mile downtown Dearborn Street corridor. PHOTO: “South Dearborn Street” by Reading Tom is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The station’s frontage on Polk Street extends 212 feet. Originally the station extended 446 feet south along Plymouth Court with the train sheds 600 feet long with 8 tracks. The station’s train shed was demolished in 1976. In 1986 the station was converted to offices and shops (I had my Bank One branch in the Polk Street Station). Today it is the Dearborn Station Galleria in the South Loop Printing House Historic District.

Following demolition of the train sheds in 1976 the first phase of the Dearborn Park residential development south of the Dearborn Street Station building quickly sprang to life.

The 1885 clock tower of the Dearborn Street Station is visible at the left. Open land which for almost 100 years had been the Dearborn Street Station‘s busy train tracks into a shed equal to two football fields in length were cleared off to make room for Dearborn Park residential development. The photograph is dated from 1977 by William C. Brubaker. PHOTO: “Site for Dearborn Park residential development” by UIC Library Digital Collections is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Its distinctive clock tower and monumental presence made it a defining feature of Chicago’s South Loop.

Dearborn Station Clock Tower. PHOTO: “Dearborn Station Clock Tower” by Atelier Teee is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Dearborn Station had 8 tracks that accommodated 12 coaches and engines with 122 trains arriving and departing daily. The station served as a major transportation gateway, accommodating numerous railroads.

Chicago & Eastern Illinois (1877-1976):

C&EI The Danville – Chicago Flyer at Steger, Illinois on November 26, 1965. Public Domain.

Map of the Dixie Route to Florida and connecting lines, published by the C&EI, L&N, and NC&StL railroads, 1926. Public Domain.

Preferred Share of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Company, issued 1889. Public Domain.

Chicago and Atlantic Railway, (later the Chicago and Erie Railroad, 1871-1941):

**Chicago and Atlantic Railway 1889 ad featuring The New York and Chicago Vestibule Limited. Public Domain.**

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (1859-1996):

AT&SF passenger train, c. 1895. Public Domain.

Map of “The Santa Fé Route” and subsidiary lines, as published in an 1891 issue of the Grain Dealers and Shippers Gazetteer. Public Domain.

Louisville, New Albany & Chicago, or Monon (1897-1971):

Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway, route map, 1903, Unknown author – Poor’s Manual of the Railroads of the United States. Public Domain.

Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company (1859-1991):

A 1976 map of the proposed routes to be turned over by Conrail on the GTW, DT&I and P&LE. Public Domain.

Grand Trunk Western Railroad locomotive shop, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1908. GT Western RR was one of the lines into Dearborn Street Station in Chicago. Public Domain.

The Wabash Railroad (1837-1964):

1886 map of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway. Public Domain.

System timetable back and front cover, 1887. Public Domain.

Wabash system map, early 20th century. Public Domain.

The Erie Railroad (1832-1960):

An 1855 map of the New York and Erie Railroad. Public Domain.

Chicago & Western Indiana (1880-present):

The Kansas City Chief at Dearborn Station on February 5, 1968. The glowing face of the station clock in the clocktower is visible upper-left. Photograph by A Roger Puta. Public Domain.

All lines operating into Dearborn Station, except for the Santa Fe (above), travelled over the C&WI.

Colossal damages in December 1922 fire.

On December 21, 1922, fire destroyed the roof of the Dearborn Street Station. The blaze started on the third floor and raged throughout that top floor. Hundreds of passengers and employees were safely evacuated and there was one reported injury. The Chicago Tribune reported that when the fire reached the central tower it roared up the long shaft which became a blazing torch. The crowds watched in amazement as the tower clock stopped and the hands on its three faces crashed into the raging fire below.

The original ornate steeply pitched tiled roofs and dormers were lost in a fire in 1922 and not replaced.

**At far left the 1885 clock tower of the Dearborn Street Station can be seen along Dearborn Street in downtown Chicago.** June 2022. Author’s photograph.

SOURCES:

AIA Guide to Chicago, 2nd Edition, Alice Sinkevitch, Harcourt, Inc., Orlando, 2004, p. 154.

History of Development of Building Construction in Chicago, Second Edition, Frank A. Randall, Revised and Expanded by John D. Randall, University of Illinois Press, Urbana and Chicago, 1999, pp. 104-105 and 221-223.

Chicago’s Famous Buildings, 5^th Edition, Franze Schulze and Kevin Harrington, The University of Chicago Press, 2003, pp. 89-90.

http://www.connectingthewindycity.com/2017/12/december-21-1922-dearborn-station.html – retrieved February 27, 2024.

Daniel Burnham’s 1895 Masterpiece: The Artistry of Evanston’s First Presbyterian Church.

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FEATURE image: Aeolian Skinner organ, sanctuary. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 6.27mb.

The First Presbyterian Church of Evanston (1895), designed by renowned local architect Daniel H. Burnham, stands as a masterwork of Gothic Renaissance architecture that masterfully balances community inclusivity with grand artistic elements—specifically highlighted by its unobstructed structural layout, a world-class Aeolian Skinner organ, and intricate, storytelling stained-glass windows.

Innovative Engineering:

The sanctuary holds a capacity of over 1,000 worshippers. To ensure an inclusive worship space, Burnham utilized Nordic-style timber trusses to support the vaulted roof, completely eliminating major columns that would otherwise obstruct congregation views. The historic church building was constructed in 1895 by legendary architect Daniel H. Burnham, who was an Evanston resident himself at the time.

Daniel Hudson Burnham, c. 1890. The First Presbyterian of Evanston church building was designed in 1895 by architect Daniel Burnham (1846-1912) who lived in Evanston. Public Domain.

Musical Significance:

The church houses an acclaimed Aeolian Skinner organ—with portions dating directly back to the 1890s—which is widely recognized as one of the finest organs in the entire Chicago area.

The sanctuary seats over 1,000 worshippers whose original design retains an open, inclusive worship space. PHOTO: “PA02.2018 – 101” by Presbytery of Chicago is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

The First Presbyterian Church of Evanston’s Aeolian Skinner organ is one of the finest organs in Chicagoland, portions of which date to the 1890s. October 2015. Author’s photograph.

Masterful Stained Glass:

The interior is illuminated by dramatic, wall-filling arched stained-glass windows. These expansive artworks depict critical Biblical narratives, including the Creation and Fall of Adam and Eve, King Solomon, Moses, and Christ Ruler of the Universe.

Christ Ruler of the Universe. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 5.55mb

The main sanctuary window inside the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston. It was created by Charles J. Connick Studios, famous for his signature deep sapphire blue and medieval-style glazing techniques. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 5.46mb

Wall-filling arched stained-glass windows tell Old and New Testament stories. It was installed in 1947 as part of a post-war main sanctuary update to the 1895 Daniel Burnham-designed building. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 6.81mb

Burt J. Denman, born in Toledo, Ohio, was an engineering graduate of the University of Michigan who was vice president and general manager of the United Light Power Company. Denman was a leading Methodist layman and trustee of Northwestern University. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 2.76mb

One of the historic church’s dramatic wall-filling stained-glass windows. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 7.79mb 80%

Creation of Adam; Fall of Adam and Eve; Expulsion from the Garden; Priest Aaron and brother of Moses; three angelic visitors to Abraham; the story of Moses. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 7.87mb 90%

**King Solomon.** October 2015. Author’s photograph. 7.81mb 98%

Material Composition:

Built adjacent to Raymond Park, the Gothic Renaissance structure features massive Lemont limestone walls, a tile roof, and a striking 120-foot-tall bell tower featuring an open belfry.

From Raymond Park, stained glass window and limestone walls. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 5.35 mb

Historical Context of Raymond Park:

The neighboring park is named after Rev. Dr. Miner Raymond (1811–1897), a former cobbler who rose to become a professor of systematic theology at the Garrett Biblical Institute and a prominent leader in Northwestern University’s historical community.

Adjacent to Raymond Park, the 1895 Gothic Renaissance church building is made of Lemont limestone with a tile roof and 120-foot-tall bell tower and open belfry. PHOTO: “First Presbyterian Church of Evanston” by Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

SOURCES:

First Presbyterian Church of Evanston. “Worship Connections.” Accessed January 9, 2024. https://firstpresevanston.org/connections/worship/.

Chicago Architecture Center. “First Presbyterian Church of Evanston.” Open House Chicago. Accessed January 9, 2024. https://openhousechicago.org/sites/site/first-presbyterian-church-of-evanston/.

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. “Our History.” Accessed January 10, 2024. https://www.garrett.edu/about/our-history/.

Virtual American Biographies. “Miner Raymond.” Edited by James Grant Wilson and John Fiske. Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography. Accessed January 10, 2024. http://www.famousamericans.net/minerraymond/.

Find a Grave. Database and images. “Elizabeth Henderson Raymond (1814–1877).” Memorial ID 110905407. Maintained by Find a Grave. Accessed January 10, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/110905407/elizabeth-raymond.

Find a Grave. Database and images. “Rev Miner Raymond (1811–1897).” Memorial ID 167076695. Maintained by Ace. Accessed January 10, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/167076695/miner-raymond.

New York Times. “Burt J. Denman, 62, Utilities Leader.” June 26, 1938, TimesMachine. Accessed January 10, 2024. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/06/26/99547469.html?pageNumber=27.

Eclecticism by the Lake: Capturing Century-Old Residential Mastery in Evanston, Illinois.

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FEATURE Image: 1432 Forest Avenue, Evanston, IL, 1885. Stylish single-family home, nearly 5,000 square feet, has 6 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.7 mb 53%

A rich, cross-generational tapestry of American residential design, Evanston’s historic architecture documents how pioneering designers deftly synthesized early modern Prairie style geometry with imposing, traditional European forms. By juxtaposing the masterworks of figures like Howard Van Doren Shaw, Myron Hunt, John Van Bergen, Ernest Mayo, and Henry Edwards Ficken against the town’s vibrant collegiate and civic backdrops, the landscape reveals how Evanston transformed from a simple late-19th-century lakefront settlement into a premier canvas for structural eclectic innovation. Over the decades, this architectural haven became the permanent home and chosen retreat for influential civic, political, and cultural leaders whose impact shaped both Chicago and the nation.

Text and Photographs John P. Walsh.

1032 and 1034 Michigan Avenue, 1899.

Double house designed by Myron Hunt (1868-1952) shortly before he relocated his practice to Los Angeles, CA. Each shingled dwelling is given a distinctive design. The northern side has a projecting porch and two-story polygonal bay. The southern side has a recessed porch. The house is tied together by a single gable with a quartet of double-hung windows and a cornice part of which is integrated to the polygonal bay. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.84mb 70%

Myron Hunt (1868-1952) in February 1905. The American architect did numerous projects which are noted landmarks in Southern California and Evanston, Illinois. Born in Massachusetts, he moved to Chicago and attended Northwestern University and later MIT where he graduated in 1893. Traveling and studying in Europe, he returned to Evanston where he worked as a draftsman in the local office of the Boston firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. In 1903 Hunt moved to Los Angeles, where he entered into a partnership with architect Elmer Grey (1871–1963). Opening an office in Pasadena, the firm of Hunt and Grey built houses for the wealthy. These included the summer ranch house for cereal magnate Will Keith Kellogg (1860-1951) in Pomona, CA, nearby to Los Angeles. Hunt and Grey also built hospitals, schools, churches and hotels. Public Domain.

1026 Michigan Avenue, 1915.

Prairie style house designed by John Van Bergen (1885-1969) in 1915. In the 1910’s, the Oak Park-born architect did numerous such stylish house projects from DeKalb to Winnetka. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.84mb 79%

Architect John Van Bergen (above in c. 1927) began his career as an apprentice draftsman working with Walter Burley Griffin (1867-1937) and for Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) at his Oak Park Studio. Van Bergen’s early projects, mostly in Oak Park, were predominantly residential and largely in the Prairie School style. See- https://highlandparkhistory.com/highland-park-legends-program/john-van-bergen/ – retrieved December 5, 2023. Public Domain.

1049 Michigan Avenue, 1910.

The Prairie-style house was designed and built by C.H. Thompson, a local developer. It is a basic block with a hipped roof on a grand scale and with dormers and porch projects that emphasize horizontality along with typical Prairie hoods. There is a stucco façade with brick detailing of varying geometric design patterns. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.95 mb 88%

1010 Michigan Avenue, 1911.

The Tudor style brick mansion was designed by Ernest Mayo (1864-1946). It originally sat on an even more expansive corner lot where Mayo designed the house and garden together. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.91mb 65%

Another view of 1010 Michigan Avenue. Built in 1911, it is one of Evanston’s most formal examples of the popular Tudor Revival style whose design takes inspiration from imposing Elizabethan manor houses. It is a symmetrical and complex design of porches, bows, gables, chimneys and window groupings. Architect Ernest Mayo was born in Birmingham, England in 1864 and began his career in South Africa. He immigrated to Chicago in 1891 where he established the firm of Mayo and Curry. The Chicago firm designed factories, hotels, and office buildings, and Mayo worked on administrative buildings for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Mayo split with Curry and worked independently until he partnered with his 24-year-old son Peter Mayo in 1919 to form Mayo and Mayo. While Ernest Mayo received his architectural apprentice training in England, Peter received his degree from Yale University and further design education at The Art Institute of Chicago. See – https://www.winnetkahistory.org/gazette/140-sheridan-road-2/ and https://prabook.com/web/ernest.mayo/1717173 – retrieved December 5, 2023. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.63mb 66%

Dawes Mansion, 225 Greenwood Street, 1894.

PHOTO: “Charles Gates Dawes House, Evanston, Illinois” by StevenM_61 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Designed by New York architect Henry Edwards Ficken (1852-1929), the house sits on a large lot overlooking Lake Michigan. The basic square block building is met by round tourelles on each corner with conical roofs that meet the same height of the main block’s hipped roof. The Châteauesque-style house was bought by Charles Gates Dawes (1865-1951) who was vice-president under Calvin Coolidge and, with its stunning cherry paneling, is furnished much as it was during Dawes’ residency.

Interior room, Dawes Mansion. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 4.20mb

1037 Michigan Ave, 1895.

A quintessential example of the Italianate style with eclectic classical modifications. Built in 1895, its architecture blends classic 19th-century grand proportions with imposing design choices. The most dramatic exterior feature is its soaring, double-story porch. It is supported by four monumental white Corinthian columns featuring highly ornate capitals that anchor the property’s stately curb appearance. A steeply pitched hipped roof crowns the structure, punctuated by a front dormer containing a triad of double-hung windows. The facade boasts an asymmetric yet balanced arrangement of tall, shuttered windows on the upper floor, sitting directly above expansive main-level windows that look onto the front grounds. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.52mb 99%

940-950 Michigan Avenue, 1927.

The Georgian Colonial style Michigan-Lee apartment building was erected by N.J. Lareau and associates in 1927 and sits on a 20,000 square-foot lot on the southwest corner of Michigan and Lee. It is constructed of red brick and Bedford stone and built to house 24 total apartments: three 7-room, three 6-room, fifteen 5-room, and three 4-room. The apartment complex was designed by architect and lawyer Frank William Cauley (1898-1984). https://www.archinform.net/arch/202206.htm and http://www.michiganleecondoassociation.com/history.html – retrieved November 28, 2023. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.68mb 66%

Orrington Hotel, 1923.

The architect of the Michigan-Lee building in 1927, Frank Cauley designed the $2,000,000 three-hundred room (each with its own bath) Orrington Hotel in 1923. A new graduate of the Armour Institute of Technology in 1922, but before he received his license to practice architecture, he designed the project for a local developer, Victor Ca/rlandrie Carlson. Carlson built the Carlson Building on Church Street in downtown Evanston as well as this landmark hotel and The Library Plaza Hotel in 1922. Cauley went into business on his own, practicing until the 1929 crash. In the Depression years he went to law school in Chicago and received his L.L.B. in 1938. In April 1969, the Illinois Institute of Technology awarded him a J.D.
https://undereverytombstone.blogspot.com/2015/10/he-left-his-mark-on-downtown-evanston.html – retrieved November 28, 2023. PHOTO: “The Hotel Orrington” by Mark Blevis is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Evanston front porches.

During the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, the front porch was the centerpiece of suburban American social life. Before air conditioning or television, these grand verandas were engineered as open-air living spaces designed to catch lake breezes. They served a vital purpose: as a private sanctuary for families to relax, and a public stage where Evanston’s influential civic and cultural leaders could engage with their community. Nestled behind deep setbacks, manicured lawns, and a dense canopy of mature trees, this streetscape encapsulates the late-19th-century ideal of a peaceful, high-style lakeside retreat. June 2022. Author’s photography. 7.80mb 79%

Evanston fashion, c. 1918. Most Evanstonians used local dressmakers and tailors to have their clothes made. The white cotton summer dress with embroidery and lace insertions and natural waistline was typical for the era. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 4.24mb

Rising above the Lake Michigan shoreline, the lighthouse marks the approach to Chicago from the north, its tapering tower connected to a catwalk supported by handsome Italianate brackets. Built by the U.S. Government during the great age of Great Lakes navigation, it served as a vital guide for commercial vessels and passenger steamers entering one of the world’s busiest inland ports. The promontory on which it stands was named Grosse Point by French explorers in the 17th century, and the area was mapped in 1673 by Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette during their famous exploration of the interior of North America. Standing sentinel above the lake, the lighthouse is crowned by a polygonal glass lantern housing the light and lens that once warned mariners of the shallow waters and shifting sandbars along this stretch of shoreline. Today, the still fully working, operational lighthouse remains one of the North Shore’s most recognizable historic structures, linking the region’s maritime heritage with its earliest European history. See – http://www.grossepointlighthouse.net/history.html – retrieved December 5, 2023. June 2014. Author’s photograph. 4.03mb

1210 Michigan Avenue, 1880.

Started as a simple clapboard farmhouse one block from Lake Michigan, there have been several expansive additions since then. The front exterior is marked by a simple veranda with grouped struts in the lintel which is supported by turned posts. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.68mb 75%

1332 Forest Avenue, 1894.

A stylish home with several additions on an expansive corner lot. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.32mn 90%

1005 Michigan Avenue, 1913.

Designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw (1869-1926), this light-colored brick Colonial Revival residence presents a carefully balanced façade organized around five evenly spaced openings on its two principal stories. Above rises a truncated pitched roof punctuated by three flat-roofed dormers, while a chimney projects at the north roofline. The central bay anchors the composition, with aligned openings emphasizing both symmetry and function: a broad arched porchway and fanlight-crowned double-door entrance at ground level, and above, a wrought-iron balcony that serves as a modest yet elegant decorative landing. Situated on a leafy but well-traveled suburban corner lot, the house’s formal symmetry is interrupted on the south side by a fashionable early twentieth-century sun porch addition. This low, two-story, flat-roofed projection originally combined an enclosed porch on the first floor with an open-air porch above, reflecting changing ideas about light, leisure, and suburban domestic life. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.58mb 73%

**Howard Van Doren Shaw (1869-1926).** Public Domain.

Norris University Center, 1972, and Northwestern University Library, 1970.

The Norris University Center (left) serves as the main student union and activity center. It was designed by Chicago modernist architect Edward Dart of the firm Loebl, Schlossman, Dart & Hackl, opening shortly after the library in 1972. Modernist/Late-Brutalist, it shares a similar concrete materiality with the library, but embraces a more geometric, low-slung, and linear modern footprint.

The Northwestern University Library (right) designed by legendary architect Walter Netsch of the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and completed in 1970. A premier example of Brutalist architecture. Netsch used his signature mathematical “Field Theory”—a complex ordering system of rotated geometric squares—to intentionally break away from standard boxy modernism. PHOTO: “Fortress Northwestern: University Library and Norris University Center, June 1977” by A.Davey is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Chicago Avenue at Clark Street. Evanston is home to Northwestern University. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.84mb 87%

Weber Arch, 1994 and University Hall, 1869.

The prominent black wrought-iron structure in the foreground is the Weber Arch, installed in 1994 as the ceremonial gateway to Northwestern University’s Evanston campus. Standing at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Chicago Avenue, it marks the historic entrance to the university and symbolizes the passage of generations of students into academic and professional life. Long before the arch itself was erected, notable figures associated with Northwestern entered the campus at this location, including reformer Frances Willard, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, statesman Adlai Stevenson II, authors Saul Bellow, George R.R. Martin, and Veronica Roth, and performers such as Warren Beatty, Charlton Heston, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephen Colbert, and David Schwimmer. Today, the arch serves as one of Northwestern’s most recognizable landmarks, linking the university’s present-day identity with a legacy of alumni who have helped shape American culture, politics, literature, journalism, and entertainment.

Beyond the arch rises University Hall, the oldest surviving building on Northwestern’s campus. Completed shortly after the Civil War, it originally housed nearly the entire university, containing classrooms, a chapel, the institution’s first 3,500-volume library, and even a natural history museum under a single roof. Today it serves as the home of the English Department. Designed by architect Gurdon P. Randall, the building is a striking example of High Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, constructed of rugged rock-face Joliet limestone, the same native Illinois stone used in Chicago’s historic Water Tower. Crowning the structure is its soaring spire, which contains a historic Seth Thomas clock mechanism donated by the graduating class of 1879, linking generations of Northwestern students to the university’s earliest years. PHOTO: “Northwestern University Gate” by AcidFlask is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Chicago-Main Newsstand at 860 Chicago Avenue, 1940s/2001.

Established in the 1940s and named after its intersecting streets, the Chicago-Main Newsstand served regional readers until closing in 1993. Following a period of neglect that nearly led to demolition in 2000, the structure underwent a comprehensive 2001 renovation—featuring a new roof, rebuilt walls, and its restored, glowing neon sign. It is open 7 days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The Newsstand sat less than one block away from The Coronet Theatre, a single-screen theater that originally opened in 1915 at 817 Chicago Avenue and was in continuous operation as a movie theater until 1984. The theater building was demolished in 2000. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.74mb 85%

June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.77mb 83%

1730 Chicago Ave, 1865.

The building at left was the home of Frances Willard (1839-1898) and her family. It served as the national headquarters of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.73mb 88%

Sources:

A Guide to Chicago’s Historic Suburbs on Wheels and on Foot, Ira J. Bach, Swallow Press/Ohio University Press, 1981, pp. 499-530.

This explanatory article may be periodically updated.

From Italianate to Prairie School: The Making of Wilmette’s Architectural Character, 1873-1930.

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FEATURE image: Detail of 804 Forest Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. The Prairie style house was built in 1906 by architect George Washington Maher (1864-1926) whose influence on the Midwest was profound and prolonged and, in its time, as great as Frank Lloyd Wright’s. June 2014. Author’s photograph. 3.95mb

Wilmette’s architectural character reflects the evolution of Chicago’s North Shore from nineteenth-century village to premier suburban community, where distinguished residential, civic, religious, and commercial architecture created an environment of exceptional design quality that remains remarkably intact today.

1231 Forest Avenue, 1898.

A two-story clapboard with a flared hipped roof with three dormers, one each in the front and on the sides. The façade-length porch also has a hipped roof. The first floor has a projecting polygonal bay window and a front door and separate square vestibule window. June 2014. Author’s photograph. 4.76mb

1215 Forest Avenue, c. 1909.

The two-story home is built of finely dressed (cut, worked) ashlar stone. The home has a hipped roof and steep pitched pediment with a broken cornice and a false balcony with rounded attic window. In a rigidly centralized composition, there is a slight projecting bay above the entrance that is sheltered by a large porch with a massive projecting pediment held by a masonry pier with short bulging columns. June 2014. Author’s photograph. 5.67mb

1041 Forest Avenue, 1873.

Masked by later additions, this house was originally Italianate whose hooded windows and small square attic window remain on the façade. June 2014. Author’s photograph. 4.20mb

1020 Forest Avenue, Community Church of Wilmette, 1920.

A pioneer large church building tucked unobtrusively onto a residential street whose type of subdued stance was replicated by other churches built in its wake in the suburb. June 2014. Author’s photograph. 6.05mb

1020 Forest Avenue, Community Church of Wilmette, 1920. The building has massing of large rubble ashlar walls with broad arches and a porch. June 2014. Author’s photograph. 3.57mb

Prairie Architecture in Transition: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Frank J. Baker House (1909) in Wilmette, Illinois.

932 Forest Avenue, 1890s.

A grand two-story Classical Revival house has a high hipped roof and ionic pilasters at the corners and sides and pediment of the projecting entrance. Ionic columns support the porch. June 2014. Author’s photograph. 4.86mb

922 Forest Avenue pre-1873 and c. 1900.

The house was originally built in the Italianate style evident in the cornice with double brackets in the front and single brackets on the side of the house along with pedimented windows. The third-floor gables were added around 1900 along with the broad bow façade. These changes worked to add space and mask the original style. The front porch is more recent. June 2014. Author’s photograph. 5.61mb

George Washington Maher (1864-1926).

Born in West Virginia, Maher was an American architect in the Prairie School style who was known for blending with the Arts & Crafts style. According to H. Allen Brooks in The Prairie School – Frank Lloyd Wright and his Midwest Contemporaries (1972) “[Maher’s] influence on the Midwest was profound and prolonged and, in its time, was certainly as great as was Wright’s. Compared with the conventional architecture of the day, his work showed considerable freedom and originality, and his interiors were notable for their open and flowing…space.” At the time of his death, G.W. Maher had designed over 270 projects; from houses to parks to public buildings. Public Domain.

804 Forest Avenue, 1906, G.W. Maher.

A solid 4-square house that is modest compared to a similar-styled project the Prairie-school architect completed in 1899 in Oak Park known as Pleasant Home. June 2014. Author’s photograph. 4.85mb

Wilmette combines architectural distinction, affluent residential design, civic beauty, and lakefront suburban development into one of Chicago’s most visually cohesive communities.

Sources:

A Guide to Chicago’s Historic Suburbs on Wheels and on Foot, Ira J. Bach, Swallow Press/Ohio University Press, 1981, pp. 534-547.

The Prairie School – Frank Lloyd Wright and his Midwest Contemporaries. Brooks, H. Allen New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1972, p. 330.

Architecture of Trinity United Methodist Church, Wilmette.

Founding History and Its “Home Alone” Legacy.

Beyond its religious and architectural significance, the church gained broader recognition through its connection to the beloved film Home Alone.

How the architecture relates to the stained‑glass program.

Interior Analysis: Gothic Revival Structure.

How Methodist theology shaped 20th‑century stained glass.

Its stained glass windows were created by the renowned Willett Studios of Philadelphia, among the most respected American ecclesiastical glass firms.

Façade window – Jesus Calling the First Disciples:

Methodist stained glass seeks to be beautiful where clarity is key. The style tends to bold outlines, well delineated figures and readable gestures with minimal abstraction.

Traditional enough to feel sacred – Modern enough to feel fresh – narrative enough to teach – artistic enough to inspire: Why Willett Studios was chosen.

“Do all the good you can.”

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The Frank J. Baker House illustrates a pivotal stage in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School development, where experimentation with the T-shaped plan, two-story living spaces, and environmental continuity produced one of the architect’s most significant domestic designs of 1909

Through a deliberate sequence of compression and release, Wright choreographed movement through the Baker House so that ordinary domestic spaces culminate in a soaring central living room that serves as the spiritual and architectural heart of the home.

Interior Analysis.

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The Metropolitan Tower was built in 1924 as the headquarters of S.W. Straus & Co. and designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, successors to the Burnham architectural tradition.

The elaborate entrance and lobby originally featured exceptional decorative work, including bronze doors created by sculptor Leo Lentelli, although many original elements have been lost.

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A Hotel of the Columbian Exposition Era

Built in 1893 during the World’s Columbian Exposition and originally opened as the Auditorium Annex, it was designed by architect Clinton J. Warren, one of Chicago’s leading hotel specialists of the era.

The Auditorium Annex and a Strategic Location

Expanded with the South Tower between 1902 and 1907 designed by Holabird & Roche and featuring the ornate Beaux-Arts gold elevator bank, the hotel grew to more than 1,000 rooms by 1908.

Expansion and the Famous Gold Elevators

From Auditorium Annex to Congress Hotel

Renamed the Congress Hotel in 1911, it has hosted numerous U.S. presidents and remains one of Chicago’s longest-operating and most historically significant hotels.

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143 First Street, c. 1863.

Batavia’s architectural heritage reflects its origins as a Fox River settlement established in the 1830s and its later development as a railroad and manufacturing center.

Batavia’s history intersects with larger national stories, including the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, westward expansion, and nearby Fermilab’s scientific legacy.

Campana Sales Company Factory, Batavia, Illinois, East Elevation, 1936-1937.

Limestone industrial buildings and former factories testify to the town’s important manufacturing history, including wagon production and later consumer industries such as Campana and Purex.

Religious institutions played a central role in Batavia’s civic development, with churches tied to abolitionist causes and community building.

The Congregational Church, 21 S. Batavia Avenue, 1856.

Methodist church, 355 First Street, 1852.

United Methodist Church of Batavia, 8 N. Batavia, 1887.

Batavia contains an unusually broad range of architectural styles, including Greek Revival, Italianate, Richardsonian Romanesque, Gothic Revival, Classical influences, and International Style design.

415 Main Street, 1860.

360 Main Street, 1855.

33 S. Lincoln Street, 1850.

505 Main Street, 1858.

356 First Street, c. 1850.

637 N. Batavia Avenue, 1906.

The Fabyan Windmill, 1850s.

111 S. Lincoln Street, c. 1850.

125 S. Lincoln, 1852.

432 Main Street, c. 1850.

Batavia’s historic buildings remain visible markers of changing economic, cultural, and social priorities across nearly two centuries.

333 S. Jefferson Street, Batavia Institute, Bellevue Mental Hospital, 1853.

333 S. Jefferson Street, Batavia Institute, Bellevue Mental Hospital, 1853.

419 Union Street, 1863.

Calvary Episcopal Church (222 Main Street), 1880.

Through its factories, churches, houses, and landmarks, Batavia offers a remarkably intact architectural record of how industry, religion, transportation, and community shaped a growing Midwestern town from the nineteenth century into the modern era.

Details:

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Randolph Tower demonstrates the firm’s progression away from Beaux-Arts classicism toward streamlined modernism and greater vertical emphasis. Its massing and setbacks may represent one of the last surviving Chicago skyscrapers reflecting the influence of the 1923 zoning law.

At 27 stories and 465 feet tall, it remains a prominent feature of Chicago’s Loop skyline. Vitzthum & Burns were major contributors to Chicago’s architectural identity during the city’s final great skyscraper boom before the Great Depression.

The building’s restoration in 1993 and residential conversion in 2013 illustrate the adaptive reuse of historic skyscrapers for contemporary urban life.

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The 32-year-old architect of Dearborn Street Station, Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, came from an illustrious East Coast family of builders and architects.

Dearborn Street Station (1885) is Chicago’s oldest surviving railroad terminal building. Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz designed the station in a robust Romanesque style using Italian brick and a granite base.

Its distinctive clock tower and monumental presence made it a defining feature of Chicago’s South Loop.

The Dearborn Station had 8 tracks that accommodated 12 coaches and engines with 122 trains arriving and departing daily. The station served as a major transportation gateway, accommodating numerous railroads.

Chicago & Eastern Illinois (1877-1976):

Chicago and Atlantic Railway, (later the Chicago and Erie Railroad, 1871-1941):

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (1859-1996):

Louisville, New Albany & Chicago, or Monon (1897-1971):

Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company (1859-1991):

The Wabash Railroad (1837-1964):

The Erie Railroad (1832-1960):

Chicago & Western Indiana (1880-present):

Colossal damages in December 1922 fire.

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Innovative Engineering:

Musical Significance:

Masterful Stained Glass:

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1032 and 1034 Michigan Avenue, 1899.

1026 Michigan Avenue, 1915.

1049 Michigan Avenue, 1910.