North Shore Views

Archive for the 'Historic places' Category

Wilmette’s Brick Streets

There are a few towns in the area with brick streets. Downers Grove has some. Forest Park has about a dozen. Oak Park has one or two. But as far as I know, no town has as extensive a network of brick streets as Wilmette. Wilmette has thirteen miles of brick streets (with another three and a half under asphalt) and they are one of the things that gives our village its charm.

The paving of our streets began in the 1880’s with Forest Avenue (east of the tracks) being the first to be paved with brick. By 1916 the village had over 24 miles of brick streets. They make for a bumpy ride and they are harder to plow in the winter but they are also a natural “traffic calmer”. And they do last longer than asphalt streets.

Many of the bricks used to pave Wilmette streets came from the Purington Brickyards in Galesburg, once the largest brick maker in the world. More recent renovation and repairs have used recycled bricks supplied by Gavin Historical Bricks in Iowa City.

Pavers are different than ordinary building bricks. They are made from a mix of shale, clay, sand and kiln-fired at extreme temperatures making them very hard, smooth, non-porous and heavy.

During the Depression a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project was initiated to relay the bricks to preserve the character of the eastern part of the village while providing jobs. The bricks were removed and turned upside down to put the worn side down and the “new’ side up.

Tags: Wilmette's brick streets

Plaza del Lago

Plaza del Lago, the shopping center on Sheridan Road just north of Chestnut Avenue, has an interesting history. It was built in 1926 as part of the development of an area once known as No Man’s Land. Until No Man’s Land was annexed by Wilmette in 1942 it was unincorporated and unpoliced.

The development of the area included the Miralago Ballroom, the Teatro del Lago theater and a Spanish style shopping center called Spanish Court. Plans had also included two clubs on the east side of Sheridan Road, but they were never finished due to the Depression.

The ballroom and shops were destroyed by a fire in 1932. The theater was torn down in 1967 to expand the shopping center, which was renamed Plaza del Lago. The bell-tower is the the key architectural feature that remains from the original Spanish Court.

Today Plaza del Lago is still a vibrant shopping area, with a Crate and Barrel store, a Starbucks, a Jewel grocery store, and a Blockbuster, as well as restaurants, boutiques and services. it’s within walking distance of anywhere in the Cage and downtown Wilmette.

Restaurants
Convito Cafe and Market
No Man’s Land Pizza and Grill
Starbucks

Boutiques
Yellow Bird (gifts)
La Colonna (women’s clothing and accessories)
Three Wishes (toys and games)
Vibrato (women’s clothing, shoes and jewelry)
Huntley’s (menswear)
Giggles and Giraffes (children’s clothing)
Hanig’s Footwear (men’s and women’s shoes)
Glazed Expressions (paint your own pottery)
Artisan Shop (crafts and gifts)

In the summer Plaza de Lago has events such as a concert series, an art show, a classic car show and sidewalk sales.

Related articles:

Free Concerts in Plaza del Lago

Tags: Plaza del Lago, shopping in Wilmette

Asahel Gage House

I love the way this house looks against the blue sky (something we haven’t seen much around here for awhile). If you don’t recognize it, it’s on Elmwood Avenue in the Cage. I drive by it often and finally stopped to take a picture today.This beautiful example of Victorian Italianate architecture was built in 1873,  and is one of the oldest homes in Wilmette. It was built by Horace and Edwin Drury for Asahel Gage, son of John Gage, who was one of the early movers and shakers in Wilmette.

John Gage bought two tracts of land in the area that is now Wilmette: one was part of the Ouilmette Reservation (land given to Archange Ouilmette in 1829 as part of the Treaty of Prairie du Chien) and the other was in the area between Wilmette and Kenilworth. Later, after the Chicago fire (1871), many city residents sought refuge from the congestion and dangers of the the city. Seeking to take advantage of this movement out to less populous areas, Asahel Gage platted his father’s lands and began promoting sales of plots in “Gage’s Addition” to Wilmette, with this house featured prominently in his promotional materials

The Victorian Italianate style blended classical and romantic architectural elements and was popular in England and the U.S. during the Industrial Revolution. This house was typical of the style, with gabled roofs, wide eves supported by ornamental paired brackets and a four story entrance tower with steep mansard roof and cast-iron grillwork on top.

The house has been authentically restored and painted with several colors to accentuate the architectural details. It was granted local landmark status in 1989.

Tags: Asahel Gage house, Victorian Italianate style

Luxury Condo Values at Mallinckrodt in the Park

If you’re looking for a home that has the character and charm of a vintage building, but with all the modern amenities, a condo at Wilmette’s Mallinckrodt in the Park might be for you.

Prices have been significantly reduced on the remaining units at  Mallinckrodt at 1041 Ridge Road. These luxury condos feature high end finishes, in-unit laundry, heated indoor parking, convenient location and gorgeous park setting. Most of the units can be customized to the client. Three finished models are also available for sale.

Attention dog lovers: this is one of the only condo buildings in Wilmette that allows dogs as well as cats.

Several different floor plans are available in sizes ranging from 1,180 to 2,193 square feet.

Prices ranging from $235,000 to $499,000 are 30% below original list prices.

Mallinckrodt is an age-determined building, meaning that at least one of the deed-holders must be 62 years old. No one under 18 years old can be a permanent resident.

Mallinckrodt is a 5 story 180,000 square foot Italian Renaissance structure built in  1918 as a convent and a college. It was converted to 81 condos after a group of citizens petitioned to prevent the historic building from being torn down for development of single family houses. The adjacent 14 acre park is held in perpetuity by the Wilmette Park District as open space.

The models are open most weekends. Or, give me a call at 847-687-5957 if you’d like an appointment to see the available units.

Tags: dog-friendly condos, Real estate, Real estate listings, Wilmette, Wilmette condos for sale

Wedding Crasher No More

What’s the most elegant wedding venue on the North Shore?

Vince Vaughn would tell you it’s the Armour House at Lake Forest Academy. At least that’s where the star of “Wedding Crashers” chose to tie the knot this past weekend. The Armour House was built between 1904 and 1908 at a cost of $10 million by J. Ogden Armour (heir to the Armour Meat Packing fortune). It was purchased by Lake Forest Academy in 1947 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
You can read more about Vaughn’s wedding here and here.

Tags: Armour House, Lake Forest, Vince Vaughn, Wedding Crasher

The North Shore’s Oldest House

Whenever we drive by the Schmidt- Burnham log house on Willow Road, my 8 year old says, “Look Mom, there’s where you went to school when you were a kid.”  The first time she said this she was 5 or 6 and she really did think that it was an old one-room schoolhouse and that I had, in fact, gone to school there. Now, it’s just a little joke between us, a way for her to rub it in how old I am.

I think a lot of the people that drive by there every day don’t even know the story behind this little house. They probably don’t realize that it is the oldest standing structure in Cook County outside of the city of Chicago. The house was built around 1837 and was the home of the Schmidt family, immigrants from Germany. Originally the house was located on the Green Bay Trail, near what is now the corner of Winnetka Avenue and Church Road.

Anita Willets Burnham, a local artist and writer, purchased the home in 1917 for $25 and had it moved to 1407 Tower Road.  It was later donated to the Winnetka Historical Society by her daughter and moved to its current location in Crow Island Woods.  Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, the house is now open to the public and offers a glimpse into life in early Winnetka.

Tags: Anita Willets Burnham, North Shore's oldest house, Schmidt-Burnham log house, Winnetka

Winnetka- Home of the First Jungle Gym

Here’s a little known bit of North Shore trivia: the first-ever Jungle Gym, constructed in 1920, is still being enjoyed by children at Crow Island School on Willow Road in Winnetka.  It was invented and patented by lawyer and Winnetka resident Sebastian Hinton. Apparently Hinton’s father, a mathematician, had built a three-dimensional bamboo frame in their backyard in Japan in order to teach his children about Cartesian-coordinates. But Sebastian and his siblings thought it was just a toy where they could climb and swing like monkeys. As an adult he saw that it could be a fun and space-efficient way to encourage physical development in children and he proposed it to Winnetka school superintendent, Carleton Washburne.

The first prototype was placed at North Shore Country Day School. While it was a big hit with the kids, it also had some design flaws, which needed correcting. A sturdier version was installed at Horace Mann School (where the Post Office now stands).  When the school was demolished in 1940, the apparatus was then moved to Crow Island School, where it still sits on the southeast corner of the school’s playground.

Tags: Crow Island School, North Shore history, Winnetka