North Shore Views

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