Tag Archives: Architecture

House of the Season: 990 Sheridan Road

Appeared in the Gazette, Spring 2019 By Laurie Peterson Suburban life isn’t for everyone, and it apparently didn’t suit John L. Shortall. Around 1905 he bought six acres of land bordering a ravine at 990 Sheridan Road and commissioned a large house from architect William Carbys Zimmerman. Despite the proximity to the Lakeside (now Hubbard […]

635 Maple - Thorne House 2

House of the Season: 635 Maple

Appeared in the Gazette, Spring 2018 By Layla Danley In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Charles H. Thorne’s family was one of the most prominent in Chicago. Charles’ father, George, was the co-founder of Montgomery Ward along with Charles’ uncle Aaron Montgomery Ward. Charles and his brothers worked for the family business, and after […]

Ask 411: The Aitken Building

Appeared in the Spring 2018 issue of the Gazette In February we received this query from a long-time Winnetkan. Q: I’d always heard that buildings were moved from what is now Hubbard Woods Park when they needed to clear the land. Is this true, and if so, where did they end up? Yes, this is […]

Winnetka Modernist Joe Fujikawa

By Sally Schneiders Appeared in the Gazette: Spring 2018 The name Joe Fujikawa leapt off the pages of Thomas Dyja’s The Third Coast: When Chicago Built the American Dream, jogging my memory. I remembered that this late architect, Joseph Fujikawa of Winnetka, had designed Roberto Clemente High School in Chicago. I remembered his daughter Liz […]

2017 Winnetka Preservation Awards

  The Winnetka Landmarks Pres­ervation Commission presented preservation awards to the owners of six private residences at the Vil­lage Council meeting on November 7, 2017. This year there were two awards presented for restoration and four for rehabilitation. For restoration, Nan and Wally Greenough worked with architect Ken Behles, Lynch Construction and Nature’s Perspective landscap­ers to […]

The North Shore Hospital, a familiar Winnetka landmark for clsoe to 70 years was demolished in 1969, making way for Centennial Park. Winnetka Talk February 24, 1969.

Centennial Park: Settlers, Sanitarium and Open Space

By Susan Whitcomb The earliest people to walk the land we now know as Centennial Park were Native Americans who moved north and south on the Green Bay trail. In the early 19th century, trappers, mail carriers and settlers began to trod the same ground. The first permanent dweller on the land that comprises Centennial […]

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Winnetka’s Spiegel Family: Installment Credit Pioneers

By Tane Beecham For more than four decades, 410 Sheridan Road was home to the Spiegels, founding family of the Chicago-based mail order company, Spiegel Inc., and its iconic “Spiegel Catalog.” Universally known to consumers in the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, the company opened its doors in 1865 under the name “J. Spiegel & Company” […]

The North Shore Laundry building, c. 1950s.

The Laundry: Still Fresh at 40

By Laurie Petersen Updated 2022 In January 1976, the Winnetka Talk featured the surprising headline, “Doing the Laundry can be fun.” This was because a large commercial laundry building in the middle of the Village would no longer be taking in dirty clothing—it would instead offer elegant new apparel for sale. It would also have […]

660 Prospect in 1971

House of the Season: 660 Prospect Avenue

by Justine Hourihane Rounding the bend of Prospect Avenue, on an elevated parcel of land within walking distance to the lake and town, the Sturgis family saw the ideal location for their custom home to be designed by renowned architect William Otis. Originally from France, Charles Inches Sturgis started working as a clerk at the […]

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2015 Winnetka Preservation Awards

By Nan Greenough Every spring the Winnetka Landmark Preservation Commission accepts nominations for the annual Preservation Awards program and conducts an award presentation at a Village Council meeting in the fall. The Preservation Awards program seeks to honor construction projects that have helped preserve the history and character of the Village. Private, commercial, and public […]