457 Ash
The Colonial Revival stunner at 457 Ash was built in 1912 for James C. Kellogg, heir to the Kellogg Switchboard Co.James Kellogg was the son of Milo G. Kellogg, inventor and founder of the Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Company. Milo founded the company in 1897 in Chicago and it quickly became well-known for its superior switchboard technology and later, for its sleek phone designs.In 1909, Milo Kellogg died, leaving the company in the hands of his sons – James and his older brother Leroy. The company continued to flourish under the younger Kellogg’s control, becoming one of a few companies that provided the bulk of the country’s telephone equipment through World War II.In 1912, while running the switchboard company, James and his wife, Pauline, hired architects Chatten & Hammond to build their family home at 457 Ash. Melville Chatten and Charles Herrick Hammond were both residents of Winnetka and designed a number of houses on the North Shore as well as some commercial buildings in Chicago.Their residential work was highly regarded and garnered mention in The Architectural Record in the early 1900s. In Winnetka, they designed 375 Sheridan and 80 Locust, and in Chicago, they designed the Columbus Park Refectory and Boat Landing (which is on the National Register of Historic Places) and the Thomson & Taylor Spice Co. Building.After Dwight Perkins joined Chatten & Hammond in 1925, the new firm designed several Art Deco skyscrapers including the Northwest Tower (also known as the “Coyote” Building – now Hotel Robey) in 1929 and the Lawson YMCA building in the early 1930s. Hammond later served as Illinois state architect from 1929 to 1952.Back up in Winnetka, the Kelloggs remained in their beautifully-designed home at 457 Ash for over a decade. They sold the house in 1923 to the Honnold family. In 1934, it was purchased by the MacLeish/Jones family, who lived in the home for the next 75 years.Thanks to these homeowners, most of the beautiful Colonial Revival features have been preserved over time. The rectangular shape and symmetry are typical of the style, as is the molded cornice with dentils along the roofline and the ornamentation concentrated around the front door.
495 Ash
The lovely Spanish Revival home at 495 Ash was designed by Chicago-based architect Arthur Huen.Huen was born in 1866 in Saginaw, MI. After training as an architect in Michigan, he moved to Chicago to work as a draftsman for Francis Whitehouse, who designed the Festive Hall at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, as well as several other buildings and homes in the city. When Whitehouse retired in 1893, Huen took over his practice and continued to grow his reputation as a talented architect. He went on to design several notable buildings, including the Mellody Farm Estate home (now Lake Forest Academy), the William McCormick Blair house on Astor St. (demolished in the 1970s), the Casino Club of Chicago and the Art Club of Chicago.Huen designed the house at 495 Ash in 1910 for F. J. Leuttig (or Leutig), though he doesn’t appear to have ever lived in the house. In fact, we were not able to find any record of anyone with that name in Winnetka within several decades of when the house was built. Thus, it seems likely that he commissioned the house as a rental and rented it out for many years.It is likely, then, that Nathan and Florence Klee, who were renting the property by 1917, were the first residents. Nathan Klee was born in Germany in 1875 and immigrated to the US in 1890. While living in the Chicago area, he met and married Florence Thalhimer in Evanston in 1910. Little else is known about the Klees other than the fact that Nathan worked in insurance while living in Winnetka.What is most notable about this property is its style. This is one of relatively few examples of the Spanish Revival style in Winnetka. According to a survey conducted by an architectural historian in 1989, the leaded glass windows with stained glass detailing on the door and windows make this house particularly notable.
519 Ash
The impressive Prairie style home at 519 Ash was designed by notable architect Dwight Perkins.Perkins was born in Memphis, TN in 1867 and moved to Chicago when he was four years old. While he only attended three months of high school, he gained architectural experience working at several firms as a teenager and was accepted into MIT to study architecture in 1885.After graduation, Perkins and his wife moved back to Chicago so he could work for the architectural firm Burnham & Root. After several years of honing his craft and assuming more responsibility, he left to start his own firm in 1893.While living in Chicago, Perkins developed relationships with several notable architects, including Lawrence Buck and Frank Lloyd Wright, all of whom had offices in Steinway Hall, which Perkins designed. That building was sadly demolished in 1970.On his own and under several partnerships, Perkins designed several other notable buildings in Chicago. In 1905, he was appointed Chief Architect of the Chicago Board of Education and was charged with designing dozens of public schools, including the Carl Schurz High School in Irving Park, which has been described as Perkins’ “masterpiece.” He also designed the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Lion House, which is a Chicago designated landmark, and several residential structures.In 1907, Perkins designed the Prairie style house at 519 Ash for William B. and Clara Dale.William Dale was a successful businessman with a long career at the manufacturing company Street and Kent, which was located in the Fulton Market District in Chicago. In 1900, the couple moved to Winnetka, first living on Elm Street until the house at 519 Ash was completed.While living at 519 Ash, the Dales were very involved in village life. William was on the village council for four years, one of the original members of the Skokie Country Club, and was secretary of the Winnetka Men’s Club before it became the Winnetka Woman’s Club. Clara was very active in the Winnetka Music Club.The Dales lived here until the early 1930s, when they moved to a different house on Provident Ave. Despite the fact that the track depression project was completed in 1943, tragically, William Dale was struck and killed by a north-bound train at the Elm Street Station in 1947.While the house has been updated periodically over time, most of the notable original features still remain. Known as the first truly American style, Prairie architecture is generally easy to distinguish from the popular revival styles that took many cues from European styles. This house maintains several typical Prairie elements, including the wide eaves, emphasis on horizontal lines, stucco walls, minimal ornamentation, irregular shape, and the wooden window trims The wood banding linking the sills of the second floor windows is also very typical of the style.
536 Cherry
The house at 536 Cherry is the newest house on this tour, even though it was built over 50 years ago. Like its age (or lack thereof), its modern style stands out amongst the many Victorian and revival styles along this section of Cherry Street.536 Cherry was built in 1973 and was designed by Edward J. Burnell, III, a noted local architect. Burnell was born in Evanston in 1939. That same year, his father, Edward Jr., started working at Booz, Allen, and Hamilton, a management consulting firm. Within three years, he was promoted to director, eventually rising the ranks to senior vice president. In the mid-to-late 1940s, the Burnells moved to Winnetka.While his father found success in consulting, Burnell sought a different path and became an architect. He began working for the Palmer Group early in his career and in 1984, was named president of the company. While working at the Palmer Group, Burnell helped design several notable buildings, including the second Chicago Mercantile Exchange building (also known as the MERC building) at 444 West Jackson in 1972 and the skyscraper at 225 West Wacker in 1986.A year after the MERC was completed, Burnell designed the house at 536 Cherry for his mother, Barbara. She lived in the house until 1987, when she sold it and moved to California.Stylistically, this house has many of the characteristic elements of the modern styles that were popular in the latter half of the 20th century, including the flat rooflines, large windows, and minimal ornamentation. Aside from the walled garden, which was constructed sometime after 1987, the exterior of the house appears much as it did when Barbara Burnell lived in it.
535 Cherry
While much of the Italian Renaissance style home at 535 Cherry was designed and built in 1916, elements of the house were actually built much earlier.The origins of the original house at 535 Cherry are a bit mysterious. Although title records date back to 1882, it’s unclear when the house was built on the property. Historic structure maps show, however, that the original house existed on the property by 1896 and that it still stood in 1914. While we know that the house was there, interestingly, there are no directory listings for this property between 1900 and 1914. It is possible, then, that what was likely an old frame house was rented or left vacant by the time it was purchased by notable architect Ralph Wesley Varney.Varney was born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1879. In the early 1900s, he moved to the Chicago area and began working as an architect both locally and across the state of Illinois. Throughout his career, he designed several notable structures. Many of his designs are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the David Hall House in Lake Villa, the Clifford Milton Leonard Farm House (also known as Meadowland Farm) in Lake Forest, the Julius Goldberg House in Highland Park, and the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity House in Champaign.In 1916, Varney purchased the property at 535 Cherry and on July 31, filed a building permit application for “rebuilding [the] residence.” Rather than rehab and add onto the original house in its original style, Varney seemingly incorporated elements of the existing structure into this elegant Italian Renaissance design.While little evidence of the original frame structure is apparent, upon close examination, remains can be found. According to the evaluation for landmark status report, some “interior features, including window frames and stair balusters that testify to an earlier era house, still exist in the third floor attic space.”In 1929, Varney subdivided the property and designed a stone Colonial Revival house on the north end of the property, now 465 Poplar, which he subsequently sold. For the next decade or so, Varney split his time between Washington D.C. He died on March 23, 1950.Around 1940, Varney sold 535 Cherry to Francis and Eleanor Wilson. Many long-term Winnetka residents remember Eleanor Wilson well as the head of Mrs. Wilson’s Dance School at the Winnetka Woman’s Club.After graduating from the University of Chicago in 1919, she began teaching at the Alicia Pratt School of Dance in the 1920s. She took over the dance school in the 1930s and renamed it Mrs. Wilson’s Dance School. While Mrs. Wilson was known well-known throughout the North Shore for teaching dance to multiple generations of children for over six decades, there is one little known fact about her – during World War II, she moved to Michigan City, Indiana to work as a riveter making military weapons and equipment. She died in Lakeside, MI in 1998 at 98 years old.Thanks to the Wilsons and subsequent homeowners, Ralph Varney’s Italian Renaissance design at 535 Cherry has been well preserved and is now a local designated landmark.
545 Oak
The exquisite Greek Revival home at 545 Oak was built in 1937 for Dr. Paul and Eunice Greeley.Dr. Paul W. Greeley, Jr. was a major figure in the field of plastic surgery. He was born in 1902 in Waterman, IL and moved to the Chicago area for medical school at Northwestern. He graduated in the mid-1920s and shortly after, in 1927, married Eunice Goebel. The couple moved to Winnetka, where Paul opened a medical practice in the Tudor Revival building at 545 Lincoln. In 1937, he was named Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Illinois’ College of Medicine.During WWII, Greeley enlisted in the Naval Reserve Medical Corps. A year later, in 1944, he was named Chief of Plastic Surgery at the Naval Hospital in Oakland, CA, where he stayed until 1946. He returned to Winnetka and in the 1950s was named Chairman of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Rush Medical College.While living in Winnetka, the Greeleys hired noted architect Frank Polito in 1937 to design their home at 545 Oak. They reportedly requested that the design replicate Paul Greeley’s great-grandfather’s estate near Troy, NY, which had been built in 1811. Little is known about Polito’s personal life, but his work speaks for itself. In addition to the Greeley home at 545 Oak, he also designed St. Lambert’s Catholic Church in Skokie, 561 Earlston in Kenilworth, and 864 Boal Parkway in Winnetka, to name a few.In 1960, the Greeleys sold the home to Mr. and Mrs. Philip Stone, who sold it to the present owner, Louise Holland, in 1970.Louise has been an important figure in Winnetka for several decades. In 1997, she was elected as Winnetka’s fourth woman Village President. During her tenure, she saw the completion of the Comprehensive Plan and the classically styled Elm St. bridge. Post village-presidency, Louise became co-president of the Winnetka Historical Society. Her involvement in WHS was crucial in helping secure both the Schmidt-Burnham Log House and the museum and headquarters at 411 Linden for the historical Society. She has also served as the chair of both the Landmark Preservation Commission and the Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired. In 2018 the Chamber of Commerce honored Louise with a Lifetime Achievement Award.Architectural historians agree that the house represents a wonderful example of the Greek Revival style. According to the National Register nomination, this house “exhibits remarkable historic integrity on all elevations as well as in all the interior living spaces. There have been no changes to any of the original architectural detailing.” The front façade illustrates the style well, with its low-pitched gable roof and a front-facing triangular pediment.The interior is notable as well. The formal dining room is believed to have been designed by Eunice Greeley’s relative, Sydney Fiske Kimball, who was the director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, founder of the Institute of Fine Arts at NYU, and an expert on furniture and design of the federal era, during which Greeley’s great-grandfather’s New York estate was built. Aside from changes to an enclosed porch in 1975, no notable changes have been made to the original structure.In addition to her many, many accomplishments, Louise has provided impeccable care for her historic home at 545 Oak.This house is now a locally designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
550 Oak
The charming Dutch Colonial at 550 Oak is associated with several significant homeowners, including its original homeowner, Frank E. Herdman.Herdman was born in Chicago in 1862. After receiving his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois in 1889, he returned to Chicago to work as an engineer designing and constructing bridges. In 1896, Herdman and his wife Mary moved to Winnetka and built their family’s home at 550 Oak. While we don’t know for sure, it is possible that Herdman may have designed the house himself.Shortly after moving to Winnetka, Herdman was elected president of the village, a position he held from 1899 to 1902. Herdman was essential in the development of several important improvements in the village in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Specifically, with his engineering expertise, Herdman helped the village convert to electricity. He also helped organize the Winnetka Park District and oversaw the operation of the first telephones in the village.In 1923, the Herdmans sold their home at 550 Oak to Forest Lowrey, who sold it to Dr. Clara Marie Davis in 1937. Dr. Davis was quite an interesting figure. She was born in Lansing, MI in 1878 and was one of the first women to graduate from the University of Michigan’s Department of Medicine and Surgery when she received her degree in 1904. During WWI, Dr. Davis served overseas with the Red Cross, helping wounded soldiers in France. She eventually moved to the Chicago area and began working at the Children’s Memorial Hospital.Throughout the 1920s and 30s, Dr. Davis found everlasting medical fame for conducting experiments in allowing children to choose their own diets. She believed that children’s bodies instinctively knew best and that they would, over time, choose the best foods for their own bodies.In order to undergo these experiments, she convinced 15 unmarried and/or widowed teenage mothers to place their newly-weaned infants in an “eating-experiment orphanage” in Chicago. She monitored the children’s eating choices, as well as their overall health, for months and, in some cases, up to 4.5 years.According to the National Institute of Health, the findings from her experiments “changed the world of child feeding,” though, as you can imagine, both her methods and findings have been consistently questioned by medical professionals ever since. Despite any skepticism, Dr. Davis’ experiments are still considered groundbreaking and still have an enormous impact on doctor-recommended diets for children today.In 1937, Dr. Davis purchased the Dutch Colonial home at 550 Oak for herself and her two adopted sons. While continuing her work in the city, she also began seeing patients out of her office within the home. After an incredible life and career, she died of Hodgkin’s disease on April 8, 1959.The house at 550 Oak is not only notable for its association with a former village president and renowned doctor, but also for its design. The house has a gambrel roof, which is generally the most notable feature of Dutch Revival designs. The house also has few elaborate details and multi-pane windows with exterior shutters, both of which are characteristic elements of Dutch Revival designs.
577 Cherry
The elegant Federal Revival house at 577 Cherry was first built around 1899 for Jesse and Agnes Alton.Jesse Alton moved around quite a bit before making his way to the Chicago area. He was born in LaGrange, NY in 1858. He then moved to what was the Dakota Territory in the late 1870s before arriving in the Chicago area sometime in the 1880s. In 1889, he married Agnes Leslie in Oak Park. The couple moved to Evanston before settling in Winnetka in 1900.Once in Winnetka, both Jesse and Agnes were active in the village. While maintaining a career as a builder’s hardware salesman, Jesse also served on the village council and helped the Congregational Church campaign for its new building. Agnes was also an active member of the Congregational Church and was part of several local social groups.Notably, during WWI, Jesse Alton was in charge of the Red Cross Civilian Relief Headquarters at the Great Lakes Naval Station. While he remained stateside throughout the war, his service was not without sacrifice. According to his obituary in the Winnetka Talk, Alton developed a chronic illness during his time with the Red Cross, which never improved. He died suddenly, however, of an unrelated illness in 1927.After Jesse Alton died, Agnes stayed in the house for several years. In the mid-1930s, she sold it to the first of several subsequent homeowners who helped maintain the historic integrity of the house.While many revival styles became very popular on the North Shore in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as the Georgian Revival and Tudor Revival, the Federal Revival style didn’t really catch on. And as a result, there are relatively few examples of the style in Winnetka. 577 Cherry, then, is a somewhat rare example.The Federal Revival style takes its cues from Federal architecture that was popular in the US after the American Revolution until the 1830s. Several important elements of the Federal style are exemplified, such as the symmetry of the front façade, the delicate and refined ornamentation on the front porch and along the roofline, and the wood clapboard siding. The widow’s walk on top of the roof is also occasionally seen on early examples of the style.In a 1989 survey, one architectural historian referred to 577 Cherry as an “elegant example of the style with exquisite classical detailing.” It certainly stands out, as we hope it will for many years to come.
592 Cherry
The stately Queen Anne Victorian house at 592 Cherry has been associated with several notable writers, veterans, and doctors since it was constructed in 1896. The house was built for Frances and Joseph R. Gay. While relatively little is known about them, what we do know is quite interesting. Joseph Gay was born in England in 1862 and immigrated to the US when he was two years old. In 1884, he married Maryland-born Frances and moved to the Chicago area a few years later. Once in the area, Gay began working in publishing and within a few years, he was named president of the Chicago Publication and Lithograph Company at 334 Dearborn Street.While census and directories name “publishing” as Gay’s primary career, he was also an accomplished writer. In 1896, Gay published his first of several co-authored self-help and inspirational books about and for Black Americans. Several of his books, including College of Life, or Practical Self Educator and Life Lines of Success can still be purchased online.That same year, the Gays built their home in Winnetka at 592 Cherry. While the architect is unknown, the house is significant as an “unusual example of Queen Anne with classical details.” The Gays lived in the house until 1903, when they sold it to Dr. James and Emma Ely. Like the Gays, the Elys were well-known in Winnetka. James Ely was born in 1863 in Pennsylvania. After graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in 1887, Ely began working as a dentist in Philadelphia. He married Emma Dinsmore and in 1903, the couple purchased the home at 592 Cherry and moved to Winnetka. While James and Emma were reportedly well-liked in the village, the best-known member of the Ely family was their eldest son, Dinsmore Ely. During WWI, Dinsmore served as a pilot in the Lafayette Flying Corps, a group of American volunteer pilots who flew in the French Air Force. On April 21, 1918, Dinsmore was engaged in combat with several German planes over France when his plane was shot down. He died in a hospital in Paris and was buried, with honors, at Des Gonard’s Cemetery at Versailles. A year later, his father published a collection of Dinsmore’s letters and memories in a book titled Dinsmore Ely: One Who Served. In one of the letters, Dinsmore wrote, “It is an investment and not a loss when a man dies for his country.”In 1927, the Elys sold the home at 592 Cherry to another doctor and veteran, Dr. Francis E. Senear and his wife Anne, who lived there until 1958, when they sold it to William I Martin, Jr. and his wife Betty Jean.William Martin (or Bill, as he was known) was also a veteran, but is better known for his accomplishments as a writer. From the time the Martins moved into the house at 592 Cherry until they sold it in 1961, Bill served as the principal of Crow Island School. After those three years, however, he resigned from the position in order to focus on a career as a writer. That career proved to be very successful. Martin wrote several beloved children’s books before he passed away in 2004. Amongst his best-known books are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (published in 1967) and the beloved book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (published in 1989).Due to its architectural significance and its association with several notable residents, 592 Cherry is now a locally designated landmark.
545 Ash
The beautiful Tudor Revival house at 545 Ash was built in 1936 and designed by Homer G. Sailor.Sailor was born in Portage, Ohio in 1887. In his early 20s, he moved to Chicago to attend the Armour Institute of Technology, now the Illinois Institute of Technology, and graduated in 1911. After graduation, Sailor was hired as a draftsman for famed architect Louis Sullivan. He was ultimately became one of the last draftsmen for Sullivan, whose career took a dip in the 1910s.After working for Sullivan, Sailor went on to work for Chatten & Hammond, Illinois’ state architects, before establishing his own private practice in 1917. Early on, Sailor primarily designed small Prairie School residences, low-rise commercial buildings and churches in the Chicago area. Some of his better-known designs include the Ignatius Chap House at 8831 South Pleasant Ave., the South Park Baptist Church at 3722 South King Dr., 1015 Elm Ridge Dr. in Glencoe.Later in his career, Sailor clearly branched out stylistically, designing this Tudor Revival home for industrial engineer Earl Emerson Bradway in 1936.While this property has some quintessential Tudor Revival elements, such as the asymmetrical design and the steeply pitched roofs, it has been deemed an “unusual example of the style” because it is built entirely out of stone. This property does not currently have any historic status, though as a unique Tudor Revival design by Homer Sailor, it could very well qualify for local landmark and/or National Register status.
510 Ash
The Victorian Gothic at 510 Ash was originally built in the mid-1870s at the corner of Cherry and Poplar Streets, where 530 Cherry is now. While we don’t know who the architect or original owners were, we do know that in 1879, Judge Thomas G. Windes and his family arrived in Winnetka and purchased the house, where they lived for several years.Judge Windes and his family left an incredibly valuable legacy in the village. Windes was a Cook County judge for 30 years and was very involved in the development of Winnetka as a village and community. He and his son Zel also operated a real estate business in the village in the 1890s. Thomas’ other son, Frank, was easily one of Winnetka’s most influential citizens. He was a lifelong resident and served as village engineer from 1898 to 1940. He taught manual training, was a founder of the Winnetka Historical Society, and an architect of a number of homes in town. Notably, he helped devise two visionary engineering projects in the village – the plans to lower the tracks below street level, and to turn the Skokie swamp into a lagoon system. He created plans for both of these projects decades before the projects were carried out. This house has undergone some changes over the years, beginning with the biggest in 1891 – it’s move from 530 Cherry to its current location at 510 Ash. The Windes family decided to build a new home on their property (which was likely designed by a teenage Frank), but instead of demolishing the existing home, Judge Windes arranged to have it moved to its current location.Over the years, the house has also seen several additions, including a garage and breezeway in 1954 and an extension on the back.Stylistically, this house is a Victorian Gothic, but a much more simplified design than some other, more ornate Gothic houses in the village (like our museum and headquarters at 411 Linden). Historic photos of the houses show that it originally had some typical Gothic ornamentation, including gingerbread ornamentation around the roofline and on the porch. While that ornamentation has since been removed, other elements remain, including the horizontal wood siding often used on Victorian designs, and the covered wrap-around porch.While this house currently does not have any historic designations, it would almost certainly qualify for local landmark status. For now, we are just glad that the previous and current homeowners have recognized the historic value of the property and have maintained it for over 150 years.
381 Fairview
381 Fairview is the newest house on this tour and is representative of a more recent architectural style. This modern home is one of the most interesting structures built in Winnetka in the latter half of the 20th century, not only for its unique style but also the personal home of noted architect Joseph Fujikawa.Fujikawa was born in Los Angeles in 1922. In 1939, he began studying architecture at the University of Southern California. His studies were interrupted in 1942, however, when he was relocated to the Granada Relocation Center in Colorado due to his Japanese ancestry. He was in the relocation camp for 3 months until he was admitted to the Illinois Institute of Technology, which had just been formed in 1940 when the Armour Institute merged with the Lewis Institute.Fujikawa finished his studies at IIT and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1944. That same year, he joined the army to work as a Japanese translator until the end of the war.While at the IIT, Fujikawa clearly made an impression on the school’s Dean of Architecture, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe or “Mies” as his colleagues called him. After the war, Mies hired Fujikawa to work for him.He had a hand in a number of notable projects credited to Mies, including the Promontory Apartments at 5530 S. Lake Shore Drive. While working, Fujikawa also completed his Master’s degree in architecture in 1953.In 1968, Fujikawa was named a partner in the Office of Mies van der Rohe alongside Bruno Conterato and Dirk Lohan. Mies died the following year and a few years later, in 1975, the firm’s name was changed to Fujikawa Conterato Lohan Associates.In 1982, Fujikawa left the firm to form the Fujikawa Johnson firm. Two of Fujikawa Johnson’s biggest projects were the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Center at 20 South Wacker, which was completed in 1987, and the Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal building at 77 West Jackson, which was completed in 1991.Back while he was working as a partner for Mies van der Rohe’s firm, Fujikawa began designing a house for himself and his family. After living in an apartment in Hyde Park with his wife Grace and children Liz and Steve, Fujikawa was drawn to the North Shore for the schools, accessibility to the city, and proximity to Lake Michigan. In 1971, he built his family’s home at 381 Fairview in Winnetka.While Fujikawa had decades of experience building complex high rises, he reportedly found designing his own home to be quite challenging. In an oral history interview with the Art Institute, Fujikawa referred to the process of designing 381 Fairview as a “traumatic experience.” To overcome such challenges, it seems that Fujikawa relied on his typical less-is-more aesthetic in his design, utilizing clean lines and solid materials like glass and steel, which are reminiscent of the work of his mentor, Mies. Structurally, the original portion of the house remains in-tact. The current homeowners made a few recent updates – in addition to cosmetic alterations on the façade, they also added a one-car garage, mudroom, and storage room to the right side of the house.Thankfully, much of the original design remains as a testament to Joseph Fujikawa’s incredible talent and lasting legacy.
