Owners of vintage Hinsdale homes continue to respond to the village’s effort to encourage preservation as the voluntary listing of historically significant structures reaches almost 100 properties.
At the Dec. 4 meeting of the historic preservation commission, five more properties were recommended for inclusion on the list, a prerequisite to be eligible for incentives to help with home renovations or additions that include matching grant funds, a property tax rebate and zoning relief.
In her introductory remarks before presenting the five applicants, village planner Bethany Salmon noted the response to the preservation program that was instituted a little more than two years ago.
“We have 89 houses approved on our list right now,” Salmon said, not including the five on the agenda, “so this is getting us closer to 100. That’s really good news.”
Prospective homes must satisfy at least one of the commission’s several criteria, such as having association with significant local events or people, exhibiting distinctive architectural characteristics or serving as a source of civic pride.
Last week the following candidates received the commission’s support:
• 213 S. Clay St. is a Gothic Revival/Italianate home that dates to 1870 and was originally located on the 300 block of South Garfield Street, according to archival records. The “(Dr. John) Ohls house was one of the first houses built in” Hinsdale, and it was relocated to its current site in 1899.
In 2001, a village-commissioned study documented that “the steeply pitched gable roofs with brackets are characteristic of Gothic Revival style, while the tall, segmented arched windows and doors, with hoods, are typical Italianate features.”
• 711 S. Elm St. is a 1937 Colonial Revival specimen designed by Hinsdale architect Philip Duke West. West also was responsible for the former Hinsdale Police and Fire Station building that was constructed in 1935 at 33 E. First St., which is also where he found space for his office in 1947.
• 211 N. Lincoln St. is a Colonial Revival home built in 1927 and designed by Ralph Mooney, who was responsible for the construction of many other Hinsdale homes in the 1920s, including 633 S. Washington St. and 131 N. Garfield St.
• 8 E Third St. is a Queen Anne home that dates to 1889 and was home to some of Hinsdale’s most prominent business executives over the years, such as George Robbins, president of Armour Car Lines; Francis Stuyvesant Peabody, president of Peabody Coal Co.; and Alexander Legge, president of International Harvester. President Herbert Hoover also visited the home.
“Very important things are associated with this house,” Salmon told commissioners
• 122 E. Third St., another Queen Anne design that was built in 1883, was once owned by George Boger, who also owned George Boger & Sons coal, wood and farm implement business located at Lincoln Street and Chicago Avenue.
The village board must approve the recommendations.
Commission Chairman John Bohnen shared that friends in Wellesley, Mass., have contacted him about Hinsdale’s incentive program. Salmon said she’s received inquiries fom counterparts from around the country to learn about the village’s approach to promoting preservation.
“A lot of people nationally have recognized our program,” she said. “It’s been really successful, and I don’t think any of us realized how successful it would be.”
