Two celebrated North Shore suburbs, Evanston and Winnetka, are hosting upcoming housewalks.
Six vintage residences will be open for viewing on Sunday during the annual Evanston housewalk.
"The homes on the walk were all built in the late 1800s," said Kris Hartzell of the Evanston History Center, the sponsor of the event.
This year, the homes are in the Ridge Historic District. "Some of Evanston's earliest development -- in the 1830s and 1840s -- was centered in this area of high ground," she said. The geological ridge of land that is marked by Ridge and Asbury avenues was relatively dry throughout the year compared to the swampy land both east and west of it. This natural high ground was a principal route for Native American tribes that lived in and traveled through the area. It was also the location of the 1832 military road that ran between Fort Dearborn in Chicago and the fort in Green Bay, Wis.
Three of the homes on the tour were designed by Evanston architect Myron Hunt. These houses have not been remodeled much over the years. "They mercifully are 'un-remuddled,' as the Old House Journal calls it," said Hartzell.
Hunt began his career sharing offices in Steinway Hall with his contemporaries Dwight Perkins, Robert Spencer and Frank Lloyd Wright. They admired the work of Louis Sullivan and were founding members of the Arts and Crafts movement in Chicago.
Some of Hunt's signature elements include the use of quartersawn oak, horizontal beaded paneling and banding of windows (which allow for much natural light). He is also known for his wide stairways and spacious rooms with open floor plans.
Hunt's own home is on the tour. "It's perhaps his best work, particularly in his use of arches and light," Hartzell said.
Hunt (1868-1952) was born in Massachusetts but his family later moved to Chicago. He graduated from Lake View High School and attended Northwestern University for a while before going to Massachusetts to study at MIT.
In 1903, Hunt moved to Los Angeles, where he and another architect, Elmer Grey, started a firm which designed homes for wealthy L.A. residents.
Hunt & Grey's larger projects also included hospitals, schools, churches and hotels, according to Web site reports. The projects included the Rose Bowl football stadium, Occidental College and the Ambassador Hotel (where Sen. Robert Kennedy was gunned down in 1968).
Six Academy Award ceremonies were held at the Ambassador. Entertainers in the hotel's Cocoanut Grove nightclub in the glory years included Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly, Diana Ross, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole and Julie Andrews. Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon stayed there, according to www.theambassadorhotel.com.
Hours for the 33rd annual housewalk are noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $40, or $35 in advance. Tickets may be picked up at the Evanston History Center, 225 Greenwood St. The national landmark Charles Gates Dawes House, the residence of of former U.S. Vice President Charles Gates Dawes, also will be open for tours and refreshments. For more information, call the Evanston History Center, (847) 475-3410; www.evanstonhistorical.org.
Five residences will be open for touring on Thursday during a housewalk in Winnetka.
The oldest home on the tour was built in 1903. The architect was Curt Teich, a German immigrant. "He was just 25 at the time he designed this home," said Mary Lou Bilder-Gold of the Winnetka Woman's Club, the sponsor of the event.
Teich (1877-1974) is better known as the founder of the world's largest printer of view and advertising postcards, the Curt Teich Co. of Chicago. The firm operated from 1898 to 1978.
The Curt Teich Postcard Archives is part of the Lake County Discovery Museum in northwest suburban Wauconda. It's believed to be the world's largest public collection of postcards. There are images of 10,000 cities and towns throughout 87 countries. About 365,000 postcards are computer-cataloged under 2,000 subject headlines.
Between 1933 and 1958, the Curt Teich Co. became world famous for linen-finish postcards spelling out the name of travel destinations, it's noted at Jitterbuzz.com. Each letter was the framework from smaller artwork illustrating a facet of the city or town.
The postcards always contained the phrase "Greetings From." In the early 1980s, singer Bruce Springsteen issued an album entitled "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." in the Teich style.
Hours for the event, which celebrates the centennial celebration of the Winnetka Woman's Club, are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday. Tickets $60, or $55 in advance, available at the Winnetka Woman's Club, 485 Maple St. During the event, lunch will be available from 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at a private club; luncheon tickets are $35, and advance reservations are required. For more information, call the Winnetka Woman's Club, (847) 446-1830; www.winnetkawomansclub.org, or send an e-mail to winnetkawomansclub@sbcglobal.net.
