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Articles by Robert A. Sideman
History By Design: Two faiths, two churches
St. Joseph, the oldest Catholic parish on the North Shore, is located at Ridge Road and Lake Avenue in Wilmette. The parish originally extended as far north as Waukegan and as far west as McHenry. Every other nearby parish stems from this one, which was founded in 1843 at a time before the railroad reached Wilmette and before the formation of New Trier Township.
History By Design: 3 notable subdivisions, 1 small town
Frank Lloyd Wright reached national acclaim for his work as a Prairie School architect; locally we celebrate his commitment to developing a subdivision of Prairie houses. In northeast Glencoe between Franklin Road and the Union Pacific North line, Wright worked with his attorney, Sherman Booth, to create Ravine Bluffs.
History By Design: Prairie landscape meets the lake in Gillson Park, Wilmette Harbor
In 2024, Gillson Park and Wilmette Harbor were designated a historic district and placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service, a designation honoring its exceptional significance. Gillson Park (named Washington Park until 1955) was created out of landfill from dredging the waterway that is now Wilmette Harbor. It was laid out in two phases. In 1915, the Wilmette Park District hired a professional landscape architect and nurseryman, Benjamin E.
News Briefs: Art in Village awards; Target and Skokie schools; Historical society gala success
The North Shore Art League’s annual Art in the Village took place June 13-14 in Winnetka’s Hubbard Woods Park. The exhibition featuring artists from across the country was also a juried art show.
History By Design: Two North Shore theaters with more than 100 years between them
What is more wonderful than a warm summer evening at Ravinia Festival? Ravinia Park, with buildings designed by architect Peter J. Weber opened in 1904 as a high-class amusement park featuring a music pavilion, a carousel, a toboggan slide, an electric fountain and an elegant theater. The park was founded by Albert C. Frost, owner of the Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railroad, which ran parallel to the Chicago & North Western Railway, just west of the entrance to the park.
History By Design: A modern shopping center for Hubbard Woods
In 1954, the retail strip mall at 67-95 Green Bay Road in Glencoe was opened as the Hubbard Woods Fashion Center. It included tenants such as the high-end jeweler C.D. Peacock and women’s clothes retailer Lane Bryant. Today as Hubbard Woods Plaza, it houses a mix of goods and services for local residents, stores like Binny’s Beverage Depot, Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts. This post-World War II shopping destination reflected a new look.
History By Design: Connecting neighbors, the story of two utility buildings
We take electric power and telephone service for granted, but there are compelling stories related to their history in Highland Park and Winnetka. Electricity came to Highland Park in 1890 with the founding of the Highland Park Electric Company. The first electric plant was located in a barn-like building along the Chicago & North Western railway tracks at 525 Elm Place.
History by Design: Streamlining in Skokie
No one thinks of the North Shore suburbs as industrial yet one of the great streamlined Art Moderne buildings in the Chicago area is an office/industrial structure located in Skokie. In 1941, G.D. Searle and Company, founded in 1888, built its company headquarters on a 5-acre site, tripling the size of its pharmaceutical operation. It had formerly been located on Ravenswood Avenue in Chicago. The building is extraordinary.
History By Design: All Aboard! the story behind Glencoe's historic depot
Commuters take their ride on Metra for granted as their means of getting into the city, but the stations along the North Line have special appeal. In 1855, the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad (later the Chicago & North Western Railway) provided the only reliable means of transportation north from Chicago. There was the Green Bay Trail, an old Native American travel route, but that was about it. One of the earliest stations along the line was in Glencoe.
History By Design: Two houses of worship along Sheridan Road, where architecture meets sculpture
A ride up Sheridan Road takes you past two of the North Shore’s most iconic buildings: the Baha’i Temple at 112 Linden Ave., Sheridan Road and Linden Avenue, in Wilmette and North Shore Congregation Israel at 1185 Sheridan Road in Glencoe. The Baha’i House of Worship is the North American “Mother Church” of the Baha’i faith. There are approximately nine Baha’i temples altogether, located throughout the world.
History By Design: Two beautiful bridges, hidden in plain sight
Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie-style landscape architect Jens Jensen designed bridges that are little known but well worth a visit. Wright designed only two bridges in his career: one accessing Fallingwater, the 1936 Edgar Kaufmann House in Pennsylvania, and one in Glencoe. His Sylvan Road Bridge, near Franklin Road, was built for Wright’s attorney Sherman Booth to access the Ravine Bluffs Subdivision.
History by design: Town halls, building a heart for the community
City Hall, or Village Hall, is more than a place to pay your water bill. It is the pulse of a community. The city hall as a building type had its origins in the 12th century, when Europe’s feudal order was collapsing and control of towns was passing from royalty and the church to urban inhabitants — aka, the people. Neither Highland Park (incorporated 1869) nor Kenilworth (incorporated 1896) had distinguished buildings symbolic of local government at the time their current halls were built.
History By Design: Glencoe Central and Crow Island schools — so different but only a year apart - The Record
History By Design is The Record’s new monthly column focusing on the North Shore’s special and influential architectural history. Local historians and authors Susan S. Benjamin and Robert A. Sideman write and research the column, and the Glencoe and Winnetka historical societies contributed photographs for this edition. Glencoe and Winnetka are adjacent communities with similar demographics, yet with schools that have a vastly different approach to design. Central School at 620 Greenwood Ave.
History By Design: The brief sparkle of Miralago Ballroom
History By Design is The Record’s new monthly column focusing on the North Shore’s special and influential architectural history. Local historians and authors Susan S. Benjamin and Robert A. Sideman write and research the column, and the Wilmette Historical Museum contributed photographs for this edition.
History By Design: From Spanish Court to Plaza del Lago
History By Design is The Record’s new monthly column focusing on the North Shore’s special and influential architectural history. Local historians and authors Susan S. Benjamin and Robert A. Sideman write and research the column, and the Wilmette Historical Museum contributed photographs for this edition. No Man’s Land, today Plaza del Lago, has an engaging history.
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