Home for Herman Hettler

When I started researching this home, I didn’t intend on blogging about it anytime soon.  I thought that I might some day see the interior and wanted to wait until that day.  After my experience at the home a few weeks ago, I now doubt that day will ever come.  My bad experience with a caretaker of the property also piqued my interest because, except for maybe an experience I had with a B&B owner in upstate New York, it may be the most negative experience I have had with a Silsbee homeowner.  After a little digging, I found that the recent history of the home was just as rich as the 100 years that preceded it.

I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this blog that on the eve of the World’s Columbian Exposition, Joseph Silsbee’s office was extremely busy.  It was busy with work for the Exposition but it was also busy with work on homes and public buildings, seemingly evidence that the entire city was preparing to put on a huge show for the influx of guests that would be arriving.  

In 1892, construction began on a large home he designed for lumber dealer, Herman Hettler.  Hettler was co-owner of Hartwell Lumber.  Edwin Hartwell, the senior partner in the firm lived a block north on Newport (now Stratford Place).  At the time, the streets Hawthorne and Newport comprised a small enclave of large, very remarkable, architect-designed homes.  Though few still exist, shingle style homes by George Maher, Burnham & Root, Louis Sullivan as well as two other homes by Silsbee graced the streets.

Hettler’s home has a wide front porch supported by delicately detailed columns.  It extends across the front of the home and incorporates a porte-cochere, giving the home a strong horizontal character.  A side gable roof arrangement seems to accentuate this horizontality and, as a counterpoint, a large round tower in the front rises above the steep roof line.  The base and parts of the first floor are made of large rough-cut stone with the upper stories clad in shingles.  Flared barge boards at the dormer, half timbering in the turrett and a side double-gable give the home an English character.  It is the only known shingle-clad home designed by Silsbee that still stands in the city of Chicago.  This is significant as Silsbee has been noted by many historians as the architect that introduced Chicago to the Shingle Style.  Also, Silsbee's contributions to the style have particular importance as it relates to the early work of his former employee, America's most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.

One mystery on the site is a small garden cottage, once referred to as a “Japanese tea cottage”.  Local lore states that it was used by Hettler’s company at the World’s Columbian Exposition.  After some research, I found that the Hartwell Lumber Company did have an exhibit in the Forestry Building at the fair but I found no evidence that this building was used as part of it.  It is likely that it was an exhibition piece as it showcases an array of siding sizes and shingle styles.  It is s simple structure yet beautifully detailed with a flared base, compound trim at the windows and door and a T-shaped bay window arrangement on one side.  Given the style and detailing on the small structure and the fact that it was constructed the same time as the home, I believe that it is very likely that Silsbee was involved in its design.  If there are any World’s Columbian Exposition sleuth’s out there, I’d love to hear your opinion.

In the past twenty years, the home had a tumultuous history.  It was auctioned by the Hettler family in 1984.  At the time, the home had retained many of its original features.  It was sold to the highest bidder, the neighboring Chicago City Day School.  In early 1996, the school demolished the coach house that stood behind the home.  It is likely that Silsbee designed that as well.  The property became a galvanizing agent for local preservationists.  A preservation official with the city was fired for allowing the demolition and a tide of support for a landmark designation of the street followed.  The school, in turn, threatened to tear down the home and went as far as to file a permit for demolition.  The local landmark designation was approved and demolition was not allowed.  The process was taken to the courts but newspaper accounts taper off after that.  The home still stands.  This recent history can be seen as a snapshot of how preservation activism plays out in some communities.  It is also evidence of just how vulnerable historic structures like this home actually are.               

Hagenbeck's Zoological Arena at the World's Columbian Exposition

Most Chicago architects had very busy offices in the years leading up to the World's Columbian Exposition.  Silsbee's was no exception.  In addition to being preoccupied with promoting his novel invention, the "moving sidewalk" he was at work on designs for state buildings as well.  One of his lesser known, yet possibly his most popular fair exhibit building was a large arena for animal trainer and zoo pioneer Carl Hagenbeck.      

Hagenbeck traveled the world to collect animal, archeological and human specimens to be showcased for public display.  He became popular for his circuses that traveled the world with trained animals.  The World's Columbian Exposition was a perfect place to showcase and market the items and animals that he uncovered in his travels.  The arena built for Hagenbeck for his animal and archeological showcase was at the east end of the Midway Plaisance.  The show featured animals of every type including performing bears, lions, elephants, parrots and monkeys as well as an array of other exhibited animals.  Also on exhibit was an "Ethnological Museum" featuring sculpture, masks, and hunting implements from around of the world.  

The arena was 200 feet square and was designed to accommodate 5,000 spectators at a time.  In addition to the large arena, the structure featured indoor beer gardens and cafes featuring German wines and food.  It was two stories tall and was constructed of iron.  Like most of the fair buildings it was covered in staff, which gave it its gleaming white appearance.  The building was a Classical Revival structure that featured a symmetrical facade when viewed from the center of the Midway.  A central pediment supported by paired columns marked the entry.  Below the pediment, was an open cage that had a constant open exhibit of live lions.  The facade of the arena was was two-stories tall with broad corner turrets capped with large domes.  Like most of the other exposition structures, the Zoological Arena was intended to be temporary and was demolished after the fair.        

West Virginia State Building at the World's Columbian Exposition

In about 1888, influenced by the Classical Revival sweeping across America, Joseph Silsbee began designing shingle-clad Dutch Colonial homes for clients along the shores of Lake Michigan.  By 1891, he had expanded his classical vocabulary to include Greek, Roman and Georgian influences and was designing masonry structures for clients as well.  Classical Revival architecture became widely fashionable in Chicago and was the style of choice for structures of the World's Columbian Exposition, a world's fair held in that city in 1893.

Joseph Silsbee designed several structures for the fair.  One of these was the West Virginia State Building.  Though the style did not dominate his work, he continued to design Classical Revival buildings until the end of his career.  Very few of these designs share the rigid symmetry and formality of the West Virginia Building.

Image of the proposed design published in the "Inland Architect".

The structure was designed to resemble the architecture of colonial Virginia and West Virginia.  The building functioned as a social spot for West Virginians and other visitors to the fair.  To this end, the ground floor contained a gracious Stair Hall, a Gentleman's Parlor and a Ladies Parlor.  The second floor was a single large Assembly Hall.  Wide piazzas extend on the front and sides of the building, creating additional exterior gathering and lounging areas.

The structure, like most of the state buildings, was designed with the intent that after the fair it would be sold and moved to another property for use as a residence.  It appears that it was not sold and was demolished after the fair.