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Waukegan Landmarks

Charles T. Dickinson House

701 Grand Avenue
1866
Designated 17 October 2005
This house is an extraordinarily ornate example of the Second Empire style of architecture, easily identified by the steeply pitched mansard roof. Dickinson was an architect/builder, and his personal residence served as an example of his skill as a designer and builder, showing potential clients the level of artistry he was capable of achieving. The entryway features a pair of monumental carved wooden brackets in the shape of the letter K and heavily decorated arched double doors.

Judge Francis E. Clarke House

408 N. Sheridan Road
1875-1876
Designated 17 October 2005
Judge Clarke arrived in Waukegan in 1851 and served as a teacher and principal of the Waukegan Academy. The following year he was elected Lake County Superintendent of Schools. He formed a law partnership with James Frazen and in 1879 was elected County Judge . His family resided in the home until 1921 when it was sold to Wetzel & Peterson, funeral directors, and it continues as a funeral home today. The elaborate bracketed cornice and intricately detailed porch are trademark features of Porter Brothers, the contractors who built the home.

John McKey-Ashbel V. Smith House

410 Hickory Street
c. 1850
Designated 17 January 2006
This house began its life as a modest vernacular style farmhouse and was enlarged through the years. The paneled bay windows and wrap-around porch would have been added in the late 19th century. The coach house is a rare survivor of this type of structure and still retains its original hayloft and carriage doors. The house was built for John McKey, but by 1890 had been acquired by William Smith. His son Ashbel V. Smith became a prominent lawyer and served as Illinois State’s Attorney from 1920 to 1932.

Jack Benny House

518 Clayton Street
c. 1895
Designated 17 April 2006
Jack Benny, born Benjamin Kubelsky on February 14, 1894, was raised in Waukegan and never forgot his roots. His family lived in several apartments and houses during his childhood, and this house, rented by the family in 1909 and 1910 is the last surviving building in Waukegan in which he lived. The two-and-one-half story frame house was built for Peter Paulson, who rented the house to the Kubelsky family. It was while living her that young Benjamin received his first break into show business, obtaining a position playing the violin in the pit of the Barrison Theatre.

Joseph P. Arthur House

445 N. Genesee Street
1913
Designated 15 May 2006
This house is a rare example of the Prairie School style of architecture in Waukegan and was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Tallmadge & Watson, known for their residential and church commissions. Typical features of the style include the emphasis on the horizontal line, heavy overhanging eaves, corner piers, a broad chimney and shallow pitched roofs. Joseph P. Arthur and his brother Charles were co-founders of the Cyclone Fence Company, which operated along the lakefront and at its peak was the largest manufacturer of ornamental fencing and gates in the United States.

Shimer Historic District

Designated 15 May 2006
The five houses contained within this district form a remarkable assemblage of homes dating back to the earliest days of Waukegan’s history. All five were constructed in the Greek Revival style, the predominant style used by the first home builders in the area. During the 1980s and 1990s, the homes were among those purchased by Shimer College which had moved to Waukegan in 1979 and remained until moving again to Chicago in 2006.

John H. Swarthout House

414 N. Sheridan Road
1847
The Swarthout house is considered one of the best examples of the Greek Revival style in the state of Illinois and was extensively documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1934. The temple front structure with four Doric columns was referred to as a “miniature Parthenon” by John Drury, who featured it in his 1949 book Old Illinois Houses.

John M. Strong House

420 N. Sheridan Road
c. 1846
This home began its life as a modest Greek Revival structure. In the 1860s or 1870s, it was significantly enlarged and remodeled in the popular Italianate style. The large floor-to-ceiling windows with finely detailed surrounds and the brackets supporting the roof are typical of the style. An interesting fact is that the house includes four porches and eleven exterior doors.

Henry F. Porter House

426 N. Sheridan Road
c. 1845
The Porter house retains its elegant and simple Greek Revival lines including the classic pediment over the second story windows. The open porch was enclosed in the 1950s. Henry Porter first visited Waukegan in 1833 as a boy of ten, and returned to take up permanent residence ten years later, establishing a successful grocery store.

Welcome Jilson House

430 N. Sheridan Road
c. 1845
This house is similar to the Porter house to the south with its simple Greek Revival lines. A particularly fine detail of the house is the overhang above the main entrance, supported by a pair of elaborately carved brackets, probably added in the 1860s. Jilson moved to Waukegan in 1844 and his wife Cordelia was one of the founding members of the Baptist Church.

Robert A. Conolly House

438 N. Sheridan Road
c. 1845/enlarged 1871
The original portion of this house was a two-story brick Greek Revival home. In 1871, Conolly significantly increased the size of the structure, creating a fashionable Italian villa with prominent three-story central tower. Two grandsons who achieved distinction were Admiral Richard L. Conolly and State Representative John H. Conolly.

Dr. Moses Evans House

Exterior of 606 North Sheridan.606 N. Sheridan Road
1857
Designated 19 June 2006
The Evans house is designed in the Italianate style with tall arched windows and a shallow-pitched roof. Dr. Evans owned a medical practice in Waukegan and in 1862 was mustered into the Union Army as a surgeon, traveling extensively with General Grant until being wounded at the battle of Chattanooga. The current owner has extensively restored the property, including the deconversion of the building from four rental units back to a single-family home.