1910 - 1920

The pace of construction slowed in Highland Park after 1910, and nearly halted after the United States entered the Great War in 1917. Much of the easily-accessible land near the streetcar lines had already been filled, and the resulting scarcity of building lots, combined with continuing demand for houses in the district, began to drive the price of land beyond the means of small speculative builders. Most of the buildings constructed in this decade filled in the empty lots left over from the previous years. Small concentrations of these houses can be found in the 1300 block of Sheridan, the 6300 block of Jackson (photograph #50), and the 5600 block of Callowhill (photograph #51). In addition, the first houses were built along the easterly blocks of Jackson Street and Stanton Avenue. Increasing numbers of double houses and flats were constructed (though rowhouses remained rare), marking a shift from mostly single-family, detached houses. However, this is not to say that large single-family houses were no longer built; examples include the houses at 1035 (photograph #52) and 1232 N. Highland (1911, photograph #53). The Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles continued their design dominance, but there was also an infusion of new architectural influences and a willingness to experiment with combinations of stylistic elements. There was an increasing interest in the accurate use of historical precedents in design, which can be seen in the careful use of elements from the Adam (or Federal) style variant of early American architecture in the house at 1035 N. Highland Avenue. A large example of the Tudor Revival style, rendered in brick, was the Dilworth School, built in 1914 at Stanton Avenue and Heberton Street (already listed in the National Register of Historic Places). The primary new influence of the time was the Craftsman style, from California, which was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and by the work of the Greene brothers in Pasadena. This style did not rely on historical models or details, but instead emphasized simplicity, a sense of shelter, the exposure of the structure, and the use of “natural” materials such as shingles and stone. Characteristic details included low-pitched gabled roofs, extending over the front porch; wide, unenclosed eaves and roof overhangs, with the ends of the roof rafters exposed; knee braces; and tapering square porch columns. The best individual example of this style in the district is the Frank Hoffman house at 6320 Jackson Street (photograph #14). However, the Craftsman style usually manifested itself in the Highland Park district as an ornamental influence on buildings of other styles. For instance, 1232 N. Highland is a large Tudor Revival style building of the symmetrical type, built with a Craftsman porch featuring large tapering square columns, a stone base, and exposed rafter ends. [Text adapted from Mike Eversmeyer's final nomination documents for the Highland Park Residential Historic Distict. Mike has given explicit permission for its inclusion on the Highland Park web site.]