Upper Bluff local District

Map | Site Description | Architectural Overview | Statement of Significance
Development of the Upper Bluff Local Historic District | Legal Description

Architectural Overview
The greatest period of growth for the Upper Bluff Local Historic District occurred during the period from 1880 to 1900. This timeframe was dominated by the Queen Anne style, started by the English architect Richard Norman Shaw. The style was influenced by architecture of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Early examples stressed the pattern brick and half timbering of the English precedents. The spindle-work and free classical interpretations of the style are indigenous to America. It is these later versions that re exemplified in the Upper Bluff District. A typical example of the Queen Anne house is that of Alphonso Wethereil.

602 Western Avenue:The Alphonso Wethereil is a 2 ½ story wood clapboard Queen Ann style structure, built in 1896 on a Joliet limestone foundation. The structure is distinguished by an open wrap porch and corner tower. The tower features 3 projecting dormers with multi-light windows. The house is topped with an end-gable roof in-filled with cut shingles and side by side star pattern fixed-pane windows. The original coach house, destroyed in the April 2004 tornado was rebuilt to closely match the original design.

Five additional Queen Anne style houses are described in Section 7. The houses are located at 605 Western (1894), 606 Western (1901), 607 Western(1906), 609 Western(1894) and 625 Western (1894).

607 Western Avenue: The Hasbrouch Saler House is a 2 ½ story, stucco, Queen Anne/Prairie style structure built in 1906 on a Joliet limestone foundation. The main façade is dominated by a large wrap porch supported on paired columns. The second level has 2 sets of Palladian motifs. The upper sashes and fan transoms of these windows contain elaborate leaded glass detailing. The porch terminates at the west end in a porte cochere.

609 Western Avenue: The J. C. Smith House is a 2 ½ story brick and stucco, Dutch Colonial/Queen Anne style structure built in 1894 with a limestone foundation. Noted Joliet architect Herbert Cowell designed the structure. The front facade is dominated by a large wrap porch supported on brick piers.  A single door entry is located on the west end of the front façade.  A two story tower dominates the southeast corner of the structure.  The second level has a pair of double hung sash windows with a multi-pane motif in the upper sash.  The structure is topped by a Gambrel roof with a front gable. The brick and stucco exterior surfaces are additions that were made to the structure in the 1920’s.  A small two story stucco Colonial style carriage house is located at the rear of the site.

623 Western Avenue:The J.A. Kinsella House is a 2 1/2 story, Queen Ann style, wood clapboard structure built on a Joliet limestone foundation in 1896. The structure is dominated by an open, wrap front porch and fish scale with cut shingle detail on the building corners and set in to the end gables. The house is distinguished by a right of center front door and projecting, trapezoidal bay located on the second story level.

The Neoclassical Revival style was popularized by the Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition held in 1893. The Exposition had a classical theme which resulted in white colonnaded buildings around a central courtyard. The dazzling white city inspired numerous commercial, public and residential buildings. Several examples of this style exist in the Upper Bluff District.

600 Western Avenue: The J. P. Stevens houseis a 2-1/2 story frame structure, built in 1897, exhibiting the Neo-Classical Revival Style. The structure is dominated by a 2 story semi-circular bay on the east end, topped by a steeply-pitched end gable dormer with an inset Palladian window.

611 Western Avenue: The Frederick Arentz House is a 2 ½ story, stucco, NeoClassical style structure built on a Joliet limestone foundation in 1904. The structure is dominated by a 2-story, portico with pediment, supported on 4 large Ionic columns. Built by Joliet architect Herbert Cowell, the house retains its single door entry with fan light in pediment and side lights. The entire front porch including the foundation was totally rebuilt following the April 2004 tornado.

The Colonial Revival movement started in the last 1860’s, shortly after the nation’s centennial celebration in Philadelphia. The creation of a new awareness of our colonial heritage prompted interest in the built environment of the period. These sentiments first were evidenced in the free classic interpretation by the end of the 19 th century. Advances in the printing industry led to the wide dissemination of books and periodical that contained accurate measured drawings of original Colonial structures. This created a better understanding and interpretations of the historic precedents on which the revival was based. The Colonial Revival style dominated residential architecture throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Three examples of the Colonial Revival style are described in Section 7: 606 Western (1901) 608 Western (1914) and 613 Western (1918).

606 Western Avenue:The Walter B. Stewart House is an imposing, 2 ½ story, red brick, Colonial Revival/Queen Anne style structure built in 1901 on a Joliet limestone foundation. The structure exhibits Neo Classical influence in the porch columns, bulls-eye windows and elaborate Palladian windows with carved stonework. The 14-room house was built by Dr. Stewart, a prominent physician and surgeon for St. Joseph Hospital and the E, J & E Railroad.

608 Western Avenue: The Walter Pitcher House is an excellent example of the Colonial Revival style constructed for prominent local businessman Walter Pitcher.

The 2½ story brick structure has an end-gable roof with central chimneys rising up each end.  The structure was built in 1914 and has a multi-color slate roof and a small Classical porch supported on Ionic columns.

613 Western Avenue:The Alfred W. Madsen House is a 2 ½ story Colonial Revival style structure built in 1918 on a brick foundation.  The structure is dominated by a small open porch and a simple classic roof with Ionic columns set into a symmetrical façade. The house and the matching garage have a steep end-gabled roof.

The Craftsman style is based on Arts and Crafts movement and utilizes open woodwork and half-timbering effects, as well as a lower pitched roof and open trellises which are an outgrowth of the Spanish or mission style. Due to the open beam work, simple proportions and decorative elements, the Craftsman style became extremely popular with contractors and people building their own houses. In the Upper Bluff local district, the Craftsman style is seen in the larger houses in the form of porch additions and roof alterations. One example of the stylistic mix is the Henry Sawyer home at 610 Western (1920).

610 Western Avenue:The Henry J. Sawyer House is a 2½ story brick Colonial Revival style structure built in 1910.  The structure has an end gable slate roof with 2 projecting dormers and a small Arts and Crafts porch supported on Doric columns. 

The Prairie style is one of the indigenous styles of architecture. Originated in Chicago by Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan, it had a major impact on domestic architecture in the midwest between 1900 ad 1920. The style as started by Frank Lloyd Wright utilized symmetrical rectangular forms. Later versions were predominately hipped roof asymmetrical plans. Common examples of the Prairie style found in the district are located at 612 Western (1908) and 623 Western (1922).

612 Western Avenue:The Edward C. Barrett House is a 2 story, stucco, Prairie style structure designed by Joliet architect C.W. Webster in 1910. The house is distinguished by a massive, open, 2 story Arts and Crafts front porch with stucco archway resting on broad, rectangular columns. The residence is topped with a multi-colored, Spanish clay tile hip roof with broad overhangs typical of the Prairie style. A matching, stucco, single-car garage with multi-colored tile hip roof is located at the rear of the property.

623 Western Avenue: The Joseph G. Heintz House is a 2-story brick, Prairie/Georgian Revival style structure built in 1922 on a brick foundation. The structure has an original, single entry door with two fixed transoms and sidelights and green glazed tile hip roof. The entry is framed by a small, open, Prairie brick porch likewise topped with a matching tile hip roof. A porte-cochere extends to the west. Main floor windows are triple, double-hung sash windows and transoms. All windows have Bedford stone lentils and sills. The upper sashes on all windows have Arts and Crafts detailing. There is a matching brick garage with a tile hip roof at the rear of the house.

601 Western Avenue: The C.W. Talcott house is a 2 ½ story stucco Arts & Crafts/Queen Ann style structure, built in 1887 on a Joliet limestone foundation.

This structure is distinguished by a corbelled and bracketed cornice on the second floor level topped by a gable end roof with distinctive triple, double hung sash set in the gable.

604 Western Avenue: The Enisha Meers House is a 2 ½-story, wood clapboard, Queen Anne style structure built in 1898 on a Joliet limestone foundation. The structure is distinguished by a full width, Arts and Crafts porch with two large brick piers supporting the slate, hip roof. An elaborate, beveled glass window is located right of the front door. A multi-color stained-glass window is located on the west façade, providing illumination for the front stairwell.

614 Western Avenue: The LaVerne L. White House is a 2 ½ story, wood clapboard, NeoClassical /American Foursquare style structure, exhibiting Prairie influences, built in 1910 on a Joliet limestone foundation. The house is distinguished by a 1 story, open, full width front porch, supported on Ionic columns set in groups of 2 or 3. A single, ¾ oval, original front door is located on the west side of the front façade. An elaborate, square, beveled glass window is located west of the front door. The structure is topped with a hip roof with a Prairie profile, accentuated by a central gable dormer with Palladium window. An original garage is located at the rear of the structure. Mr. White was the proprietor of a pool hall and tobacco shop on Jefferson Street . Subsequent owners of the home included Theodore Flint, owner of Flint Dairy and Joliet City Councilman; and Henry Trackman, owner of Trackman Auto Supply and later, general manager of the Rialto Square buildings.

The La Verne L. White house is a 2 ½ story Neo-Classical American Foursquare exhibiting Prairie influences, built in 1910 on a Joliet limestone foundation. Mr. White was the proprietor of a pool hall and tobacco shop on Jefferson Street . Subsequent owners of the home included Theodore Flint, owner of Flint Dairy and Joliet City Councilman; and Henry Trackman, owner of Trackman Auto Supply and later, general manager of the Rialto Square buildings.

615 Western Avenue: The J.F Nachbour House is a 2 ½ story brick Prairie/Foursquare style structure built in 1910 on a brick foundation. The structure is distinguished by a full-length, brick Arts and Crafts, screened-in porch with a west-of-center entry. The front façade has a single door entry flanked by multi-paned sidelights. The front façade has two evenly-placed, fixed pane windows with Arts and Crafts pattern transoms on the main level. A Bedford stone string course is located between the floors. The second level has two evenly-paced pairs of double hung sash with Arts and Crafts detailing in the upper sash. The house is topped with a hip roof with central hip dormer.

616 Western Avenue:  The Richard J. Burrill House is a 2 story brick, Y-shaped

617 Western Avenue: The J.W. Campbell house is a 2 ½ story, stucco, Colonial Revival style structure built in 1910. The main façade is accentuated by a single front door flanked by eighteen-light side lights and topped with a large, multi-light fan transom. The house has an end-gable roof and evenly-placed, eight-over one double hung sash windows on the first and second story levels. A small, second story, projecting trapezoidal bay with three, twelve-light casement windows overlooks the front entry.

619 Western Avenue: The Phillip LeSage House is a 2 ½ story, Prairie/4 Square style structure built in 1910 on a brick foundation. The house has a full length, brick, screened-in front porch accentuated by a single central door with side lights, flanked by large double hung sash windows with Arts and Crafts detailing. The house is topped with a hip roof with a central gable dormer with Palladian window in the dormer.

621 Western Avenue: The H.I. King House is a 2 1/2story brick, Colonial Revival style structure with QueenAnne massing, built in 1906 on a Joliet limestone foundation.
The main facade features a 2-story, protruding trapezoidal bay with central,
fixed windows with leaded transoms. The bay is topped with an end-gable decorated with an elliptical shaped star pattern window with key stone decoration a multi-paned attic window. The house has a single, left-of-center entry door and a small, open, Classical front porch.

700 Western Avenue: The J.W. Fitzgibbons House is a 2 ½ story, wood clapboard, American Foursquare style structure with Classical Revival detailing, built in 1905 on a Joliet limestone foundation. The front façade is dominated by a full width, Classical open front porch supported on paired half-height Ionic columns resting on a limestone wall. The house has a flared hip roof with 3’ wide eaves accented by decorative scroll corbels. An original carriage house is located at the rear of the property.

701 Western Ave. The home is 2 ½ story stucco American Foursquare style structure exhibiting Prairie influences, built in 1910. The main entrance in centered on a full length porch, supported on rectangular Prairie style columns. The house has a hipped roof with 3 dormers.

703 Western Ave. The structure is a 2 story brick, Georgian Revival style house built in 1906. The house is distinguished by a small entry porch supported on four, small rectangular columns, topped with a copper roof. The front facade is in filled with patterned brick. A large trapezoidal bay, located east of the front. A matching garage is located at the rear of the property.

704 Western Ave. The structure is a brick, Georgian Revival style house built in 1918.  The home is distinguished by a center door flanked by side lights and protected by a small, flat-roofed porch with rectangular, fluted columns and decorative railing overhead. The house has a hip roof with no eaves and small, front-facing eyebrow dormer. A matching 2 car garage is located at the rear of the property.

707 Western Ave. The Structure is a 2 ½ story, red brick, American Four Square  built in 1901 on a Joliet limestone foundation. The house is distinguished by a 1 story, full length enclosed porch with a right-of-center entrance and a hip roof with front-facing dormer.

708 Western Ave. The structure is a wood clapboard and cut shingle 2 ½ story, Queen Anne style house built on a Joliet limestone foundation in 1887-1888.  The house, built for Joliet jeweler Joseph Keip, is distinguished by 2 front towers and a full length, 1 story, open front porch.  The main tower on the northwest corner rises from the second level and is topped with a bell dome and elaborate  sheet metal finial.  The second smaller tower has a sheet metal dome and finial.  The brick chimney on the east façade has an unusual inset stained glass window. 

712 Western Avenue: The William W. Wood House is a 2 ½ story, wood clapboard, Queen Anne/Stick style structure built in 1896 on a Joliet limestone foundation. The clapboard siding is articulated with decorative wood struts which give the house the Stick style effect. The main façade is dominated by a massive wrap porch, in-filled with glass windows. The porch is circa 1924 and replaces an earlier spindled wrap porch which had an elaborate, curved corner. The house is topped with a steeply-pitched, hip roof with a low, eyebrow window set in the roof. A 2 ½ story tower frames the northwest corner of the house.

714 Western Ave. The structure is a 2 ½ story brick, American Foursquare style house built in 1908-09.  The house has a prominent hip roof with oversized, projecting dormers and a large, open front porch with a gable end roof over the front entry. The upper sash windows in the front façade have a diamond shape pattern. The garage is built into the rear of the home. 

715 Western Ave. The structure is a 2 ½ story, brick, Prairie style home built in 1912 on a Joliet limestone foundation.   The house is dominated by a large porch supported on brick piers with decorative brick inlays.  The house is topped by a green glazed tile roof with a central, Palladian front gable dormer.  A matching 1 car garage is at the rear of the property.

716 Western Avenue:  The Thomas Hennebry Home is a 2½ story Queen Anne Shingle style structure built in 1894.  The asymmetrically massed structure is dominated by 2 whimsical towers completely covered in cut cedar shingles and topped with metal finials.  The house is topped with a steeply pitched hip roof with a central chimney. Mr. Hennebry was a well known Joliet businessman who owned a dry goods store and an entire business block at the northeast corner of Cass and Chicago Streets in downtown Joliet.

718 Western Ave. The structure is a 2 ½ story brick, American Foursquare style home built in 1921.  The house is distinguished  by an oversized front dormer and double dormers on the east and west facades.  The front entry projects out under a front gable roof. The front door is flanked by sidelights on either side, with a semi circular transom overhead.

719 Western Ave. The structure is a 3 story stone and stucco, French Eclectic style home built in 1893. The house is dominated by a 3 story, rectangular tower with hip roof capped with decorative metal spire to match the hip roof on the main body of the house is accentuated by an attached stone and stucco porte cochere. A matching carriage house is located at the rear of the property.

Architects Contributing to the District

Herbert Cowell arrived as an architect in Joliet around the early 1890’s. It is not known where Cowell came from, but as most new architects did, Cowell brought a new style of architecture to Joliet. Herbert Cowell is known to be the first architect in Joliet to have utilized the Dutch Colonial style house3 His first work in the Upper Bluff District is the J. C. Smith house at 609 Western which is a unique mix of the Dutch Colonial and Queen styles, constructed in 1894. Between the years of 1900 and 1904, Herbert Cowell resided in Huntsville, Alabama, where during that time he was responsible for a great amount of construction in that area. However, by 1905 Cowell was back in Joliet. The Arentz house (ca 1905) at 611 Western is an example of the NeoClassical purity that Cowell developed during his years in Alabama. The Smith House and the Arentz house, side by side make an interesting comparison of two of Cowell periods of work. Cowell practiced in Joliet well into the twentieth century.