Childs, Robert A. and Mary, House - Hinsdale, IL - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

From Architectural Resources in the Town of Hinsdale Historic Certification Consultants, 2001

The Childs House is listed for its architectural significance. Robert was an attorney who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1883 through 1895. Both he and his wife were deeply involved in community work and made important contributions to improving community life. Robert was president of the Hinsdale School Board, founder and president of the Hinsdale Club, and founder of the Hinsdale Trust and Savings Bank. In addition to raising five sons, Mary was a founder and director of the Hinsdale Library Association, board member of Presbyterian Hospital in Hinsdale, and founder of the Hinsdale Women’s Club.

Adolph Froscher built the Robert A. Childs House. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and cited in the Illinois Historic Structures Survey, it is a textbook example of an elaborate and ornate Queen Anne style house with many significant features. Its massing is irregular, with a projecting front bay, cross gable roofs, and full height corner tower with conical roof. Wall surfaces display different types of wood siding and shingles. The wrap around porch has a spindle work frieze and railing and an eyebrow pediment over the front steps. There are leaded glass windows with decorative window moldings, bulls-eye block stringcourses, and ornament in the gable ends. The house was featured in Hinsdale the Beautiful.

Queen Anne style houses were built all over the country from 1880 until approximately 1910. The style was named and popularized by a group of 19th century English architects led by Richard Norman Shaw. Its name, however, is peculiarly inappropriate since the stylistic characteristics have little to do with the Queen Anne period or the formal Renaissance architecture that dominated during her reign (1702-1714). Roots for the style are found in styles prevalent during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods in England. It is characterized by asymmetry and irregularity in overall shape, facades, and roofs. The Queen Anne house often has gables, dormers, round or polygonal towers, and wings with full or wrap-around porches. A variety of materials and patterns are used to break up the surface of the walls. Shingles and clapboard are often combined, sometimes with brick masonry. The simpler examples, built after 1893 (reflecting the influence of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago), frequently have classical columns and square columns. These later examples are sometimes referred to as Free Classic Queen Anne style houses.

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Hinsdale is an example of the upper middle-class railroad suburb that developed across the country from 1850 through 1880. Chicago, with a network of eleven separate railroad lines that entered the city from 1847 through 1861, had more than 100 railroad suburbs surrounding the city by 1873. The railroad suburb has a distinctive landscape based on the picturesque English ideal of the country house set in a naturalistic, landscaped garden. Single-family homes were developed near rail stations to allow the wealthy to escape the ills of the city. Hinsdale is one of these railroad suburbs, founded by William Robbins in anticipation of the location of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad’s commuter line through the area in 1864.

The 1890s saw an era of extensive improvements in the village. Bonds were issued for a waterworks (1890), drainage system (1891), and electrical lines (1896). Streets were paved beginning in 1892 and cement sidewalks replaced the old wood plank walks in 1904. The Hinsdale Doings, a newspaper that continues publication to this day, began in 1894. Hinsdale came to be regarded as one of the most beautiful and desirable middle class suburbs. Its status was enhanced by the publication of an article entitled, “Hinsdale the Beautiful” in the November 1897, issue of Campbell’s Illustrated Journal. This journal focused on household affairs and interior decoration of the period.

Street address: 318 S. Garfield Ave. Hinsdale, IL USA 60521 County / Borough / Parish: Dupage County Year listed: 2000 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1875-1899 Historic function: Domestic Current function: Domestic Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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