This photo of 461 Maple Avenue in Winnetka was taken on May 25, 1940, by Marsh McLennan for insurance purposes. Photo provided by Winifred Hayes
WINNETKA – The Landmark Preservation Commission on Jan. 5 somberly approved a demolition permit for one of the oldest homes in Winnetka to make way for new construction. Known as the Thomas Bassett House, the home was built in 1861 and is located at 461 Maple Avenue. Bassett is considered one of the founders of Winnetka.
In early December an application for a demolition permit was submitted to the Preservation Commission by developer Sean Freeman of Twenty 9, Inc., who is building a house for the property’s owners. At that time the commissioners requested that a Historical and Architectural Impact Study (HAIS) be completed.
When a home in Winnetka of historical or architectural significance is slated for demolition, Winnetka’s preservation ordinance provides that demolition can be delayed until a HAIS is completed, Louise Holland, chair of the Preservation Commission explained to Daily North Shore. The HAIS report is prepared by an architectural historian and documents the house with pictures, measurements and other historic details, and it is kept on file as a historical record of the house.
In this case, the HAIS was prepared by Jean L. Guarino, Ph.D., an architectural historian from Oak Park. In the report Guarino explained that while the house holds no architectural significance due to the many changes that were made to it over the years, it does have local historical significance.
“The house at 461 Maple Avenue has local significance for its association with Thomas Bassett who was one of the ‘Founding Fathers’ of Winnetka as he served on its original Board of Trustees upon the incorporation of the village in 1869,” Guarino wrote.
The granddaughter of a previous owner of the house attended the meeting. “Every time you lose an historic house you lose a part of Winnetka’s historic character,” Winifred Hayes said to the Landmark Preservation Commission. Hayes’ grandparents purchased the Bassett House in 1926 and raised three children there, eventually selling the home in 1956. Hayes lived in the house until she was four years old, after which she was raised in another house in Winnetka. She now lives in Lake Forest.
The preservation commissioners’ hands were tied when it came to protecting the house from being torn down.
Winnetka and Kenilworth are two communities with the weakest landmark preservation laws on the North Shore, Lisa Dichiera, director of advocacy at Landmarks Illinois, told Daily North Shore. Kenilworth has no landmark preservation ordinance, she said, adding that “in Winnetka we have an ordinance but there are no teeth.”
In addition to the HAIS requirement, Winnetka’s preservation ordinance permits the commissioners to delay demolition by two months if it’s possible someone may step in to save the house. But Dichiera said the time frame should be at least six months, which allows more time for a potential deal to be worked out. Dichiera also noted that while homes in Winnetka may receive local landmark status, that designation will not protect a home from demolition under the ordinance. Dichiera said that while the Preservation Commission does educational outreach and the members are concerned citizens, they have “no tool to actually protect those resources.”
Indeed, Hayes expressed her disappointment in Winnetka’s preservation ordinance. “I wish I could get the citizens of Winnetka to get a stronger ordinance like the one we have in Lake Forest,” she told the Preservation Commission.
Instead, Winnetka residents will need to accept that another piece of the village’s history is going to be lost. “I just think it is a very sad day in Winnetka that this house is coming down,” Hayes said.
1950 photo of the front doorway of 461 Maple; image provided by Winifred Hayes