Discover 8 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Glencoe (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Chicago Botanic Garden, Edmund D. Brigham House, and Jesse L. Strauss Estate. Also, be sure to include Mr. James Kent Calhoun House in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Glencoe (Illinois).
Table of Contents
Chicago Botanic Garden
Extensive gardens and nature preserves. The Chicago Botanic Garden is a 385-acre living plant museum situated on nine islands in the Cook County Forest Preserves. It features 27 display gardens in four natural habitats: McDonald Woods, Dixon Prairie, Skokie River Corridor, and Lakes and Shores. The garden is open every day of the year. An admission fee has been approved to start in 2022, not to exceed $35.
The Chicago Botanic Garden is owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, and managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society. It opened to the public in 1972, and is home to the Joseph Regenstein Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, offering a number of classes and certificate programs.
The Chicago Botanic Garden is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a member of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA).[1]
Address: 1000 Lake Cook Rd, 60022 Glencoe (North Shore)
Edmund D. Brigham House
The Edmund D. Brigham House is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright at 790 Sheridan Road in Glencoe, Illinois. Wright designed the house circa 1908 for Edmund D. Brigham, a freight agent for the Chicago & North Western Railway, and it was completed the following year. Wright's design is a variation of the one in his article "A Fireproof House for $5000", a concrete home design which he published in the Ladies' Home Journal in 1907. While the Brigham House was the only one of Wright's Fireproof House for $5000 designs actually built with concrete, he would continue to work and experiment with the material throughout his career. The house's Prairie School plan has a central two-story section with one-story wings on either side, several rows of casement windows, and large piers at the corners of the central section and the middle of each wing.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 2016.[2]
Jesse L. Strauss Estate
Building. The Jesse L. Strauss Estate is a historic house at 110 Maple Hill Road in Glencoe, Illinois. The house was built in 1921 for businessman Jesse Strauss and his wife Blanche. David Adler, a prominent Chicago architect known for building large country houses for wealthy clients, designed the house. Like many of his works, Adler's design for the Strauss Estate was inspired by French architecture, and the estate was meant to resemble a French farmhouse. The house consists of a main wing and a service wing which form an "L" shape, with an octagonal tower at the corner between them. Its design also includes a projection at the main entrance, a stucco exterior with wood trim, and a steep roof punctuated by dormers.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 2014.[3]
Mr. James Kent Calhoun House
The Mr. James Kent Calhoun House is a historic house at 740 Greenwood Avenue in Glencoe, Illinois. The house was built in 1895 for James Kent Calhoun and his family. Calhoun held several positions in Glencoe government, including Village President and Village Trustee, and wrote one of the first chronicles of Glencoe's early history and politics. The house has a Queen Anne style design with a spindlework front porch, bracketed projecting bays, and a cross-gable roof. The Calhoun family has owned the house for all but fifteen of the years since its construction; it was sold after Calhoun's second wife Blanche died in 1975, but his grandson R. Scott Javore bought the house back in 1990.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 7, 2010.[4]
Glencoe Park District
Park, Relax in park
Address: 999 Green Bay Rd, Glencoe (North Shore)
Chicago Botanic Garden
Park, Relax in park
Address: 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe (North Shore)
William A. Glasner House
Home in Glencoe, Illinois. The William A. Glasner House, is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Prairie School home that was constructed in Glencoe, Illinois, United States, in 1905. Glasner led his sister, Emma Pettit, to Wright to design the Pettit Memorial Chapel as a memorial to her deceased husband, Dr. William H. Pettit.
The house was threatened with demolition by a real estate developer, but the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy helped locate a conservation-minded buyer who ultimately purchased the house. It is a 4,300 square feet, four-bedroom, three-bathroom house and sits on a one-acre lot. Jack Reed bought the house in 2003 for $1.5 million and spent $2.5 million restoring it.[5]
Ravine Bluffs Development
The Ravine Bluffs Development was commissioned in 1915 by Frank Lloyd Wright's attorney, Sherman Booth Jr. It is located in Glencoe, Illinois. Six houses, three poured concrete sculptures, and one bridge were built. Five of the houses were for rent when built. All 5 rental houses share the same basic floor plan as "A Fireproof House for $5000".
Client's home:
- Sherman Booth House
Rentals:
- Charles R. Perry House
- Hollis R. Root House
- William F. Kier House
- Lute F. and Daniel Kissam House
- William F. Ross House - differs in design from the other 4 rentals, has fireplace to the side - was purchased by architect John Eifler and was restored from 2011-2014.