{"nrhp_refnum":"03001200","name":"Steward, Lewis, House","other_names":["The Homestead"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"611 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Plano","county":"Kendall County","state":"IL","lat":41.66494116800004,"lon":-88.52973639071114,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-11-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Exploration/Settlement","Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half story wood frame Italianate house known as The Homestead, built in 1854 by Lewis Steward at 611 East Main Street in Plano, Kendall County, Illinois, on a two-acre property.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the oldest surviving residential buildings in Plano and an exceptional example of early Italianate architecture. Its symmetrical box shape, bracketed cornices, low-pitched roof and wide eaves reflect the Tuscan Villa type. Wings and an ell added between about 1860 and 1875 are documented in an 1859 map drawing and later photographs.","narrative":"Built in 1854 by Lewis Steward, The Homestead is a one-and-one-half story wood frame house at 611 East Main Street in Plano, Illinois. It sits on a raised stone garden-level basement within a two-acre property marked by vertical stone blocks at the corners and sidewalk junctions. The house is a notable early example of Italianate design, with a symmetrical front, a projecting center entry bay, paired decorative console brackets, modillions, tall shouldered window frames and a low-pitched roof with wide eaves. Flush wood boards were used to imitate masonry. A rear ell was added around 1860-1864, and east and west wings followed around 1875, with the east wing later holding a library and conservatory-style porch. An 1859 county map drawing and late 1870s photographs record earlier appearances. The house is described as one of the oldest surviving residential buildings in Plano, and its Tuscan Villa form is central to its architectural importance.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Lewis Steward (builder)","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Current function is listed as work in progress; the house has been altered over time, including removal of the east porch and garden entry in 1958.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.356199-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/8932/28893262/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/03001200.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03001200/e15233daac-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03001200/e15233daac-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Lester1950","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lewis_Stewart_House_Plano_Illinois.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lester1950</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lewis_Stewart_House_Plano_Illinois.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893262","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Steward_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16933111"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kendall-county/steward-lewis-house-03001200/"}