{"nrhp_refnum":"76000717","name":"Ragdale","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1230 N. Green Bay Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lake Forest","county":"Lake County","state":"IL","lat":42.26236062600003,"lon":-87.85107812299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-06-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Ragdale is the country estate of Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, at 1230 North Green Bay Road in Lake Forest, Illinois. The stucco house was built in 1896-97 as a summer residence, on grounds that include gardens, woods, pasture and prairie.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Ragdale as a largely intact example of the country estates favored by Chicago's affluent class in the late nineteenth century. It stands out among Lake Forest estates because a distinguished architect designed it and the whole estate is well preserved. The form also credits the house's English-influenced stucco exterior and arts and crafts interior as an early design that may have influenced Frank Lloyd Wright and other midwestern architects.","narrative":"Ragdale is a Lake Forest, Illinois, estate designed by Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw and built in 1896-97 as a summer home for his family and parents. The three-story house has grey stucco walls, blue-green trim, a slate roof and two pointed gables. Inside, the entrance hall, dining room and living room have oak paneling, brick fireplaces and arts and crafts detailing. The grounds hold formal gardens, a dovecote Shaw built, a fountain, sculpture by Shaw and his daughter Sylvia, a log cabin moved from Indiana, about 16 acres of woods and pasture, and a small virgin prairie. The estate was listed because it remains a well-preserved example of a late nineteenth-century Chicago country estate by a distinguished architect. The nomination also notes Shaw's wider influence: he designed more than thirty Lake Forest mansions and the Market Square business district before 1925, shaping the community's cultural tone.","period_of_significance":"1896-7","architect_builder":"Howard Van Doren Shaw","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is listed as excellent with minor alterations; the property is occupied and used as a private residence. Later additions include an elevator, a staff apartment with a double garage, and a workshop.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.986795-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/8933/28893352/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76000717.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000717/19e9b733ef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000717/19e9b733ef-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Howard Van Doren Shaw architect, Henry Fuerman photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ragdale.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Howard Van Doren Shaw architect, Henry Fuerman photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ragdale.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893352","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragdale","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7282832"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/lake-county/ragdale-76000717/"}