{"nrhp_refnum":"80001380","name":"Willits, Ward Winfield, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1445 Sheridan Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Highland Park","county":"Lake County","state":"IL","lat":42.17887697200007,"lon":-87.78686386599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-11-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story Prairie Style residence at 1445 Sheridan Road in Highland Park, Lake County, Illinois, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Ward Willits. Construction began in September 1902 and was completed in May 1903.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the first great masterpiece among the Prairie Houses and the first Wright design in the northern Chicago suburbs. Its cruciform plan with symmetrical wings set a precedent for later Prairie Houses. It was published in the 1909 Wasmuth Collection and reportedly influenced Mies van der Rohe and other Bauhaus architects. It also contains 115 art glass windows designed by Wright.","narrative":"Built between September 1902 and May 1903 at 1445 Sheridan Road in Highland Park, Illinois, this house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Ward Willits, president of a brass and bronze foundry that made railroad supplies. It has a cruciform plan, wood frame construction with stucco and dark stained trim, layered hipped roofs, several porches and a central chimney core. Inside are 115 art glass windows made by Orlando Giannini and Fritz Hilgart, along with Wright-designed built-in furniture. The living room floor was an early use of radiant heating. Historians have called it the first great masterpiece among the Prairie Houses, and it was the first Wright design in the northern suburbs. It appeared in the 1909 Wasmuth Collection and influenced European architects. Later changes include a garage, new roofing, removed windows and a remodeled kitchen, and the original stable is now a separate residence outside the nominated property.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Frank Lloyd Wright (architect); art glass executed by Orlando Giannini and Fritz Hilgart","architectural_style":"Prairie Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and used as a private residence. Alterations include a three-car garage, asphalt shingles replacing cedar, removed windows and a remodeled kitchen. Overgrown landscaping hides the house.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.116666-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/8933/28893334/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/80001380.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001380/9f8c6e31fb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001380/9f8c6e31fb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":"User:JeremyA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Willits_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:JeremyA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Willits_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893334","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willits_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8022162"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/lake-county/willits-ward-winfield-house-80001380/"}