{"nrhp_refnum":"84000343","name":"Becker, A. G., Property","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"405 Sheridan Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Highland Park","county":"Lake County","state":"IL","lat":42.16072720200006,"lon":-87.76872272100717,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-11-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seventeen-acre lakefront estate at 405 Sheridan Road in Highland Park, Illinois, with a red brick Tudor Revival house by Howard Van Doren Shaw and a landscape designed by Jens Jensen, begun around 1921.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the property is a rare, largely intact example of Jens Jensen's Prairie Style landscape design, with its carved meadow as the most significant feature. It also retains his curving paths, layered rockwork, native plantings and a ravine. It is described as one of few large private estates left with an untouched meadow, and Jensen himself wrote about the project.","narrative":"Seventeen acres of Lake Michigan shoreline in Highland Park hold a red brick Tudor Revival house designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw and a landscape laid out by Jens Jensen for banker A. G. Becker, beginning around 1921. A long curving drive crosses a stone bridge and passes through native woods before opening onto a broad meadow that tapers westward, carved from the forest to face the sunsets. A deep ravine lined with layered rockwork lies to the south, and curved stone paths lead to a walled flower garden, a pergola and a trail down the bluff to the beach. The property is valued as a surviving example of Jensen's Prairie Style, which used native plants and horizontal lines inspired by the Midwest landscape. Although the house was altered in 1955 and 1982, the pond and council ring have disappeared, and some plantings have changed, the meadow and much of the original rockwork and planting remain.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Landscape: Jens Jensen; House: Howard Van Doren Shaw","architectural_style":"Landscape: Prairie Style; House: Tudor Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Remains in residential use; the house was remodeled in 1955 and renovated in 1982, and the current owners are restoring plantings. Some Jensen features, including the pond, council ring and pool, are gone.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.651329-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/78/8912/28891278/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84000343.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000343/729765db08-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000343/729765db08-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Boscophotos","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_Becker_House.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Boscophotos</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:Image_Becker_House.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891278","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._G._Becker_Property","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q85738800"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/lake-county/becker-a-g-property-84000343/"}