{"nrhp_refnum":"84001131","name":"Armour, Lester, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Sheridan Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lake Bluff","county":"Lake County","state":"IL","lat":42.29273711900004,"lon":-87.83462065299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-05-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large 1931 country estate house on a bluff above Lake Michigan at the north edge of Lake Bluff, Lake County, Illinois, designed by architect David Adler for Lester Armour. It now sits on about five acres of a formerly 73-acre estate.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the purest and largest of David Adler's country houses, with an eclectic mix of 18th-century American sources and Art Deco interiors. It is also among the largest estate houses near Lake Michigan in the Lake Bluff-Lake Forest area. It illustrates the country estate of an affluent third-generation member of a great industrial family.","narrative":"Built in 1931 on a bluff 73 feet above Lake Michigan, this brick mansion in Lake Bluff was designed by architect David Adler for Lester Armour, grandson of Chicago meat packer Philip D. Armour. A central block of two stories plus attic is joined by curved arcades to two dependencies, forming a forecourt reached by a long wooded drive. The plan draws on 18th-century Virginia plantation houses, while the exterior echoes the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis. Inside, Federal and Baroque details sit beside Art Deco rooms, including a mirrored bathroom and a moderne butler's pantry. Adler also built in practical touches such as concealed radiators and hinged cornices for picture lights. Armour accepted the plans without changes, so the house is considered one of the purest examples of Adler's work. The original 73-acre estate has been divided into parcels, but the house, its forecourt, dependencies and interiors remain largely intact, and the setting still conveys the character of a lakefront country estate.","period_of_significance":"1931","architect_builder":"David Adler","architectural_style":"Eclectic mixture of 18th Century American styles (Georgian, Federal, colonial), with Art Deco interior rooms","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition, unaltered, on its original site; the estate has been subdivided and the house stands on about five acres.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.686158-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/60/8933/28893360/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84001131.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001131/01049926f1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001131/01049926f1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lester_Armour_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08</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:Lester_Armour_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893360","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Armour_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17508507"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/lake-county/armour-lester-house-84001131/"}