{"nrhp_refnum":"96000513","name":"McGrath, John, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"403 W. Mason St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Polo","county":"Ogle County","state":"IL","lat":41.98573608500004,"lon":-89.59374077499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-05-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wood-frame Queen Anne house with attic and basement at 403 West Mason Street in Polo, Ogle County, Illinois, built in 1896 and designed by architect George W. McBride of Dixon for lumber dealer John McGrath.","why_significant":"The house is locally significant under Criterion C for architecture as a well-preserved example of a towered Queen Anne house with classical ornamentation. It combines a hipped roof with lower cross gables, a wraparound porch with classical columns, patterned-shingle gables and a three-story corner tower with curved windows. It keeps a high percentage of its original exterior and interior materials.","narrative":"Built in 1896 on the southwest corner of Mason Street and Barber Avenue in Polo, Illinois, this large Queen Anne house was designed by Dixon architect George W. McBride for John McGrath, a local lumber yard, lime kiln and farmland owner. The two-story wood-frame house has a hipped roof with lower cross gables, a wraparound porch with classical columns, and a three-story northeast corner tower with nine curved windows and a conical roof. Gables are filled with patterned shingles, and Palladian windows light the third story. Inside, quarter-sawn oak woodwork, pocket doors, classical fireplaces with beveled mirrors and an open newel staircase survive. McGrath recorded that the house, estimated at $5,500, cost $7,500 to build. A restoration from 1989 to 1991 repaired the tower windows and porch balusters using replicas of the originals. The house is locally significant as a well-preserved example of towered Queen Anne architecture with classical details. A converted carriage house, now a garage, stands behind it.","period_of_significance":"1896","architect_builder":"George W. McBride, architect (Dixon, Illinois); C. A. Stone, builder","architectural_style":"Queen Anne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in very good to excellent condition after a restoration carried out from 1989 to 1991; still used as a single-family dwelling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.728719-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/8937/28893797/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/96000513.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000513/a5e528c613-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000513/a5e528c613-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"Andy McMurray","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ogle_County_Polo_Il_McGrath_House1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Andy McMurray</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ogle_County_Polo_Il_McGrath_House1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893797","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McGrath_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6247840"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/ogle-county/mcgrath-john-house-96000513/"}