Jensen, Jens, Summer House and Studio
The National Park Service has not published a boundary polygon for this district; the map shows the listed properties inside it and the district's reference point.
Why it's listed
This Highland Park property in the Ravinia area of Lake County, Illinois, includes a one-story, L-shaped Shingle Style summer house with intersecting gables and a separate studio building on a wooded ravine site. Landscape architect Jens Jensen bought the land around 1908 and called it "The Clearing." The house was probably built between 1908 and 1918, and he lived in Chicago and spent summers here. After 1920 he lived in Wilmette, and the studio became his working office until he retired to Wisconsin in 1934. The property matters because Jensen developed and expressed his design ideas here. He built his first council ring on the slope of a ravine, a circular stone seating form that became his artistic signature. The surviving clearing, stonework, rocky ledge, bird feeding station and some plantings still show his approach. The nominated area excludes a 1950s ranch house and a vacant lot lacking significant landscape features.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Styles | Shingle Style (with Tudor overtones) |
|---|---|
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Boundary source | not published |
| Full listing page | Jensen, Jens, Summer House and Studio (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.