Judah, Noble, Estate

Built between 1925 and 1928 on forty acres west of Green Bay Road in Lake Forest, Illinois, this country estate was designed by New York architect Philip Lippincott Goodwin for Noble Brandon Judah and his wife. The nominated portions include the main house, a gatehouse, a stair structure, a gazebo-like building, formal sunken gardens, a walled forecourt, and a separate pool area flanked by two poolhouses. The house is wood frame clad in warm yellow rough-faced limestone and patterned red brick with half-timbering, under steeply pitched flared hip and mansard tile roofs. Rooms, about 29 in all, surround an enclosed courtyard with fountains, and many interiors use imported French paneling and parquet. The outbuildings share the same materials and roof forms. Later subdivision removed parts of the original property, and the residence garage, orangerie and walled garden were left out. What remains retains its original relationships between buildings, walls and gardens, and is compared favorably with other French-style Lake Forest estates.