Emery, Jr., William H., House
Why it's listed
Built in 1902 and 1903 on Arlington Avenue in Elmhurst, a western Chicago suburb, this brick and stucco house was designed by Walter Burley Griffin for his friend and classmate William H. Emery, Jr. It was a wedding gift from the groom's father. Griffin was then working in Frank Lloyd Wright's Oak Park studio, and this was his first independent house commission. The design uses a low concrete base, brick corner piers with hidden sleeping balconies, banded windows, wood trim and a high gable roof with extended ridges. Inside, rooms are arranged on interlocking levels around a large central chimney, with art glass and light oak trim throughout. Later changes included a 1914 garage and sunroom addition and a painted, then sandblasted, brick exterior. Restoration has since rebuilt the terrace, chimney, roof and brickwork. The house is recognized as an early work of a leading Prairie School architect and as a mature expression of that style.
Significance in brief: It was Walter Burley Griffin's first independent residential commission and marks the start of a career considered second only to Frank Lloyd Wright's in the Prairie School. The design shows a mature, complex Prairie style with a multi-level open plan around a central chimney, and it retains good integrity after careful restoration.
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) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 04000421, listed May 12, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 281 Arlington, Elmhurst |
|---|---|
| County | DuPage County |
| Listed | May 12, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04000421 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Walter Burley Griffin |
| Architectural style | Prairie School |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single-family dwelling; brickwork, roof, chimney and original terrace have been restored, and a 1914 garage and sunroom addition was removed. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.89422, -87.93845 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 04000421.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8010387
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.