Dewey House
Also known as: Building 29 North Chicago VA Medical Center
Why it's listed
Dewey House is a two-story English Georgian mansion on a knoll overlooking the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in North Chicago, Illinois. Architect David Adler designed it, and Charles S. Dewey built it in 1914. It is shaped like a wide "U" and is built of dark red Flemish bond brick with white stone trim, a slate hip roof, brick quoins and a four-column two-story colonnade on the west front. Originally it held a grand salon, library, ballroom space and a courtyard with a fountain. In 1918 the federal government took the property to enlarge the naval training center, and in 1924 it passed to the Veterans Bureau. The house was then converted into ten apartments for Public Health Service officers, with its large rooms divided and porches enclosed. It is listed for its link to Adler, a noted residential architect, and to Dewey, a banker who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. The exterior remains largely intact.
Significance in brief: The nomination bases significance on the house's association with architect David Adler and with Charles S. Dewey, a banker and public servant who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Andrew Mellon. It was earlier found eligible under criterion A. The exterior retains its integrity despite major interior alterations.
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 85001008, listed May 8, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Veterans Administration Medical Center, North Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | Lake County |
| Listed | May 8, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85001008 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1914, 1924 |
| Architect / builder | David Adler (architect); built by Charles S. Dewey |
| Architectural style | English Georgian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied as ten staff apartments; exterior integrity retained, interior heavily altered, condition rated fair. |
| Acreage | 0.8 |
| Coordinates | 42.30372, -87.85946 (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 85001008.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16991749
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.