Green Bay Road Historic District
Why it's listed
Green Bay Road in Lake Forest, Illinois, runs along a ridge west of the railroad, and the historic district built around it preserves a landscape of country houses and estates created between 1890 and 1945. Henry Ives Cobb was the first to build there in 1890, and Howard Van Doren Shaw soon followed. The Onwentsia Club, founded in the 1890s, became the social center of the area. The district covers about 2.25 miles by 1.75 miles and is almost entirely single-family residential, with large lots, long private drives, mature trees and outbuildings such as gate houses, stables and greenhouses. Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, French Eclectic and Arts and Crafts styles predominate, with work by architects including Arthur Heun, Harrie Thomas Lindeberg and David Adler. The form counts 153 contributing and 129 noncontributing resources. It was listed as an outstanding example of domestic architecture in an exclusive exurban community, associated with Chicago's business leaders.
Significance in brief: The district is presented as an outstanding example of domestic architecture in an exclusive exurban community, with high-quality designs by important architects and a high degree of integrity. Its estates were built by the second generation of Chicago's business and social elite, who helped develop the city as a center of commerce, banking and industry. Its park-like landscape and large estate lots set it apart from the neighboring Lake Forest Historic District.
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 95001235, listed November 7, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly, area surronding 10 S to 1596 N Green Bay Rd. and Ahwahnee Rd., Lake Forest |
|---|---|
| County | Lake County |
| Listed | November 7, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95001235 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1890-1945 |
| Architect / builder | Henry Ives Cobb, Howard Van Doren Shaw, Arthur Heun, Harrie Thomas Lindeberg, David Adler, Albro & Lindeberg, James Gamble Rogers (among many architects named) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Arts and Crafts, French Renaissance Revival, Classical Revival, Art Deco |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Houses are maintained to a high standard and integrity is high; most outbuildings remain, and some have been converted into separate single-family residences. |
| Acreage | 680 |
| Coordinates | 42.26293, -87.84799 (NPS GIS) |
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).
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 95001235.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q86752771
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.