Linn, Howard and Lucy, House
Why it's listed
Built in 1927 for Howard and Lucy Linn, this lakeside country house at 555 Shore Acres Drive in Lake Bluff was designed by architect Walter Frazier of Frazier & Raftery. It sits on a heavily wooded 4.7-acre site facing Lake Michigan. The L-shaped, stucco-clad complex includes a main block, a service wing, a guest house and a dovecote, all joined by a covered brick walkway and a grassy courtyard. Heavy exposed timbers, steeply pitched flared roofs of wood shingle, and casement windows with plank shutters give it a rustic look modeled on small French manor houses and farmsteads. Inside, features include a walnut-paneled living room, Rococo-style fireplace mantels and woodwork, and an octagonal library with a domed ceiling. The house was listed as a fine example of the asymmetrical French Renaissance Revival style popular between the world wars, and as part of the estate-house landscape north of the village. The form notes excellent integrity, with the floor plan and most interiors unchanged.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the house as a well-preserved example of the asymmetrical subtype of French Renaissance Revival architecture, with a rustic, farmstead-like character inspired by small French manor houses. It also represents the estate houses built north of Lake Bluff village in the 1920s, and the form reports excellent integrity with few changes to the plan or interior.
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 05001257, listed November 15, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 555 Shoreacres Dr., Lake Bluff |
|---|---|
| County | Lake County |
| Listed | November 15, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05001257 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Walter Frazier of Frazier & Raftery |
| Architectural style | French Renaissance (French Eclectic / French Renaissance Revival) |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently in use as a single dwelling; the form reports excellent integrity with no changes to the floor plan or most interior spaces and exterior features. |
| Acreage | 4.7 |
| Coordinates | 42.29864, -87.83444 (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 05001257.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q96381318
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.