When the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Emil Bach house and its stately Arts & Crafts next-door neighbor, the Lang residence, were built a century ago, Chicago’s Sheridan Road was a lakeside thoroughfare lined with fine homes for the very well-off set.
And it’s shameful — to this day — how much of this fine old architecture on Sheridan Road north of Hollywood Avenue was erased and replaced by Midcentury high-rises built to take advantage of Lake Michigan views.
But a handful of the old manses hung on, such as the Joseph Downey House and Coach House, 6205 N. Sheridan Rd., and the Samuel H. Gunder House and Coach House at 6219 N. Sheridan Rd.
The neighboring homes, now owned by the Chicago Park District, are part of Berger Park.
And now the Bach and Lang homes, located at 7415 and 7421 N. Sheridan Rd. respectively, have been gifted to Loyola University Chicago by Tawani Enterprises, headed by billionaire Jennifer N. Pritzker, the founder of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library and a cousin of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
A Loyola spokesperson said the university will use the restored historic properties to host special events.
Tawani most recently rented out the Bach for overnight stays and as a vacation home for rent, and operated the Lang as a bed-and-breakfast.
“Recognizing their significance to the neighborhood, Loyola is committed to maintaining the homes’ historical and community value,” the Loyola spokesperson said.
Pritzker originally considered selling the homes, said Tawani’s Chief Operating Officer of Philanthropic Activities Susan Rifkin.
“These two homes carry treasured histories and are best kept in the hands of a large academic institution with the capacity to maintain them, rather than offer them on the open real estate market,” Rifkin said.
Great architecture side-by-side
The Bach and Lang homes are a study in contrasts.
Built in 1915 for brick company owner Emil Bach, the Bach home has all the visual hallmarks of Wright’s Prairie designs, with its flat overhanging roofs, cube-like forms and cantilevered elements.
The Lang house is a brick American four-square with broad hip roofs, Arts & Crafts detailing and a prominent front porch with stone balustrades. The home was designed by Edgar Newman, an architect who cut his teeth working for Adler and Sullivan.
Tawani bought the Bach house in 2010 and purchased the Lang residence five years earlier and painstakingly restored them both. At the Bach, Tawani even remade art glass windows that had been lost, and recrafted specialized furniture Wright made for the house.
Rifkin said the homes represent “a warm, welcoming space for community programs, special events, academic programs.”
She also said the residences could be used for housing scholars and visiting dignitaries.
And the acquisition wouldn’t be the first time Loyola has brought an historic home into the fold.
Piper Hall, 970 W. Sheridan Rd., was originally the Albert G. Wheeler House, built in 1909 and designed by William Carbys Zimmerman. The 107-year-old George W. Maher-designed Adolf Schmidt House, 6331 N. Sheridan Rd., enjoys a second life as Burrowes Hall.
And a cool million to boot
Rifkin said the gift to Loyola included $1 million in cash that can be used to cover the cost of operating and managing the two houses.
And while the two homes are not endangered, as is the case with, say, the Bach’s Wright-designed older sibling, the Walser House in the Austin community, it’s still good to see the important residences being positioned for continued use.
Lee Bey is architecture critic for the Sun-Times and appears on ABC7 News Chicago. He is also a member of the Editorial Board.
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