Lake Bluff commission nominates 348 Foss Court as local landmark, including sunken garden

The Lake Bluff Historic Preservation Commission voted to nominate the property at 348 Foss Court for local landmark designation, including the residence and its sunken garden, at its Oct. 8 regular meeting.

Commissioners said the 1895 house and its grounds meet multiple criteria for landmarking, noting classical architectural details, a hand-painted interior mural, and decades of social history that included use as seasonal lodging associated with Marshall Field employees. After a motion and second, the commission took a roll-call vote and recorded six yes votes, no opposition and one absence; the nomination will go to the village trustees for final consideration.

The nomination matters because designation would recognize both the house’s architectural features and its role in Lake Bluff’s social history, commission members said. Commission members also recommended that the draft ordinance name the residence and the formal sunken garden as contributing elements, which would trigger advisory review if major changes are proposed.

Rush Olson, who said he and his family purchased the property and plan renovations, told the commission the house had ``gravitas'' and that his family had "just kinda fell in love with it right out of the gate." Olson described the house as built in 1895 and originally associated with seasonal lodging for Marshall Field employees; he said the property originally sat on about 80 acres and went through only a handful of long-term owners over roughly 130 years. Olson said current plans call for building above the existing garage to create a more symmetrical façade, adding a master bedroom and reconfiguring interior space so the home will have five bedrooms after work is complete.

Commission members cited specific features that informed their decision: Chippendale railing details on the gables, the mural in the living room, and the surviving sunken garden east of the house. Commissioners also noted a packet of historical material supplied by the applicants, including letters from the Mariposa Ranch family and a scrapbook of photographs, which the commission said supported the property’s social-history significance.

The commission recorded the roll-call vote as follows: Member Jurch, yes; Member Maguire, yes; Member Nichol, yes; Member O'Connor, yes; Member Tanner, yes; Chair Bergman, yes; Member Minor absent. The motion to nominate the property passed with a tally of six yes, zero no, zero abstain, one absent.

Commission staff advised the applicants on next steps: the nomination will be forwarded to the village trustees for their decision; the applicants were encouraged to contact the Illinois State Historic Preservation Officer in Springfield before any demolition or irreversible work if they want to pursue state tax-freeze benefits. Staff also recommended photographing existing historic fabric before construction and offered to write letters to the Zoning Board of Appeals if necessary during zoning reviews. The commission said standard advisory review would apply to substantial alterations to the garden or house.

In other business, staff told the commission they had been notified of a demolition-permit notice or letter of intent for 1750 Shore Acres and that 1776 Shore Acres had a demolition permit after a tree fell on an associated cottage; the commission briefly discussed investigations into possible David Adler design work on one of those cottages.

If the village trustees approve the nomination, the applicants will gain access to the commission’s advisory process and, depending on subsequent actions and approvals, may pursue state historic-preservation tax benefits and a reduction on the Lake Bluff portion of property taxes, staff said.