Hinsdale adds 208 East Sixth to historic list and marks 100th property enrolled in preservation incentive program

The Hinsdale Historic Preservation Commission voted Oct. 1 to include 208 East Sixth Street on the village's historically significant structures list, the 11th round of additions and the commission's 100th property to the list.

Commission staff said the house was built in 1925 to designs by the Chicago firm Marshall & Fox and exemplifies Tudor/Revival-period architecture. Staff noted the property is associated with original owners Edward Warren Everett, a lawyer and civic leader, and his wife, who staff described in public remarks as an important figure in early American Buddhism. The commission discussed several criteria supporting inclusion and voted to add the property to the historically significant structures list.

Bethany, community development staff, used the occasion to summarize the village's preservation-incentive program to commissioners: 21 preservation incentives have been approved to date; the village has waived about $250,000 in permit fees tied to those incentives; and staff estimated the program has spurred roughly $12,000,000 in private investment. Bethany cautioned the $12 million figure may undercount the total because some work was completed without permit fees included in the program's tracking.

Staff also said the new owners of 208 East Sixth plan to apply for a preservation incentive and have documented the house with 3-D mapping to guide sensitive work. Commissioners discussed the potential to promote the program's results publicly; several suggested stories in the Hinsdalian and other publications to show completed projects and the program's return on investment.

During discussion commissioners and staff highlighted features such as the house's coach house, interior woodwork and a large historic front-door key that staff said may have originated from a monastery. Marshall & Fox's broader body of work (including Chicago hotels and civic buildings) was cited to underline the house's architectural pedigree.

A motion to close the public hearing and include the property on the historically significant structures list passed by roll call vote; commissioners present voted in favor. Staff said the inclusion opens the property to the village's preservation outreach and potential incentive review, and the applicants are expected to submit a formal preservation-incentive application in the near term.

Commissioners also discussed outreach tools tied to the program: a printed handout or brochure, improved website materials and magazine features to highlight completed rehabilitation projects and better explain tax-freeze and other incentives available to owners of preserved properties.