Fire destroys Elgin's historic Westenfeld home

An overnight fire destroyed a historic east side Elgin home that was built in 1891 for an employee of Thomas Edison, and set to undergo the final steps this summer of a restoration that began in 1996.

No one was injured in the fire at 552 E. Chicago St.

But the home - which was built for Christian Westenfeld, a German-born electrical expert who came to Elgin to install the power plant and distribution system for the city's streetcar line - likely will be demolished.

"It was a beauty," owner Daniel Skaggs said Thursday afternoon while taking a break from removing personal items from the home, which he bought in 1996 and began restoring. "It wasn't a mansion, but it was awfully big. It was grand for those days and it was all brick."

Skaggs said he was in Chicago when he got a call from his second floor tenant that there was a fire at the home, which was divided into two apartments.

Mike Baker, assistant fire chief, said crews arrived on the scene at 2:26 a.m. after being dispatched four minutes earlier. In all, Elgin had six engines at the scene, along with help from Bartlett and Hoffman Estates fire departments.

"It was a total loss," he said, estimating the damage at $300,000.

Baker said that part of the house collapsed inward, making it more difficult for investigators to pinpoint the cause and origin. The fire didn't appear to be suspicious.

An Elgin police report said the second floor apartment tenant heard a loud noise, then the sound of glass breaking, and finally smelled smoke.

"They thought (the fire) could be controlled, but something strange happened. It just spread," Skaggs said.

Dan Miller, member of the Gifford Park Association, said there some 600 homes in Elgin's first historic district, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

But the Westenfeld home was probably in the top five most significant homes because of it history and architecture, which is described as Gothic Revial with Flemish Renaissance influences.

"It's significant because it's one of a kind in Elgin and the Historic District," Miller said. "It's important to us on so many levels. Being a preservationist, I hope it can be salvaged, but it doesn't look very promising."

Skaggs said he bought the home for about $132,000 and put at least that much into restoring it over the years. In June, crews were to begin the $50,000 final phase, stripping the exterior paint and re-tuckpointing the entire home.

Larry Koesche, a senior code enforcement officer with the city, supervised the site Thursday afternoon as crews boarded up windows.

A temporary chain-link fence had been put up around the lot because officials were worried more of the second-story brick walls could collapse.

"I don't see any way of saving it," Koesche said.