Libertyville Historic Home Tour
MainStreet Libertyville’s eighth annual self-guided Historic Home Tour is set for Saturday, June 4.
This year’s tour will showcase the bungalow, which is a type of house that has varying meanings around the country. The tour, which includes 16 homes, runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and highlights various styles of bungalows and the distinct characteristics that enhance their charm.
Many houses in Libertyville feature various bungalow styles, including some of the Chicago bungalow style. Some of the bungalows feature quaint porches.
As an added bonus, several of the homes will include a tour of their gardens and/or interiors.
Associated with the philosophy of the arts and crafts movement, “bungalow” has become a common term to describe a house or cottage and is adorned with great architectural interest and distinction.
Tour participants can enjoy walking, biking, or driving through town to see these enchanting homes. MainStreet Libertyville volunteers will be in Cook Park distributing the Historic Home Tour booklets that describe the history or the style of the houses and directions to the various properties.
The $10 donation to MainStreet Libertyville not only gives you a home tour booklet, but also the chance to help preserve the heritage of Libertyville.
The event sponsors are based in Libertyville and include: The Tranel Financial Group, Advocate Condell Medical Center, Great Lakes Credit Union, and Libertyville Bank & Trust.
One of the featured stops is the home of Andrew and Amy Robillard at 229 Lake Str..
This home was first occupied by A.W. (Allan) Lindroth, and his mother, Millie, lived upstairs. He was a banker who probably worked at First Lake County National Bank at 507 N. Milwaukee Ave., the current home of Libertyville Bank & Trust.
Millie had the millinery shop called Ladies Shoppe at 348 N. Milwaukee Ave., which is now occupied by JoJo and Me Salon. It even appears the whole family, including the father, Axel, lived above the shop in earlier years. Axel, a watchmaker, immigrated from Sweden, while Millie was of German descent, born in Illinois. A.W. had a large family of daughters while living at 229 Lake St.
The house has plaster walls, beautiful woodwork, built-in bookcases, stained glass windows, glass doorknobs, a pantry, and built-in ironing board in the kitchen, which is unique to bungalows.
A second home on the tour is occupied by Terry and Nan Grupe at 311 E. Rockland Road. It probably was built around 1915 to 1920 on South Milwaukee Avenue, where Rouse Auto Repair is now located.
Early residents at this location were Fred Wood, his wife Elizabeth, and their daughter, Marian. Fred was a mechanic at Foulds Pasta in Libertyville, and his daughter worked there also as a packer.
In the early 1970s, Clarence Coons purchased the house for $1 and moved it to its present location. There was even a coach house behind the main dwelling on Milwaukee, but the coach house did not make the move to Rockland Road.