Mary Greenlees Yerkes Residence
The Mary Greenlees Yerkes House (also known as the "Mrs. Charles Yerkes House"), is a 1912 prairie style house in Oak Park, Illinois by American architect John S. Van Bergen for Mary Greenlees Yerkes, the widow of Charles Sherman Yerkes and mother of somewhat noted impressionist artist Mary Agnes Yerkes.[1] The home was featured in a book by Patrick Cannon, titled Prairie Metropolis.[2]
Architecture
Recipient of a 2002 Oak Park Historic Preservation Award,[3] the house is clad in cedar clapboards that go up to the second-floor windows and has a distinctive artist's studio that sticks out over the alleyway.[4] The house features large overhanging eaves and a low hipped roof. The house is based on a variation of Wright's "Fireproof House for $5000" Plan,[5] featuring square-centric massing with a central fireplace.
Notable residents
Tax records show the Yerkes' living in the house until 1919. The house was later briefly resided in by Jim Ameche, brother of Don Ameche, and radio star. The house was bought in 1992, and restored by architect John Garrett Thorpe, who sold the house in 2010.[6]
References
- "Mrs. Charles Yerkes Residence, 1912". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- Eric. "Yerkes House For Sale". PrairieMod. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- "Oak Park Historic Preservations Awards, 2002" (PDF). Village of Oak Park. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- "Mary Agnes Yerkes". OPRF Historical Society. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- Lloyd Wright, Frank. "A Fireproof House for $5000". Ladies Home Journal. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- "450 Iowa Street". Trulia.com. Retrieved 9 August 2012.