A Backwards Gordon-Van Tine in Waukegan

1301 W. Yorkhouse Road, Waukegan. Photo courtesy of Diego Rael.

Gordon-Van Tine No. 529 from the 1926 catalog.

We don't have the best photo of this Gordon-Van Tine No. 529 because the front of the house is now the back of the house!

Yorkhouse Road was originally called Holdridge Road, and there were train tracks right next to this house (where the Robert McClory Bike Trail is today). The North Shore electric line is now gone--closed in 1963. There was a dangerous S-curve just past the crossing over the tracks (Holdridge Crossing) and there were dozens of fatal accidents there. Ultimately Holdridge Road was straightened and renamed. As part of that process, the back of the Gordon-Van Tine house now faced the road and the homeowners added a "front" door and made the back of the house the front!

A closer view of the original front door and original latticework. Photo courtesy of Diego Rael.

A closeup of the front door of the No. 529. A perfect match!

This is an authenticated Gordon-Van Tine No. 529. The model was sold from about 1918 until 1927. (Gordon Van-Tine sold another model called the No. 622 that was essentially the same house, but slightly larger.)

There is marked lumber in the house that authenticates it as coming from Gordon-Van Tine.

Shipping information on one of the outside boards. The board is stamped with "Gordon-Van Tine Co., Davenport Iowa." The customer was Chas. E. Holdridge, and the train station where the materials were to be delivered was Beach, Ill. The Beach station handled freight, and it was just north of Holdridge Crossing.   Photo courtesy of Diego Rael. 

Another piece of stamped lumber that indicated "BEACH". Photo courtesy of Diego Rael.

Lake County has this house as being built in 1925. I can't nail down the construction date--it was between 1920 and 1928.

The house stands today on what was the Holdridge Farm. According to the Waukegan Historical Society, Ira W. Holdridge came to Waukegan Township in 1844 and settled on this land. Charles Holdridge (the customer name on the lumber) was Ira's grandson. The Holdridges owned the house until at least 1959.

The entry hallway with its gorgeous woodwork. Photo courtesy of Realtor site.

Living room. Photo courtesy of Realtor site.

The kitchen with some of the original cabinetry. The current homeowner is stripping the blue paint. Photo courtesy of Realtor site.

The phone on the wall was possibly original to the house and was taken by the former homeowners. There's just a hole and a bunch of wires in the wall now. Photo courtesy of Realtor site.

The linen closet. Photo courtesy of Realtor site.

Thanks to the Waukegan Historical Society for the materials on the Holdridges that they sent me.