William McCormick Blair Estate, historic house in Illinois, United States
The William McCormick Blair Estate is a large house from the 1920s on Sheridan Road in Lake Bluff, Illinois, designed by architect David Adler in the Colonial Revival style. The main house is accompanied by several outbuildings including a garage, tennis house, two cottages, sheds, a greenhouse, gardens, and a Greek temple folly.
The estate was built between 1926 and 1928 by William McCormick Blair, a wealthy Chicago banker seeking a country retreat. It was part of a broader movement among Chicago's wealthy to build estates in Lake Bluff during the early 1900s, and the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
The house reflects the Colonial Revival style that wealthy Chicago families favored to express American traditions in their homes. The design with double-hung windows and wood shingles shows how the period balanced formal refinement with country comfort.
The estate remains a private residence and is not open to the public. You can view it from Sheridan Road or from neighboring properties, but access to the grounds and buildings is restricted to invited guests only.
The property includes an unexpected Greek temple folly that adds a playful touch to the formal estate design. This whimsical architectural feature reveals the owner's wealth and artistic ambitions during the prosperous 1920s.
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