510 Ash

The Victorian Gothic at 510 Ash was originally built in the mid-1870s at the corner of Cherry and Poplar Streets, where 530 Cherry is now. While we don’t know who the architect or original owners were, we do know that in 1879, Judge Thomas G. Windes and his family arrived in Winnetka and purchased the house, where they lived for several years.

Judge Windes and his family left an incredibly valuable legacy in the village. Windes was a Cook County judge for 30 years and was very involved in the development of Winnetka as a village and community. He and his son Zel also operated a real estate business in the village in the 1890s.

Thomas’ other son, Frank, was easily one of Winnetka’s most influential citizens. He was a lifelong resident and served as village engineer from 1898 to 1940. He taught manual training, was a founder of the Winnetka Historical Society, and an architect of a number of homes in town. Notably, he helped devise two visionary engineering projects in the village – the plans to lower the tracks below street level, and to turn the Skokie swamp into a lagoon system. He created plans for both of these projects decades before the projects were carried out.

This house has undergone some changes over the years, beginning with the biggest in 1891 – it’s move from 530 Cherry to its current location at 510 Ash. The Windes family decided to build a new home on their property (which was likely designed by a teenage Frank), but instead of demolishing the existing home, Judge Windes arranged to have it moved to its current location.

Over the years, the house has also seen several additions, including a garage and breezeway in 1954 and an extension on the back.

Stylistically, this house is a Victorian Gothic, but a much more simplified design than some other, more ornate Gothic houses in the village (like our museum and headquarters at 411 Linden). Historic photos of the houses show that it originally had some typical Gothic ornamentation, including gingerbread ornamentation around the roofline and on the porch. While that ornamentation has since been removed, other elements remain, including the horizontal wood siding often used on Victorian designs, and the covered wrap-around porch.

While this house currently does not have any historic designations, it would almost certainly qualify for local landmark status. For now, we are just glad that the previous and current homeowners have recognized the historic value of the property and have maintained it for over 150 years.