545 Ash

The beautiful Tudor Revival house at 545 Ash was built in 1936 and designed by Homer G. Sailor.

Sailor was born in Portage, Ohio in 1887. In his early 20s, he moved to Chicago to attend the Armour Institute of Technology, now the Illinois Institute of Technology, and graduated in 1911. After graduation, Sailor was hired as a draftsman for famed architect Louis Sullivan. He was ultimately became one of the last draftsmen for Sullivan, whose career took a dip in the 1910s.

After working for Sullivan, Sailor went on to work for Chatten & Hammond, Illinois’ state architects, before establishing his own private practice in 1917. Early on, Sailor primarily designed small Prairie School residences, low-rise commercial buildings and churches in the Chicago area. Some of his better-known designs include the Ignatius Chap House at 8831 South Pleasant Ave., the South Park Baptist Church at 3722 South King Dr., 1015 Elm Ridge Dr. in Glencoe.

Later in his career, Sailor clearly branched out stylistically, designing this Tudor Revival home for industrial engineer Earl Emerson Bradway in 1936.

While this property has some quintessential Tudor Revival elements, such as the asymmetrical design and the steeply pitched roofs, it has been deemed an “unusual example of the style” because it is built entirely out of stone. This property does not currently have any historic status, though as a unique Tudor Revival design by Homer Sailor, it could very well qualify for local landmark and/or National Register status.