622 Oak

The stately house at 622 Oak was built sometime between 1904 and 1908. The earliest known residents were Elizabeth and Ludlow R. Le Furgy. While little is known about Elizabeth, we know that Ludlow was originally from New York and worked as a broker in Chicago while living in Winnetka. It seems the Le Furgys didn’t stay long – by 1912, Edward P. Smith, a banker at Harris Trust and Savings Bank, had purchased the house.

This house is significant for its association with an architect, yet interestingly, it was not the original architect (who is unknown). Instead, it was the architect who designed the addition and renovation, Spencer Solon Beman, that is noteworthy. In 1929, homeowner Robert O. Butz hired Beman to both enlarge and transform what was an attractive shingle-style home into the splendid Tudor Revival style that remains today.

Beman was born in Chicago in 1887. As the son of famed architect and Pullman designer Solon Spencer Beman, he followed in his father’s footsteps and became an architect at a young age. He practiced alongside his father until he died in 1914, after which he worked largely on his own.

Beman is perhaps best known for designing Christian Science buildings, including the First Church of Christ, Scientist’s original building at 440 Ridge (which is now home to Grace Presbyterian Church). He is also the architect of several notable North Shore homes, including the McNabb house at 950 Hill, which became a local Designated Landmark in 1995.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any images of 622 Oak before the 1929 renovation. However, records indicate that it was almost identical to the house next door at 475 Cedar. Today, remnants of the Shingle style original structure can be seen on the 3rd floor dormers, which are quite similar to those that remain on the house at 475 Cedar.