A Frank Lloyd Wright Rescue

Vacant And On The Market As A Teardown, The Ross Home In Glencoe, Illinois, Is Resurrected By Architect John Eifler.

- Brian D. Coleman

At the start of the 20th century, wealthy Chicago attorney Sherman Booth bought a large tract of land in suburban Glencoe to build a substantial family home. He hired the Midwest’s most well-known architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, but Wright’s designs ran far over budget; only Booth’s stables and servants’ quarters were built. Seeking to recoup money already invested, Booth subdivided the property and named it Ravine Bluffs. Booth asked Wright to design smaller, less costly homes for the development, and by 1915 four had been built on spec. They were based on Wright’s popular “Fireproof Home for $5,000” that had been published in The Ladies’ Home Journal in 1905. This one, the Ross Home, was completed in 1916, one of the last built as the first World War halted new construction.

By the time John Eifler heard about the house in 2008, it had been vacant for several years and was being sold as a teardown for its lot. Eifler, a Chicago architect, had restored many of Wright’s buildings and knew this house was salvageable. Its location in Glencoe, a charming suburb with small-town appeal, placed it near the commuter train to Chicago and Lake Michigan. The house was not registered or landmarked, so the necessarily extensive rehabilitation could extend to energy-efficiency and sustainable updates. Eifler’s offer was accepted.