The North Shore Weekend, November 5th, 2022

LIFESTYLE

SEASON

SOME

THE WEEKS AHEAD.

Lake Forest historian Arthur Miller thrives in the present as author of newly published Architectural Lake Forest P18

Evanston musician Nora O'Connor releases a new solo album P14

ARE

INSIDE NEWS

forever

Legion McKinlock Post No. 264

monument

rise in rank

veterans

Veterans Park

Lake Forest native Brendan O'Brien is promoted to Commander in the U.S.. Navy

& ARTS

John Conatser FOUNDER

ADVERTISING

Jennifer Sturgeon

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Dustin O'Regan, Sherry Thomas

CONTRIBUTING

Mitch Hurst, Bill McLean, Ann Marie Scheidler, Gregg Shapiro

heart

We

down with Evanston songstress Nora O'Connor to talk about her

BUT

Lake Forest encompasses an area of 16 square miles, and historian Arthur Miller—author of Architectural Lake Forest—knows something about every foot of the North Shore city

DESIGN

Linda Lewis

Chris Geimer

PHOTOGRAPHY

Barry Blitt ILLUSTRATOR

Cheyanne Lencioni

Redding Worth

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

There are those of us who, like Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, like to light up the night sky with our holiday lights and displays to celebrate the season. Then there are those of us who might take a more understated approach. For those looking to sell a home during the holidays there can be a few challenges, such as how to get your celebratory displays just right. Those looking to buy should also heed a few seasonal rules. This week, we talked with real estate professionals throughout the North Shore about the ad vice they provide clients during the holidays.

“I would advise sellers to make their homes appeal to the largest pool of buyers as possible,” says Rick Richker, a broker with @properties in Glencoe. “I think some holi day cheer is nice, but too much may distract from the qualities of the home the seller is trying to highlight.”

Richker says the holiday season usu ally presents an opportunity for buyers as the competition for homes tends to lessen during this time of year. Inventory is still at all-time lows. He points out that as of Oc tober 1, there were only 347 homes for sale from Lake Forest to Wilmette, compared to an average of around 1,150 homes prepandemic.

“I would advise sellers that preparing a home properly for sale and strategizing for optimal list price can’t be overlooked at this time,” he says. “As for buyers, I would rec ommend they are fully pre-approved for a loan before they begin their search, be ready to make an offer right away on a home they like, and if they are willing to purchase a home that needs some updating, that will increase their chances of securing a property before the first of the year.”

Gloria Matlin, a broker with Compass Realty in Glencoe, says that just like the rest

of the year, she urges her sellers to declutter.

“I always tell sellers to make it look like they don’t really live there. Simple holiday lights and decorations make the house pop, but don’t go crazy,” Matlin says. “I think it’s OK to decorate because it gives people a good sense of a home’s warmth.”

Matlin adds that the holiday season— Novembers and Decembers—is her best time of year.

“We don’t have a lot of new inventory, but I know our buyer market is still there,” she says. “Sellers are real sellers, and the buyers are real buyers, We are encouraging our buy ers to buy now.”

Sellers showing their homes during the season need to be conscious of the fact

potential buyers still want to see the exterior and interior amenities the home has to offer.

“I ask my clients if the house is on the market to keep it small with not too many decorations, to keep the path clear and keep it limited,” says Cheryl Chambers with @properties in Winnetka. “I’ve never had a problem with it.”

Chambers said she just put something under contract and believes the bubble is still there. It’s a good market for persistent buyers who didn’t get their house and are still looking, particularly in the range right around $900,000 to $1.5 million.

“The market will slow down and already has,” Chambers says. “There aren’t the numbers that we normally see; instead of 10 offers, we might get two.”

Winnetka @properties broker Jena Rad nay advises her selling clients to go all in and fully embrace the holiday spirit.

“Make it look seasonally fantastic, take it up a notch, and get a big tree. Going after the emotional tie is much more important during the holiday season,” Radnay says. “People are looking to party. Halloween was crazy this week, and I’m all about emotion and making it big.”

Because of the lack of inventory this holiday season, Radnay says if you’re a buyer right now there’s no reason to take the season off. There will always be a house that comes on the market.

“We are in an insular market where people have lots of money, and people need to have a positive edge,” she says. “I was busy and worked all last weekend and that tone is a really big thing that needs to be part of the market.”

“I think tasteful decorations are fine. It shows the warmth of a home where people can get in the mood and see how they could decorate,” says Connie Dornan, a broker

with @properties in Glenview. “And people love the smell of cookies and pumpkin spice.”

Dornan says if you had asked her last week how she felt going into the holiday market she would have been less optimistic, but this last weekend took a turn upward. She had two homes with multiple offers, and both went for over list price. She says if homes are positioned correctly with market ing and pricing strategy, holiday sales can happen.

“Lot of buyers burned by the market in multiple offer situations are still out there and still want to buy, and there is less competition,” Dornan says. “In the fourth quarter buyers have more opportunity and can take more than five minutes to make a decision. They can make a logical, reasonable decision, rather than one they might regret.”

While the holiday period is traditionally a slower time for showings, buyers can be quite motivated, says Chris Veech with @ properties in Winnetka. Sellers, though, need to think about their longer-term mar keting needs.

“For sellers who decorate for the holidays, photographs of the home should be done prior to the holidays, otherwise they will be too seasonal,” Veech says.

This holiday season feels more like 2018 or 2019 to Veech, with fewer buyers in the market who are being a little pickier that in the spring.

“I’m encouraging all my buyers to buy now while there’s less competition. Interest rates have risen but buyers will always have an opportunity to refinance later at a lower rate,” she says. “This is the best time of year for buyers to get the best values because there’s simply less competition.”

Some of the same rules apply for sellers

The ranch-like home at 325 Shoreline Court in Glencoe is perched high above the lake and includes a library, office, exercise and recreation rooms, a second kitchen, and screened-in porch.

An English Manor home at 45 Indian Hill Road in Winnetka sits on more than an acre of manicured grounds with an outdoor pool. An expansive first floor plan includes a billiard room that steps down to an oversized living room.

during the holidays as they do the rest of year, including getting your home showready, even in an active market with multiple offers at all price levels.

“The houses that are suffering are the houses that need improvement. For houses that show well there’s a very strong mar ket,” says Cory Albiani with @properties in Highland Park. “It’s a good time to be a buyer and I think it’s also a good time to be a seller even with the lack of inventory, es pecially for move-in ready, turn-key homes.”

Pat Denenberg and Laura Hara are with @properties in Highland Park and both say

that holiday decorations for sellers should be minimal, but sellers need to still be able to live their normal lives. They might want to keep holiday heirlooms, including orna ments, in storage.

“Buyers will be traipsing through the house, including children, so sellers will want to protect those from being damaged,” says Hara.

Hara says the market tends to slow down a little bit during the season, but buyers are very serious, and her and Denenberg recom mend to sellers to not miss a showing. For buyers, they let them know guests may be in

town and they might not get a last-minute appointment for a showing.

“The less serious buyers may choose to take a break, but because inventory has been so consistently low, with less competition, serious buyers are still out there,” Denen berg says.

She says the last two holiday seasons have been her busiest in a quarter century due to the pandemic shutting down many holiday parties. This year, sellers are slower to move.

“It’s not a pre-COVID market yet. Interest rates going up are affecting certain buyers but there’s still very low inventory because a lot of sellers are unwilling to trade

a three percent interest rate for a seven percent interest rate,” Hara says. “With in flation and dips in buyer confidence, sellers tend to hunker down.”

Sometimes sellers are apprehensive to keep their homes on the market during the season, but Loralee Van Vleet, a broker with Coldwell Banker in Lake Forest, says the strategy can backfire.

“I’ve had some of the most amazing sales during this time. The number of buyers is much smaller, but they are serious buyers, and I tell my clients to stay on the market,” she says. “Absolutely decorate; just keep the house neat and clean.”

This lakefront estate at 445 Sheridan Road in Winnetka is one of few North Shore properties on the lake with a lot size of more than two acres.

STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER

BY ANN MARIE SCHEIDLER THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Never give up.

This has long been the mantra of the American Legion McKinlock Post No. 264 in Lake Forest when it came to build ing a monument honoring the thousands of local residents who have served in the armed forces.

“Our post has been around for more than 100 years,” explains Ed Geraghty, former commander of Post No. 264 who is now leading the legion’s efforts to create a monument in the new Veterans Park. “Last year, the city approached us and said they had a park for us. We finally had what we needed to get started.”

Sitting at the southeast corner of Green Bay Road and Deerpath, Veterans Park is the culmination of over a decade of effort by McKinlock Post. The goal of the Post has always been to provide the community with a highly visible reminder of the role the armed forces play in guaranteeing freedom and keeping the peace.

“This has been a community project from all angles,” Geraghty adds. “The American Legion really can’t take any credit—it’s been the City, Parks & Rec reation, and a number of generous donors coming together to make this happen. The city gave us the land and a loan to get the designs for the monument underway. Parks and recreation have been doing the landscape design and maintaining the park. The legion has been mostly behind the scenes, just facilitators for all of this.”

“As we’ve worked through this project, it’s been really important to us to design a monument that was significant enough to adequately honor the ultimate sacrifice these veterans made,” says Tom Marks, current commander of Post No. 264 who is leading the fundraising efforts for this initiative. “We want people to stop and take note of what these people did for our country.”

Post No. 264 set out to build a worldclass monument and were thrilled to discover a world-class artist to design it right in Lake Forest. The artist, Gary Til lery, is a 30-year resident of Lake Forest, a Vietnam veteran, and works with the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt Amrany in High wood. Tillery has many monuments to his credit, including designing the sculpture for Chicago’s Vietnam Veterans memorial in 2005.

The monument will be situated in the heart of Veterans Park. There will be a sculpted bronze eagle symbolizing the

national character of the United States and its ideals set against a backdrop of a high-glaze black granite (coming from South Dakota) and stainless-steel stars and stripes. Finally, there will be separate panels listing the names of the 31 Lake Forest residents who were killed in ac tion during all conflicts since WWI. The base of the monument will display the emblems of all six branches of the U.S. Military.

“We’re making sure to leave room to add names of future veterans who lose their lives serving our country,” Geraghty says. “There will also be a QR code on the monument that visitors can scan and submit information they may have on the veterans we’re honoring.”

The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans’ organization, right at the end of World War I. It remains the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsoring wholesome pro grams in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong

national security, and continued devotion to fellow servicemembers and veterans.

Soon after the organization was founded, a group of Lake Forest veterans organized the George Alexander McKin lock Jr. Post. McKinlock, who was with a machine gun group in France, was be lieved to be the first Lake Forester killed in action during the First World War.

The American Legion McKinlock Post No. 264 has long served a special role in the City of Lake Forest. In addition to helping with local celebrations on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, they’re responsible for placing the American flags throughout the city on designated nation al holidays, they play Taps at the funer als of veterans, they mentor local scouts troops, and they host the Lake Forest Day Parade and beloved two-day carnival.

“It still surprises me how many people don’t know we’re here,” says Marks of Post No. 264. “We welcome anyone of any age who has served in the military to join us. It’s a small-time commitment and a modest financial contribution.” Annual dues are $40 and while the post meets a

few times each month, members can come in and out of meetings as their schedules permit.

As the local chapter of the American Legion nears the end of this project and closes in on its $350,000 fundraising goal to cover the costs of erecting the monu ment, the reality of what they have cre ated has begun to set in.

“My father served in the Navy, so when Vietnam began I thought it was my duty to join the military,” Geraghty explains.

“My mom and dad were so mad when I joined the Army. But I was fortunate.

The army made me an agent and sent me to Europe during the war. When I came home, I made a vow to honor the memo ries of those who weren’t as lucky and gave up so much for our county. Veterans Park takes me one step closer to keeping this promise.”

To learn more about the American Legion McKinlock Post No. 264, get involved, or to make a contribution to the Veterans Park monument, visit americanlegionlakeforest. org/donate.

AMERICAN LEGION MCKINLOCK POST NO. 264 TO SALUTE LAKE FOREST’S MILITARY VETERANS WITH A MONUMENT IN THE NEW VETERANS PARK.

Omri Amrany, owner of Timeless Creation studio, designer of monument; Ed Geraghty, Lake Forest American Legion Post No. 264; Tom Marks, Post Commander of McKinlock American Legion Post No 264; and Gary Tillery, the artist responsible for designing and creating the monument.

RISE IN RANK

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Lake Forest native Brendan O’Brien, a trauma surgeon assigned to the Combat Casualty Care and Operational Medicine Director ate, Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) San Antonio, was recently promoted to the rank of Commander in the U.S. Navy in a ceremony held at the Battlefield Health and Trauma Research Institute in San Antonio.

A graduate of Boston University School of Medicine, Commander O’Brien joined America’s Navy in 2006 and completed his residency at Walter Reed National Military Medi cal Center.

NAMRU San Antonio is one of the leading research and development laboratories for the U.S. Navy under

the Department of Defense and is one of eight subordinate research commands in the global network of laboratories operating under the Na val Medical Research Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Its mission is to conduct gap-driven combat casualty care, craniofacial, and directed energy research to improve survival, operational readiness, and safety of DOD personnel engaged in routine and expeditionary operations.

LAKE FOREST NATIVE BRENDAN O’BRIEN WAS RECENTLY PROMOTED TO NAVY COMMANDER IN SAN ANTONIO, STEPPING INTO A KEY ROLE AT THE NAVAL MEDICAL RESEARCH UNIT.

NAMRU San Antonio Executive Officer Captain Ewell Hollis pins the commander insignia on Commander Brendan O’Brien. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF BURRELL PARMER, NAVAL MEDICAL RESEARCH UNIT SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Paul Frank

County Board District 11 - Experienced Leadership

leadership resulting in No County Property Tax Increase 3 straight years Environmental leadership endorsed by the Sierra Club

BY GREGG SHAPIRO THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Nora O’Connor just might be the hard est working woman in music. For years, the Evanston-based singer/songwriter has earned a reputation as a go-to backing vocal ist and musician.

She’s toured and recorded regularly with Neko Case, Mavis Staples, The Decem berists, Andrew Bird, Kelly Hogan, and many others. With Hogan, O’Connor is also a member of the Chicago-based band The Flat Five.

Additionally, O’Connor has also made time to release three solo albums, with the latest being the just released “My Heart” (Pravda Records). Well worth the wait (her previous solo effort was released in 2004), “My Heart” is a delight from start to finish.

Nora was gracious enough to make time for an interview in advance of her recent al bum release concert at SPACE in Evanston. Here’s what she had to say:

There are 18 years between your previous solo album “Til The Dawn” and your new album “My Heart.” Were the songs on the new record written over the course of those years, or were they written in one burst more recently, specifically for this record? They're new. They’re all new. It's funny, when people say, “Why has it taken you 18 years?” It’s not like I haven't been doing anything. Winter of 2019, I wrote a couple songs. I was just coming off a tour with The Decemberists, and The Flat Five had just made a couple records. It seemed like I had the time and the openness and the space to dig up and see what was happening, and the willingness to give it a go. Then COVID happened, which completely wiped out my calendar, like everybody else’s. I started doing these outside backyard shows, late summer of 2020. It was just 20 people. We all still have our masks on, but we're outside and we're spread out, and we're only going to do this for two hours. Back then, there was nothing going on. There was no eating out, there was no visiting; there was nothing. This was it, this was our little thing, and it was magical. It was wonderful, in a way, all things considered. Because we were doing something and it was like, “Oh my God, I'm having a show!” People were like, “Oh my God, I'm actually at a show,” even though there were just twenty of us in a friend’s backyard. It just hit me, I want more new original music in this solo setting, when I'm playing by myself. I love singing covers, and I know a million songs. With singing covers, I just love turning people on to songs they've never heard. I try to dig a little deeper with

HEART TO HEART

my set list. Finding a deep Harry Nilsson or a deep Joni Mitchell or Ron Sexsmith. Whatever cover I decide I want to do or songs that my friends write, all these dif ferent people that I love their songwriting. I started writing more in 2020. My whole family was home. My husband was teach ing. My kids were having school. I found a corner of my basement, built a little studio, and then started doing home recordings. Then I was like, “Yeah, it's time, let's do this, let's make a record.” It felt so right. I hadn’t the desire or those feeling, the way I had them in the last year. It's like, “Nora, just trust yourself! Let's go! It's OK that you're not The Decemberists or you're not Neko Case or you're not Kelly Hogan or you're not Andrew Bird, or all these people that you tour with.” Maybe that was intimidat ing for me. Touring with all these bands that were so amazing. I can't write a song

like that [laughs]. I can only do what I can do. I think I just gave myself a break and let myself have the experience of that journey of creating a record.

As you said, you’ve been far from sitting idle during the years between albums. In addition to raising your family, you’ve been performing with Neko Case, Mavis Staples, The Decemberists, and others, as well as performing as a guest vocalist on albums by other artists. Did you come from a large family and that is what makes you so good at playing well with others, or were you an only child who craves being around other people?

I am the youngest of four, but we also ad opted two of my cousins, so there was six of us. My parents are amazing. They were busy, so I had to entertain myself. I guess along the way I realized that singing harmony was

really my jam. I do that best. I put myself in that position to be that person that's hired to sing harmony. I'm a good administra tive assistant of a song. I'm a good rhythm guitar player or auxiliary whatever. A little mandolin, a little banjo, a little keyboard; whatever the song needs to lift it. I like that role. I don't love being in the middle of the stage and having to do all the talking. I think I'm a little more of an introvert, but I still want to perform, and I still want to do all these things. I think I also want to challenge myself and do some hard things, too. This is why I'm doing this now.

You mentioned The Flat Five, and dur ing the albums’ interim, you also per formed shows and recorded two albums as one-fifth of that group. What did you like best about that experience?

Because we're such a democracy. We all come to the band with a really special and necessary gift. We work really well together. It's this little special, sacred thing. We don't want to be famous. We don't really want to go on tour and tour our butts off because we're doing all these other things. The Flat Five is our sacred place where it's all about the music and we try to play as best we can, sing as pretty as we can. When I'm do ing a gig with The Flat Five, I feel like I'm watching my favorite band. Even though I'm standing on stage right next to them. I'm like, “Holy shit, that's Kelly Hogan! Holy crap, that's Scott Ligon playing, he’s my favorite musician in the whole wide world.”

The Flat Five just haven't made that our number one thing. Even though it is our fa vorite thing, it's not our number one job. We do all these other things. We had a zoom meeting last night because we really miss each other. Kelly’s been touring with Mavis (Staples). I've been touring with Neko, Scott and Casey (McDonough) are touring with NRBQ, and Alex (Hall) is touring with JD McPherson. We're all doing these really great things, but we’re all like, “Damn, I miss you guys.” When there's a pocket, when things slow down, that's when we’ll book some shows, try to make some money, and then make a record, but I don't know when that's gonna happen.

One of my favorite songs on “My Heart” is “Cambridge Cold.” I went to Emerson College in Boston, and I really loved hear ing you sing about Inman Square and the fabulous Central Square music venue The Middle East. Because you live in Evan ston, I was wondering, is it just me, or does Cambridge feel like the Boston-area ver sion of Evanston?

I think that's a really good point. Yes, I

RENOWNED EVANSTON MUSICIAN NORA O’CONNOR RELEASES FIRST NEW SOLO ALBUM IN 18 YEARS. WE TALK TO HER AND GET THE INSIDE STORY.

Nora O'Connor of Evanston celebrates the release of her new solo album..

PA

think it does. I'd rather drive around Evan ston than drive around Chicago, because it's just so much crazier, and I'd rather go do something in Cambridge than do some thing in Boston. So, yeah, I guess it's kind of similar. But that's a completely made-up story. I didn't move to Cambridge, so it's really just a story. But what is true about it is that when I was in (the band) The Blacks in the late ‘90s, we got to play at the Middle East upstairs then we got played the Middle East downstairs. I really did have that feeling like, “Oh yeah, we're doing this, baby! It's on, we've made it, we've arrived.” I've never left Chicago. I've lived here my whole entire life, so it's almost like a little fantasy of this is probably what would happen if I moved away. I’d probably just go for a year and do some things and come back. I like that notion of moving out east.

The “heart” at the

center of the “My Heart” album sounds like it’s been broken, especially on the title cut, “Sore,” “Follow Me,” and “Fare Thee Well.” Can you please say something about the heartbreak there?

I think I'm prone to writing break-up songs. I think I'm prone to listening to break-up songs. What's different, I feel, is I'm just a little more

in touch with the heartbreak that I've had. It’s not irrational anymore. It's almost like I respect it and cherish it, and it's because of my experiences that I am who I am today. It's all good things. It's not like a victim, like “Oh, you broke my heart.” It's more noticing and observing my feelings and not letting that destroy me. I don't know how to explain it. I feel like I’ve been through so many transformations over the last few years and digging deep spiritually and trying to have a lot more gratitude in my life than I've ever had before.

My mind works in seeing patterns.

Even if there’s just two things, that’s a pattern. For example, you performed a cover of Stevie Nicks’ “That’s Alright” on 2004’s “Til The Dawn,” and you cover Margo Guryan’s “It’s Alright Now” on “My Heart.” Am I reading too much into that or am I on the (al)right track?

Everything’s going to be all right! I just love a healthy break-up song. Margo’s is a little creepier. She's really saying, “it’s all right, we're done.” Stevie Nicks is saying, “It’s OK, we're done, you go on and have a good life.” I think when look back on the craziness of my younger years and of my rela tionships and how there was just so much drama and everything was such a big deal. I just like this idea of, “This isn't working out, and we're grown

ups, so let's respect each other, and move on. I love a healthy break-up song.

One of the nicest surprises on “My Heart” is the “Winwoof” instrumental. What can you tell the readers about that song?

I wanted an instrumental. I wanted to write an instrumental, but I didn't know what it was. I had this chord progression. In my mind, it's about this mystical creature, nature/Mother Nature, invisible/visible crea ture like a wolf or a “winwoof.” It's a madeup word. So, that's my story about the “win woof.” But the other story is I really meant to type Winwood (as in Steve) because it sounded like a Traffic song [big laugh], but I wrote Winwoof instead, and then I made up the story about the mystical creature. But I had this chord progression that I thought was sort of like Stevie Winwood, kind of Traffic. I had Scott, Casey, and Alex in the studio, I said “I've got this chord progression. While I have you guys, let's record some ba sic tracks.” The four of us just played it in the studio live, and then I sat with it. I was like, “OK, this is my instrumental!” Then I added a harmonium. But it's one of those songs that I think I will revisit and add words to for another record. I'm introducing this concept with this instrumental that I think is going to be a bigger story later on.

Follow Nora O’Connor on Instagram at @ noraoconnorkean.

TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT

HISTORIAN ARTHUR MILLER AND LAKE FOREST PRESERVATION FOUNDATION DESERVE TO BE CITED—AND CELEBRATED—FOR TEAMING UP TO PUBLISH ARCHITECTURAL LAKE FOREST.

BY BILL MCLEAN ILLUSTRATION BY BARRY BLITT

Arthur Miller’s 1988 Volvo never had a chance.

Miller—a resident of Lake Forest since 1972, Lake Forest College’s emeritus Archivist and Librarian for Special Collections, and a man whose knowledge of Lake Forest is Pacific Ocean-vast—had crammed his auto with a voluminous number of books one day in the 1980s.

“That was a time in Lake Forest when many started flipping their houses,” Miller, 79, recalls. “Books were pouring out of houses then, with some of the art books weighing 10 pounds each. I filled that Volvo to the brim.

“As I was driving, something didn’t feel right.”

His car was hurting, creaking, listing on land.

Miller took it to a mechanic and was told the Volvo’s struts had suffered extensive dam age.

“Had to buy a new Volvo,” the uber-likable Miller says, cracking a warm smile and later adding he has owned nothing but Volvos since, including the one he’s been steering since 2008.

Miller has written several books, mostly about Lake Forest, since that tome-laden vehicle was given last rites. His latest— tectural Lake Forest: A Guide to National Register Historic Districts and Properties in Lake Forest, Illinois, published by Lake Forest Preserva tion Foundation—could fit inside a glove compartment.

But it’s packed—PACKED—with well-written content and striking photos, covering more than 260 houses, businesses, churches, insti tutional buildings, private gardens, and public parks in Lake Forest. All sites are at least 50 years old.

Lake Forest has five districts and more than 15 Landmarked buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

The book also includes seven chap ters with neighborhood introductions, essays about individual properties, and sketches by artist Alice Moulton-Ely The reference manual is a must-have for anyone interested in learning about the handsome structures standing within the city’s 16 square miles, and it succeeds the Guide to Lake Forest’s National Register Historic Districts and Landmarks, published in 1994.

“There’s more breathing room for the build ings and houses in Lake Forest than you see in other North Shore suburbs,” says Miller, who worked at Lake Forest College from 1972-

2013. “And the different styles of homes in Lake Forest … there are so many of them. It’s a community with remarkable architecture and landscaping.

“Most people,” he adds, “like the way Lake Forest looks.”

Formed in 1976, Lake Forest Preservation Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting the historic visual character of Lake Forest. It uses a three-tier strategy of education, advocacy and celebra tion—via garden strolls, home tours, lectures, projects, and more—to safeguard the city’s exceptional architectural and landscape legacy

2000; he then collaborated with Kim Coventry and Daniel Meyer to pen Classic Country Es tates of Lake Forest: Architecture and Landscape Design, 1856-1940, in 2003.

Former LFPF Director and current Lake Bluff History Museum Communications Manager Adrienne Fawcett served as Editor and Producer of Architectural Lake Forest. The book was designed by Robson Design, Inc., with Marcus Norman providing the pho

Northwestern University.

For six years, while collecting those ad vanced degrees, Miller worked at Newberry Library in Chicago. He started as a desk atten dant and ended up as head of public services. In between? Mr. Arthur Hawks Miller ran Newberry’s main reading room.

He’d met his future wife, Jan, when both were juniors at Kalamazoo College. They got married in 1967 and raised children Andrew, now a Winnetkan, and Janelle (Moravek), of Libertyville.

But back to Lake Forest, the topic Miller knows as well as Galileo knew about the four moons of Jupiter.

Lake Forest’s Market Square was the first City Beautiful town center plan to be implemented successfully, according to critic and architect Peter B. Wight (p. 7, Architectural Lake Forest).

“Stables were there before Market Square was built,” Miller says. “It reeked. People would get off the train in downtown Lake Forest and immediately hear the buzz-buzz-buzz of horseflies coming from the stables.”

tography and map design and LFPF Executive Director Marcy Kerr deliver ing “steadying, encouraging leadership,”

The book’s sponsors were Market Square, Baker McNicholas Group, and Deer Path

“What I enjoyed the most about putting the book together was the teamwork part,” Miller says. Miller, half-Dutch, grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and worked a lot as a youngster, particularly in the field of gardening. Miller tended his own vegetable garden, located about a mile from his house.

“When I had my tonsils taken out, I received get-well cards from people who told me they would take good care of my garden while I was recovering,” Miller says. He landed several gardening gigs in Kalamazoo and, during the summers, toiled in soil at homes in Watervliet, a nearby rural farming community (pop. 1,648, today). The name of the city in northeastern Berrien County is Dutch for “where the waters meet.”

“People hired the dumb kid to work in their gardens,” Miller cracks.

An image of the gorgeous Deer Path Inn, a National Landmark designed in 1920 by ar chitect William C. Jones at the behest of local estate owners, adorns the back of Architectural Lake Forest

“Built in 1928, it was inspired by a 15th cen tury half-timbered and stucco English manor house in Chiddingstone, Kent, England, and remains one of the city’s most popular and defining destinations,” Miller writes in the “Downtown and Vine-Oakwood” chapter.

Miller notes the Inn underwent a major rehabilitation (cost unknown) in 2015.

Travel & Leisure’s top-ranked Midwest resort hotel?

Deer Path Inn.

“It beautifully exemplifies downtown Lake Forest’s English village appeal,” Miller writes, adding the Inn, Market Square, and Baker McNicholas Group are “important custodians of preservation in Lake Forest.”

So are property owners.

“(They) deserve the major share of thanks for carefully stewarding their homes and land scapes,” Miller pens. “Photographing proper ties while dodging dumpsters and service vehicles showed us how seriously homeowners take their responsibilities.

“To them and their predecessors, includ ing those whose homes could not be included here,” he continues, “we extend our heartfelt gratitude.”

LFPF couldn’t have tapped a better historian than Miller to update and enhance the guide. Miller and Shirley M. Paddock cowrote Lake Forest Estates, People, and Culture in

The ‘dumb’ kid majored in English at Kalamazoo College, got master’s degrees in English and Library at the University of Chicago, and earned a Ph.D. in English at

For more information about Lake Forest Preservation Foundation and to purchase the book Architectural Lake Forest online, beginning November 7, visit lfpf.org. The book launch occurs November 6. It will also be available at select retailers in Lake Forest.

There’s more breathing room for the buildings and houses in Lake Forest than you see in other North Shore suburbs.

Arthur Miller