Two Illinois Firms Restore Mies van der Rohe House at Elmhurst Art Museum

Submitted by VP Public Relations.

Palatine, IL - The second of three homes in the U.S. designed by internationally renowned architect Mies van der Rohe is currently undergoing the first phase of an extensive restoration project.

The McCormick House, originally located at 299 Prospect Avenue in Elmhurst, was moved to its current location at the Elmhurst Art Museum in 1994.

The house was originally built for Isabella Gardner, an award winning poet and actress, and her third husband, Robert Hall McCormick III. McCormick and his father were already working with Mies at that time on Lake Shore Drive Towers, 860-880 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

Gardner and McCormick ran in elite social circles from 1952-1959 when they resided in McCormick House. Among the guests they entertained at the home were famed poets T.S. Eliot and Robert Frost, in addition to other notable characters and celebrities of the time.

The first phase of the McCormick House restoration project was initiated due to considerable paint deterioration on the nearly 65-year-old structure. The materials used in the home included steel and glass, whose use was a brand new concept for housing construction in the 1950’s.

Identical materials were utilized in Lake Shore Drive Towers, as well as Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, which also was designed by Mies. During his career, he was highly regarded as one of the pioneers of modern architecture.

Elmhurst-based Heritage Architecture Studio, LLC lead by founder and principal Heidi Y. Granke, AIA, specializes in historic preservation. The firm is handling the first of several planned restoration projects and has more than 20 years of expertise in design and planning for historical structures.

The first phase contractor is Dakota Evans Restoration, Inc., which is based in Palatine and has a more than 20-year background in masonry restoration and coating project specialization for historical structures. The company’s work on the project involves removing multiple layers of paint, and re-coating the steel surfaces to prevent further corrosion.