Kenilworth debates seeking historic status for the whole town

[Read and Learn]

Great. Of course, it is too late for Winnetka....

[CTM]

You are right. Winnetka is beginning to look like a transplanted Warsaw - with all of those turreted temples to the tasteless and "uninformed".

[WestSideTommy]

rickster wrote:

Howcome Ford Heights or Riverdale isnt added as a historical suburb?

The same reason there's no historical markers at the site of the Pony Inn, the Biograph, 63rd and Western (where Frank McErlane bushwhacked Spike O'Donnel in the first gangster Tommy Gun attack, unusually for McErlane he missed) or where the St. Valentines Massacre happened. It's not "respectable" history to the upper middle class gatekeepers and tastemakers.

[george]

I am seeing the same thing happening in many suburbs. What you have is old people who do not want change and then you have the younger homeowners who have a different take on what they find attractive. I personally find it appalling what kenillworth is doing. Who cares what archetect built the house..if its ugly in your eyes and you own, you should have the right to tear it down and build your dream house. This is why we have museums. Why would I buy (and yes, I can afford a house there) now in kenellworth....it is more important to me and my family to have a home that I can change if my tastes change, rather then having to jump thru hoops, pay attorney fees, go thru appearance committees, etc.., NO THANKS.

[Jefferson]

CTM wrote:

I hold an MA in Historic Preservation from Boston University and more than 25 years of experience in preservation, historic designations, historic districts and National Register work - on the East Coast. I have lived on the North Shore for 12 years. This area is about 30 years behind the times. The same issues are being raised that we refuted and invalidated all those years ago - such as "property taxes will go up" - "property values will go down" - "property-owners will lose control of their property". Think of what Boston's Back Bay and Beacon Hill, Nantucket and Annapolis, as examples, would be if informed and more level heads hadn't prevailed in these locations. I served on a board to create a Historic District on Michigan Avenue and there weren't enough contributive buildings left. That was at the time of the Rand-McNally debacle. Things haven't gotten any better. As always, those with the biggest mouths and the most prone to personal gain are the least informed.

RandMcNally debacle? Do you mean McGraw-Hill, circa 1994?

[Jefferson]

george wrote:

I am seeing the same thing happening in many suburbs. What you have is old people who do not want change and then you have the younger homeowners who have a different take on what they find attractive. I personally find it appalling what kenillworth is doing. Who cares what archetect built the house..if its ugly in your eyes and you own, you should have the right to tear it down and build your dream house. This is why we have museums. Why would I buy (and yes, I can afford a house there) now in kenellworth....it is more important to me and my family to have a home that I can change if my tastes change, rather then having to jump thru hoops, pay attorney fees, go thru appearance committees, etc.., NO THANKS.

George, if you can afford to live in Kenilworth you should at least be able to spell it.

[Ann]

Ugh......Kenilworth. I'm not surprised....they'd probably kick a person out of town for wearing a polo shirt purchased from Target.

[President Obama]

Everyone in Kenilworth is Super Rich. They have so much money that a few restrictions won't place any hardship on anybody. Besides, everyone there is a Lakefront Liberal and should be happy to have restrictions placed upon everyone in town.

[Doug]

CTM - first of all, Boston is a pit, as anyone who has lived there knows. Second of all, most of the older houses in Winnetka are pits, too. You may enjoy driving by and looking at the cute old houses, but inside they are a mess. Did you ever think that maybe houses are for people to live in, not for the entertainment of people like you?

[Ms Blondie]

I think this is awesome. I work in Winnetka and all the tear downs are horrendous and the downtown area is starting to look ugly. If you want to build a big ugly mansion, go buy some land and build it but don't tear down these beautiful old homes.

[ACLU Member]

When NIMBYs attack! Tonight at 9.

[my kind of town]

Doug"- first of all, Boston is a pit, as anyone who has lived there knows. Second of all, most of the older houses in Winnetka are pits, too. You may enjoy driving by and looking at the cute old houses, but inside they are a mess.

---

Wow. Doug I suggest you visit Dubai--bigger,
gaudier with no sense of place. You'd love it.

And let's not for a minute consider the amount of
energy it takes to teardown and build a sprawling
footprint. All those old trees just get in the way.....
You and Mr. "T" have a similar world view.

[CTM]

Gee Doug, you sound like one of those typical Mid-Westerners who are afraid of going anywhere outside of the Mid-West because they feel such a sense of inadequacy.

[cactus]

people are living in straw bale houses in nebraska built 100 years ago. going underground and community parking rather than individual car bedrooms and tearing up the streets once the houses are built and putting back the soil are the key issues to me. what you cant walk two blocks to your car and get your mail there? its pretty shortsighted to put up restrictions. put money where your mouth is. you want to keep old houses? pay for them and find a buyer who will keep them sacrosanct.

[my kind of town]

cactus wrote:

people are living in straw bale houses in nebraska built 100 years ago. going underground and community parking rather than individual car bedrooms and tearing up the streets once the houses are built and putting back the soil are the key issues to me. what you cant walk two blocks to your car and get your mail there? its pretty shortsighted to put up restrictions. put money where your mouth is. you want to keep old houses? pay for them and find a buyer who will keep them sacrosanct.

??????? Straw houses? Going underground? I see the
comment comes from that bastion of good taste
Highland Park where, early on, the megamanse on
little or no land first took shape.

[k lofgren]

I am gald to see that it is being considered. Having moved from Oak Park, from a Neo Classic home between two FrankLloyd Wright homes we initially felt constricted in our choices of remodeling. As it turned out we were pleased with the process, albeit onerous. We were not impeded in our attempts to restore the home. We were very surprised to move to Kenilworth in 1982 and find that many beautiful properties have been lost and some not so great additions have been added. I believe in personal property rights, but I also believe in a 'planned community' being allowed to prosper.

[cactus]

my kind of town wrote:

<quoted text>
??????? Straw houses? Going underground? I see the
comment comes from that bastion of good taste
Highland Park where, early on, the megamanse on
little or no land first took shape.

critical mass you lead my friend. what is YOUR art otherwise? combing your hair and brushing your teeth dont count.

[Toothless in Winnetka]

I'm not allowed here, so I cannot comment.