National Register of Historic Places

Walser, Joseph J., House

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Listed
April 22, 2013
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
13000185

About this property

The J. J. Walser Jr. House is a Prairie style house in the Austin community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the house was built for the real estate developer Joseph Jacob Walser Jr. The Walser family bought the land in 1903, and the house was finished that year at a cost of $4,000 (equivalent to $143,333 in 2025). The Walsers moved out of the house in 1910. Since then, the house has had a dozen owners and undergone several modifications; for instance, the original outdoor porches were enclosed. Anne Teague and her husband Hurley acquired the building in 1970 and lived there until their deaths. After Anne died in 2019, the house began to deteriorate, was left abandoned, and went into foreclosure. The Walser House was designed as a two-story single-family residence with a cruciform floor plan. Its exterior consists of stucco facade, casement windows, and a hip roof, with an entrance hidden on the south side. The first floor contains a reception room, an open plan living–dining area, and a kitchen; the second story has five bedrooms, and the basement contains service rooms. There is also a garage at the rear. After completion, the house appeared in a 1905 article in House Beautiful magazine and was included in Wright's Wasmuth Portfolio. The Walser House is a Chicago Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Location

42 N. Central Ave.
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
41.88349, -87.76545

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Austin Town Hall Park Historic District
Civil War
0.2 mi
First Congregational Church of Austin
Industrial
0.4 mi
Austin Historic District
Listed
0.4 mi
Columbus Park
Listed
0.6 mi
Warner, Seth, House
Industrial
0.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Walser, Joseph J., House listed on the National Register?

Walser, Joseph J., House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 22, 2013.

What type of historic resource is Walser, Joseph J., House?

Walser, Joseph J., House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Walser, Joseph J., House?

The period of significance for Walser, Joseph J., House is recorded as the industrial era.

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