Submitted By
Tammie Grossman, Development Customer Services Director
Reviewed By
CLP
Agenda Item Title
Title
Concur with the Historic Preservation Commission and Adopt an Ordinance Amending Chapter 7 (“Building Regulations”), Article 9 {“Historic Preservation”), Section 7-9-8 (“Designation of Historic Landmarks and Interior Historic Landmarks”) of the Oak Park Village Code to Designate the Exterior of 414 Augusta Avenue as an Historic Landmark
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Overview
Overview
On September 12, 2017 the Historic Preservation Commission received a request from the property owners to designate their property at 414 Augusta as an Oak Park Historic Landmark. The Historic Preservation Commission conducted a preliminary determination of eligibility on the completed nomination report on October 12, 2017 which determined that the property met at least one of the criteria for designation contained in the Historic Preservation Ordinance. The Commission held a public hearing on November 9, 2017. Legal Notice of the Public Hearing was published in the Wednesday Journal on October 25, 2017, and hearing notices were mailed to Village property owners within 250 feet of the site. The Commission approved the nomination as the Findings of Fact and recommended approval of the property as an Oak Park Historic Landmark by the attached Resolution on November 9, 2017 as is mandated in the Historic Preservation Ordinance.
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Recommendation
Recommendation
The Historic Preservation Commission recommends approval of the designation.
Body
Staff Recommendation
Village staff recommends acceptance of the Historic Preservation Commission findings and recommendations by Resolution and approval of an ordinance designating 414 Augusta Street as an Oak Park Historic Landmark.
Fiscal Impact
The amount of $250 (account #1001-46200-332-530662) has been budgeted for this item through the Historic Preservation Commission for a bronze plaque and is also the current amount requested.
Background
The Historic Preservation Ordinance, adopted by the Village Board in 1994, enables the Historic Preservation Commission to recommend, and the Village Board to adopt by Ordinance, local landmarks within the Village. The property must meet one or more of 8 criteria for designation as listed in the ordinance. The ordinance calls for the Commission to hold a public hearing and then forward a recommendation in the form of a Resolution to the Village Board. Upon receipt of the Resolution and nomination report, the Village Board has 30 days in which to designate or reject the nomination by simple majority. Upon approval, the Board shall enact an ordinance designating the landmark.
The property at 414 Augusta Street is known as the Edgar Rice Burroughs House no. 1. The two-story stucco house was constructed in 1911-1912 and was designed in the Tudor Revival style with Craftsman influences. The house is two-stories with a high side gable. The house is clad with a rough-textured stucco. The asymmetrical façade has a two-story projecting bay with half-timbering and a brick skirt wall. There are banks of 6/6 double-hung windows on each floor. The main entrance is located in a one- and two-story wing on the east side of the house. There is a one-story enclosed entrance porch on the west side and a brick chimney clad in stucco below the eave-line.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, where he lived with his family from 1914-1917, and where he wrote twelve stories. Burroughs and his wife Emma purchased the house on November 27, 1914 from May M. Skinner. Burroughs was a prolific author of science fiction, and his name became synonymous with his most famous creation - Tarzan of the Apes. He wrote twenty-four Tarzan novels published between 1912-1935. He also wrote numerous other series, including John Carter of Mars, The Land That Time Forgot, Pellucidar, Venus as well as many individual novels of adventure. By the time of his death in 1950, Burroughs had written ninety-four novels, along with the production of twenty-six Tarzan movies (there would ultimately be fifty-one movies - the last in 2005). By 1929 he had sold over 7,000,000 copies world-wide, and the first Tarzan of the Apes movie was the first film to gross over $1,000,000.James T. Hayden was a prominent citizen of Oak Park who was a machinist and inventor who worked for the Crane Company in Chicago and filed numerous mechanical patents during his lifetime. He was born in Massachusetts in 1842, served for four years in the Ohio 31st Volunteers in the Civil War, and married Helen Angle, also of Massachusetts. The couple had four children, three who lived to adulthood.
The property is significant for its association with owner Edgar Rice Burroughs. The property meets the following criteria under section 7-9-5 of the Historic Preservation Ordinance “Criteria for Designation of Historic Landmarks and Interior Historic Landmarks”:
(3) Identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the architectural, cultural, economic, historic or social heritage, or other aspect, of the Village of Oak Park, the State of Illinois, or the United States;
Alternatives
The alternative would be to take no action or deny the recommendation for Historic Landmark designation. This would save the Village $250 but would fail to provide long-term protection for what the Historic Preservation Commission considers to be an important historic resource within the Village.
Previous Board Action
N/A.
Citizen Advisory Commission Action
The Historic Preservation Commission approved the Historic Landmark Nomination Report as findings of fact and forwarded these findings and Resolution to the Board recommending approval of an ordinance designating 414 Augusta Street as an Oak Park Historic Landmark.
Anticipated Future Actions/Commitments
N/A.
Intergovernmental Cooperation Opportunities
N/A.
Performance Management (MAP) Alignment
A Governance Priority established for the Planning Division of the Community and Economic Development Department is Long Range Planning - Historic Preservation Plan.