Zook's Unique Architecture January 19, 2011

Zook's Unique Architecture
Join the Hinsdale Historical Society Woman's Board for a fascinating pictorial Presentation of ZOOK: A Look at R Harold Zook’s Unique Architecture, presented by Author Betty Green.

Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Time: 2:00 - 2:30 pm Book signing to follow presentation
Location: Immanuel Hall
302 South Grant Street, Hinsdale
Website: www.hinsdalehistory.org

R Harold Zook designed homes with multi-layered wavy roofs, prow windows and mysterious rooms. He festooned them with spider webs in windows, patios and chimney crests along with chevrons, both on exterior façades and in fireplace interiors. He created about forty homes in the suburbs during the 1920s through the late ’40’s. Each home is unique—with distinctive wrought-iron fixtures, weathervanes and peepholes. As long ago as the mid’ 30s, Zook recycled Lannon stone, wooden barn beams and suggested a wood preservation method.

Author Betty Green, a docent with the Chicago Architecture Foundation, has spent fifteen years photographing many of the buildings and meeting homeowners to tell an unusual story about a remarkable designer who bucked suburban traditions. Her book, ZOOK: A Look at R Harold Zook's Unique Architecture brings back a style that teaches us a great deal about suburban life.

For more than thirty years, the Hinsdale Historical Society has been devoted to collecting, preserving and promoting the history of Hinsdale. The Society is an active group of dedicated citizens, who are committed to local historic preservation. The Society is the home of Hinsdale’s history.