36 N. DU BOIS AVENUE

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE

In 1928 Leroy “Bud” and Ethel Sandberg commissioned builders Art Kenyon, Ed Palm, and Eugene Palm to construct a home at 36 N. Du Bois Avenue. Sitting within the Washington Heights addition to Elgin, Bud and Ethel gave a mortgage to the Elgin Loan and Homestead Association, executed in April of 1928. The 1929-30 Elgin City Directory is the first to show the Sandbergs as the owners.  

Ethel (nee Palm) Sandberg was born March 19, 1894, and Bud born February 12, 1891. Bud served in World War I, and was active in the local American Legion throughout the rest of his life. After returning home from the War, Bud had a short stint as a semi-professional baseball player for the Elgin Collegians. Bud later worked as the Sales Manager for the Hubbell Motor Company, a Ford dealer. Ethel graduated from Elgin High School and went on to work at the Elgin Watch Case Factory.

The Sandberg family was active in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, and then later helped form the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Bethlehem Church on January 30, 1871.

The house has seen very few owners throughout the years, with the Sandbergs occupying the home for nearly 60 years.  

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

36 N. Du Bois is a Tudor Revival style cottage. While the Tudor Revival style takes some elements from the traditional Tudor style, it has many marked differences and sometimes include stylistic inspirations from contemporaneous styles of the day. Distinguishing features of the Tudor Revival style seen here include the steeply pitched roof; a facade dominated by a front-facing gable; the tall, double-hung windows; the rounded arch entry way, and the masonry exterior.

TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS

 

Sources: 1999 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud