469 RIVER BLUFF ROAD
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
In 1937, Frank and Alvina Baseman deeded Lot 1 of Block 10, which they had owned since 1920, to Wilhelm and Helen Hoppe for $10.00. The Hoppes quickly built their new Cape Code style home at 469 River Bluff Road for $6,000 remarkably without taking out a mortgage. Built in between the Great Depression and World War II, the house is typical of the homes built at that time as it was efficiently designed with comfort in mind.
Wilhelm Hoppe was a salesman for the Beckley-Ralston Company out of Chicago who sold wholesale tools, hardware, automobile and bicycle supplies. He was promoted to district manager in 1941. By 1950, the Hoppes sold the home and moved to 630 Cleveland Avenue in Elgin.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
469 River Bluff Road is a great example of the Cape Cod Revival style. This is a sub-type of the Colonial Revival style. Cape Cod style homes were most popular between the 1920s through 1940s. Elgin’s first modern subdivision, Sunset Park located on the southwest side of Elgin, consists of variations on this style.
The house was designed by well-known Elgin architect, photographer and magician, Elmer Gylleck. He moved to Elgin in 1900 as a child and in the 20s he trained in engineering and architecture at the Armour Institute now known as the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago as well as the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. In the 30s he was the Chicago Regional Director of the Architects Small House Service Bureau and in 1945, he started his own firm in Elgin. Gylleck also designed 32 River Bluff as well as 821 and 845 Brook.
TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS
Sources: 2017 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud