Community Corner
Winnetka Founder's Home Will Be Demolished
A 150-year plus life span for the Thomas Bassett House is about to come to an end. Former resident calls it "a sad day" for Winnetka.
WINNETKA, IL - The Winnetka home of Thomas Bassett, one of the “Founding Fathers” of the village, is about to meet the wrecking ball.
The Winnetka Landmark Preservation Commission agreed on Tuesday to approve a demolition for the Thomas Bassett House at 461 Maple Avenue, according to the Daily North Shore. Built in 1861, the Bassett House is one of the oldest homes in the village. Bassett was a member of the village’s first Board of Trustees.
“Every time you lose an historic house you lose a part of Winnetka’s historic character,” Winifred Hayes, a former resident of the house, told the commission. “I just think it is a very sad day in Winnetka that this house is coming down.”
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Hayes lived in the home until she was four, and her grandparents owned it for a 30-year period during the mid 20th century.
The demolition request was made by developer Sean Freeman of Twenty 9, Inc., who plans to build a new house in its place for the property’s owners.
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