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Charles Platt, Edith Rockefeller McCormick, Harold McCormick, Villa Turicum, Villa Turicum Estate, Villa Turicum Lake Forest
I just stumbled upon the most wonderful web site dedicated to the legendary Villa Turicum, the Lake Forest estate built for Harold McCormick and his wife, Edith Rockefeller McCormick. The 44-room Italianate villa was constructed between 1908 and 1918. Spurning an altogether different design by Frank Lloyd Wright, the McCormicks turned to Charles Platt, an East Coast architect with a strong Italian Renaissance design vocabulary. The McCormicks spent untold millions on the property, the home and its astounding landscaping. However, Mrs. McCormick was said to have spent perhaps one night in the home. Left to decay after Mrs. McCormick’s death, the villa was a victim of the wrecking ball in 1956.
The web site, a glorious tribute to a masterpiece, is here.
Just one photo, and the web site will show you the rest.
Villa Turicum, the Restored Watercourse
I was doing a little research this morning on the meeting that Harold McCormick and Edith Rockefeller McCormick with Frank Lloyd Wright (somewhere there a wonderful first hand recollection by FLW) and I discovered your website. Thank you for the kind comments about my Villa Turicum website. Best regards, Todd Protzman Davis
Thank you so much, Todd. I became fascinated with Villa Turicum after having read about it in David Garrard Lowe’s Chicago Interiors. I was lucky to have a friend who grew up in Lake Forest, and we enjoyed driving around the estates – still extant, and their settings. Your website is absolutely magnificent.