to restore their extraordinary home in Riverside, Illinois. Louis Sullivan, known primarily as the mentor of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed masterful buildings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  He teamed up with George Grant Elmslie  in 1907 to design a 28-acre estate in Riverside for Henry Babson.  See photos of the estate, its furnishings and landscaping here, courtesy of organica.org.

Although the main house on the Babson property has long since been demolished, some of the estate’s service buildings remain, including this one, which was converted to a private home.  The residence is currently for sale for $599,000.  The home needs a bit of updating, but wow – what an opportunity.

277 Gatesby Road Exterior

See the exquisite detail on the garage. This unit is shared with the owner of the home across the courtyard.

The door to this bedroom once stepped out to a greenhouse on the property.

See life through the home’s abundant art glass windows.

For a video of the home, as well as more photos, see this blog from Chicago magazine’s “Deal Estate” columnist Dennis Rodkin.

George Grant Elmslie partnered with William Gray Purcell from 1907 through 1921.  Purcell and Elmslie were among the founders of the progressive architecture movement in the early 1900s. Their work is often compared to that of Frank Lloyd Wright.  Although some of their most significant commissions are no longer extant, you can still visit masterpieces such as Winona, Minnesota’s 1912 Merchants National Bank building.