Oak Park in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
209 N. Humphrey Ave.
Historic Marker
West Suburban Medical Center Oak Park, Illinois
Photographed by Sean Flynn
1. 209 N. Humphrey Ave. Marker
Inscription.
209 N. Humphrey Ave.. Historic Marker. This graceful and carefully treated stone parapet and cornice were saved from a distinctive Graystone two-flat building that once stood at 209 N. Humpbrey Avenue. When that Graystone was built here in 1902-03, urban refugees like first owner and builder Maartin Slinger brought this city building type with him. Although not initially welcomed, multi-family buildings accommodated sizable numbers of new residents seeking to move into Oak Park, a desirable Chicago railroad suburb. Two-flats and duplexes blended easily into the typical suburban streetscape, with setbacks, lawns, side yards, and often massing similar to surrounding single family homes. On Humphrey Avenue, Dutch immigrant Maartin Slinger and his family made their home in an affordable and quiet community within close proximity to the city. , , The Graystone, although common in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, is rare in the Ridgeland-Oak Park Historic District. Graystones take their name from the color of this building material -- oolitic limestone principally from stone quarries near Bedford, Indiana. Because of its weighty, massive quality, this stone was a fashionable building material for high-end Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne-style buildings of the era. When these styles were used for Graystones, complex parapets and cornices typically crowned buildings. Once found above the building's hexagonal window bay, this visually rich parapet displays smooth limestone block contrasting with inset arched and rectangular panels filled with sinuous, leafy ornament. A finely designed narrow coping leads to the parapet's highest element, a classical finial. ,
This graceful and carefully treated stone parapet and cornice were saved from a distinctive Graystone two-flat building that once stood at 209 N. Humpbrey Avenue. When that Graystone was built here in 1902-03, urban refugees like first owner and builder Maartin Slinger brought this city building type with him. Although not initially welcomed, multi-family buildings accommodated sizable numbers of new residents seeking to move into Oak Park, a desirable Chicago railroad suburb. Two-flats and duplexes blended easily into the typical suburban streetscape, with setbacks, lawns, side yards, and often massing similar to surrounding single family homes. On Humphrey Avenue, Dutch immigrant Maartin Slinger and his family made their home in an affordable and quiet community within close proximity to the city.
The Graystone, although common in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, is rare in the Ridgeland-Oak Park Historic District. Graystones take their name from the color of this building material -- oolitic limestone principally from stone quarries near Bedford, Indiana. Because of its weighty, massive
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quality, this stone was a fashionable building material for high-end Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne-style buildings of the era. When these styles were used for Graystones, complex parapets and cornices typically crowned buildings. Once found above the building's hexagonal window bay, this visually rich parapet displays smooth limestone block contrasting with inset arched and rectangular panels filled with sinuous, leafy ornament. A finely designed narrow coping leads to the parapet's highest element, a classical finial.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Architecture. A significant historical year for this entry is 1902.
Location. 41° 53.436′ N, 87° 46.609′ W. Marker is in Oak Park, Illinois, in Cook County. It is at the intersection of Ontario Street and Humphrey Avenue, on the left when traveling east on Ontario Street. It is near a parking lot entrance for West Suburban Hospital. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Oak Park IL 60302, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
The historical marker is in front of some remnants of the graystone two-flat home that was demolished in 2007 to make way for an expansion of West Suburban Hospital's emergency room.
More about this marker. The marker has some slight fraying in the edge of the upper right corner. Some stone features of the original building are on display behind the marker.
Regarding 209 N. Humphrey Ave.. The two-flat structure described in this marker was torn down in about 2007 to make way for an expansion of West Suburban Hospital's emergency room.
The original stone parapet from 209 N. Humphrey sits beside the historical marker near West Suburban Hospital.
and West Suburban Hospital's decision to demolish it to make way for an expansion of its emergency room.
Excerpt: "Granacki also argued that the building is 'not individually architecturally significant.' Of the 10 other detached, two-flat graystones in the district, the Humphrey building is certainly not the best.'
A remodeled porch detracted from the two-flats historical significance, as did the facts that the buildings architect is not known, nor did any historically significant people live there, she said."
(Submitted on July 10, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Credits. This page was last revised on October 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 10, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 303 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on July 10, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 3. submitted on April 29, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
