Riverside in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Avery Coonley House

Photographed by Sean Flynn, March 9, 2024

1. Avery Coonley House Marker

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form
Click for more information.

Inscription. Avery Coonley House
has been designated a
Registered National
Historic Landmark

Under the provisions of the
Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935
this site possesses exceptional value
in commemorating or illustrating
the history of the United States

Erected 1971 by U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Frank Lloyd Wright, the National Historic Landmarks, and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1907.

Location. 41° 49.211′ N, 87° 49.689′ W. Marker is in Riverside, Illinois, in Cook County. It is at the intersection of Scottswood Road and Coonley Road, on the left when traveling east on Scottswood Road. The marker is in the small triangular park formed by the intersection of Scottswood and Coonley roads. It is across the street from the Coonley home. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 300 Scottswood Road, Riverside IL 60546, United States of America.

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

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.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Riverside As It Once Was (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hofmann Dam Removal (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Hofmann Dam (approx. 0.3 miles away); Hofmann Tower (approx. 0.3 miles away); Old River-Crossing (approx. 0.4 miles away); Hollywood's Island Parks (approx. half a mile away); Bourbon Spring (approx. half a mile away); Stephen Van Rensselaer Forbes Home Site (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Riverside.

More about this marker. The wooden remnant of a stand for a marker can be seen in front of the home on Scottswood; while a full marker can be seen in older photographs of the home, it's not known what was on it.

Regarding Avery Coonley House. Avery

Avery Coonley House Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, March 9, 2024

2. Avery Coonley House Marker

Coonley, a Chicago-based industrialist and publisher, and his wife Queene, an heir to the Detroit-based Ferry Seed Company, acquired a large lot on the west side of Riverside, on something of a peninsula formed by a northeasterly jut in the Des Plaines River. The Coonleys commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright, based about five miles northeast in Oak Park, to design their home on that lot. Wright himself was pleased with the result of the Coonley House, which he described as "the most successful of my houses from my standpoint." The two-story, U-shaped home overlooks lawns and gardens, its north side overlooking the Des Plaines. A cottage in the middle, called "Coonley Playhouse," was the original home of Avery Coonley School, an elite preschool-8th private school founded by Queene Coonley. In 1916 the school moved farther west to Downers Grove, where it is still in existence on a campus that is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

Also see . . .
1. Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation: Avery Coonley House.

Excerpt: "This elaborate Prairie style residence, with its Coach House, Gardener’s Cottage and accompanying gardens,
Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

3. Avery Coonley House
marks the first time that Wright used 'zoned planning.' This approach involves dividing spaces based on their function and he would use it for the rest of his career."

(Submitted on November 13, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Coonley House. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on March 14, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Avery Coonley House image. Click for full size.

Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

4. Avery Coonley House

Architectural survey for the Coonley House

Credits. This page was last revised on November 13, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 13, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 365 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 13, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.