Frederick Squires House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Frederick Squires House
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Location | 1003 W. Church St., Champaign, Illinois |
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Built | c. 1870s, 1927 |
Architect | Frederick Squires |
Architectural style | Craftsman |
NRHP reference No. | 11000846 |
Added to NRHP | November 22, 2011 |
The Frederick Squires House is a unique historic home located in Champaign, Illinois. Its owner, Frederick Squires, designed this special house in 1927. He used a style called Craftsman. What makes this house so interesting is how it was built.
Contents
A House Built from Other Houses
Frederick Squires didn't start building his house from scratch. Instead, he took two similar houses from the 1870s. One of these houses was even moved from another spot in Champaign! He then combined these two older houses to create his new home.
Not only did he reuse old houses, but Squires also used recycled materials. He built his new home with wood, bricks, and concrete that had been used before. This was a very clever and eco-friendly way to build a house, even back then!
Inside the Craftsman Home
The inside of the Frederick Squires House is just as special as its outside. It follows the ideas of the Craftsman design style. This means it has an "open floor plan." This is where rooms flow into each other, making the space feel bigger.
The house also uses lots of natural materials inside. This helps create a warm and welcoming feeling. The entrance hall is also designed to be a room on its own. It's not just a small space to walk through.
Who Was Frederick Squires?
Frederick Squires was born in 1879 in Plainfield, New Jersey. He studied architecture at Williams College. He also went to Columbia University, which had one of the first schools for mining in the United States.
Squires worked as an architect until 1914. He helped design office buildings in New York City. He also shared his designs in magazines like Architectural Record and House and Garden.
Squires' Books and Ideas
Frederick Squires wrote a book in 1913 called The Hollow Tile House. This book was about a new way of building that he had created. A year later, he published another interesting book. It was called Architectonics: The Tales of Tom Thumtack, Architect. This book even had fun drawings by a famous artist named Rockwell Kent.
After 1914, Squires worked with his brother in the oil business. But he never stopped loving architecture. His own home, the Frederick Squires House, clearly shows his creative ideas and his interest in unique designs.
A Historic Landmark
The Frederick Squires House is so special that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 22, 2011. This means it's recognized as an important building in American history. It's protected so future generations can learn from and enjoy it.