Arthur Heun: Grand Domestic Design
Arthur Heun was born in Michigan in 1866 and graduated from the University of Michigan’s architecture program. He came to Chicago to work as a draftsman for Francis Whitehouse. In 1893, Heun took over the practice and began building a reputation for grand domestic design. The most noteworthy example of his work is Mellody Farm, the Renaissance-inspired country villa, outbuildings, and landscape plan that Heun oversaw for J. Ogden and Lolita Sheldon Armour, from 1905 to 1908.
Arthur Heun’s most prominent local work, the Armour family’s Mellody Farm, pictured c. 1907 before landscape work was completed.
The contrast between Mellody Farm and the Elizabethan-style Ardleigh, designed in 1896 for the John V. Farwell Jr. family, showcases Heun’s range.
Heun was a sought-after residential architect. He also designed the early location of the Casino Club and several locations of the Arts Club in the city.
Architects like Heun leveraged connections to secure new clients. He designed this house next door to Ardleigh for John V. Farwell Jr.’s brother, Francis Cooley Farwell.
Other local commissions include:
- 1896: “Ardleigh,” John V. Jr. and Ellen Drummond Farwell, 121 South Stonegate Road, Lake Forest
- 1896: “Edgewood,” Francis Cooley and Fanny Day Farwell, 123 South Stonegate Road, Lake Forest
- 1907: “Arcady,” Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Meeker, 80 North Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. Demolished.
Those connections could be both familial or business. While Mellody Farm was still under construction just up Waukegan Road, Arthur Heun also designed a gentleman farm for J. Ogden Armour’s Armour & Co. colleague, Arther Meeker, near the corner of Waukegan and Kennedy roads. Arcady Farm is pictured here in 1962.
Arthur Heun (1866-1946).