Address: 600 South Ridge Road, Lake Forest
Year built: 1909
Architect: Edwin H. Clark
Original owners: James Ward and Narcissa Niblack Thorne

The tall and dramatic French Renaissance manor-style home in west Lake Forest was designed as a country house for James Ward Thorne, son of the co-founder of Montgomery Ward & Co., and his wife Narcissa Niblack Thorne, creator of the unique miniature Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Edwin H. Clark referenced Francois Mansard (1598-1666) with the steep roof he designed for the house. The setting and tall ceilings allowed for sweeping views of formal, European-inspired gardens and prairie. The property surrounding the estate was given to Lake Forest Open Lands in the 1980s, thus preserving a sense of scale that the house had when it was originally designed. The south wing of the house and the pool have been demolished.