William Carbys Zimmerman: State Architect and Estate Architect
Westleigh, designed by Zimmerman for Louis F. and Ida Butler Swift, 1899. Residence for Swift’s large gentleman farm property at Green Bay and Westleigh roads.
Illinois State Architect William Carbys Zimmerman was born in Wisconsin in 1856. Upon graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he moved to Chicago in 1886 and became a junior partner in the firm of John J. Flanders. There, Zimmerman gained a reputation for his house designs in popular revival styles. By 1898, he had opened his own practice. Bringing his son on in 1931, the firm became Zimmerman, Saxe and Zimmerman.
Knollwood, designed by Zimmerman for Granger and Sarah Goodrich Farwell, 1895. Originally located at Sheridan and Rosemary roads, later moved to 400 North Washington Road.
As the Illinois State Architect from 1905 to 1915, Zimmerman had the opportunity to design major works on behalf of the state government. He spanned the country estate period through the age of modern design, as evident in the Morse house in Knollwood, Lake Bluff.
Local commissions include:
- 1895: “Knollwood,” Granger and Sarah Goodrich Farwell, 400 North Washington Road, Lake Forest.
- 1899: “Westleigh,” Louis F. and Ida Butler Swift, 255 East Foster Place, Lake Forest.
- 1908: “Pinewold," Bernard A. and Kate Johnson Eckhardt, 950 East Westminster Road, Lake Forest. Landscape by Jens Jensen.
- 1931: Col. Roger Hosmer and Elizabeth Morse, 1801 West Knollwood Circle, Lake Bluff.