Lecture – November 13, 2022

“Joseph L. Silsbee, His Employees, and Chicago’s Suburban Ideal

Presented by Christopher Payne

Sunday, November 13

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Kenilworth Assembly Hall

Free for members, $5 per person for non-members

Christopher Payne, an architect from Oak Park, will present a lecture on Joseph L. Silsbee, the influential American architect. 

In the 1880s, J. L. Silsbee’s office was busy with commissions that established some of Chicago’s first high-class suburbs. The most notable of these was Edgewater, where Silsbee made his own home. Working on those early designs were a group of remarkable young draftsmen and architects, including George Maher, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Irving Gill, but these three figures just scratch the surface of talent that made Silsbee’s practice so successful at the time.

This presentation will look at Silsbee’s work in 1880s suburban Chicago and beyond to better understand his personal design interests. It will also follow the work of his many employees years later as they established their own practices and explored a variety of individual design expressions in suburban Elmhurst, Oak Park, Beverly, LaGrange, and Kenilworth.     

Register here:  

There will be a $5 admission fee per person for non-members.