Architects Larry Booth and James Nagle earned a reputation as industry rebels, so it’s no surprise that a Highland Park, Illinois, home their firm completed in 1979 reflects that spirit. The structure — with its flat roof and sharp, angular design — stands in stark contrast to its more traditional neighbors.
As members of the 1970s group known as the Chicago Seven, Booth, Nagle and their peers challenged the prevailing modernist trend in the region — particularly the dominance of work influenced by Mies van der Rohe.
Their works would instead be less rigid, some with an edge of playfulness and informed by the land and the client. Those motivators resulted in a wide swath of aesthetics. At 625 Sheridan Road, listed for $1.3 million, the idea of nonconformity appealed to the commissioning homeowners and current sellers, a pair of professional musicians.
“It is a real architectural house. It’s not just a modern house. … It has to fit the right kind of person. To me, it’s for a sophisticated buyer who can really appreciate what it has,” said listing agent Debbie Scully with @properties Christie’s International Real Estate, who represents the current sellers and represented the original commissioning homeowners.
According to public records, the sellers purchased the property in 2008 for $815,000.
An architectural home in Highland Park
The three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom home in Highland Park sits on 0.75 acres, surrounded by trees. The main portion is shaped like a rectangle, with two wings jutting off: a two-and-a-half-car garage with a curved wall on one end, and a family room and kitchen on the other.
The second level is lofted above the living room, allowing the gathering space to expand in height, with windows dotted across the double-floor-height walls. The living room is positioned at the rear of the home, facing the wooded lot. The three bedrooms and additional living room are located on the lofted second floor, reachable by a winding metal spiral staircase.
The stucco-sided property includes a fully finished basement with a recreation room and has been fully electric since its construction.
The current sellers purchased the property from the original homeowners, two longtime Chicagoans and empty nesters wanting “a house for another phase of life. … They wanted to take advantage of the property views,” according to Scully.
With the purchase of 625 Sheridan comes the original blueprints, featuring the name of the architecture firm Booth, Nagle and Hartray. That firm disbanded in 1981, and Booth now leads Chicago-based Booth Hansen. Nagle, who died in 2021, and Jack Hartray founded their own firm, Nagle Hartray Architecture, now known as Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architecture, also based in Chicago.
Few changes have been made to disrupt the original design. According to Scully, the sellers upgraded the laundry room and finishes in the basement.
The property went under contract three days after being listed in September, but the deal fell through. “Which is a function of today’s market,” said Scully.
The land could be used to expand the home, according to the agent. The property is situated less than half a mile from Rosewood Beach on Lake Michigan and approximately half a mile from Ravinia Festival, a local outdoor concert venue.