Lake Forest-Lake Bluff History Museum

Ralph Milman: Art Deco French Flair

Changing The World Making It Home Timeline

Ralph and Helen Milman house, 1285 N. Green Bay Road. Image source: Photographed by Georgia Hale.

US Naval Monument Tour Rose - Brest, France.

Lake Forest Post Office, built 1932.

William T. O'Donnell house, pictured 1972. 1466 North Green Bay Road.

Deer Path Middle School, 1955.

John Dorr and Frances Kales Bradley house, 151 East Ridge Lane. Image source: Photographed by Georgia Hale.

Ralph Milman (1888-1963) graduated from Harvard in 1913 and started his career as an associate working in Howard Van Doren Shaw’s firm. By 1930, he had formed a partnership with another Shaw office veteran, Archibald S. Morphett.

Milman’s work reflects a strong interest in classic French design, modern French Art Deco and the French version of the German Bauhaus International style. He designed a 150’ tall memorial to American naval heroes in Brest, France, following Howard Van Doren Shaw’s original design. Destroyed by the Germans during WWII, Milman oversaw reconstruction in 1958.

Milman married landscape architect Helen Brown in 1919. She lent her talents to many of Milman’s projects, including the Lake Forest Post Office.

Some of Milman’s local commissions include: 1925: 1466 North Green Bay Road, Lake Forest1930: Ralph and Helen Brown Milman, 1285 N. Green Bay Road, Lake Forest1930: Mrs. John Dorr and Frances Kales Bradley House, 151 E Ridge Lane, Lake Forest1932: Lake Forest U.S. Post Office, 230 Northgate St, Lake Forest1954: Deer Path Middle School, 95 West Deerpath, Lake Forest