Charles Pike House: A Renaissance Villa on the Lake

Making It Home Timeline
Charles Pike House: A Renaissance Villa on the Lake

East facade of the Pike house, c. 1970. (Plate 33 from David Adler by Richard Pratt, M. Evans and Co., 1970.)

Lake Road entrance to the Pike house, c. 1970. (Plate 32 from David Adler by Richard Pratt, M. Evans and Co., 1970.)

Lake Road entrance to the Pike house, c. 1970. (Plate 32 from David Adler by Richard Pratt, M. Evans and Co., 1970.)

Cross vaulted loggia arcade along the entrance courtyard. (Plate 36 from David Adler by Richard Pratt, M. Evans and Co., 1970.)

Cross vaulted loggia arcade along the entrance courtyard. (Plate 36 from David Adler by Richard Pratt, M. Evans and Co., 1970.)

Gardens overlooking the lake. (Plate 34 from David Adler by Richard Pratt, M. Evans and Co., 1970.)

Gardens overlooking the lake. (Plate 34 from David Adler by Richard Pratt, M. Evans and Co., 1970.)

The Alger-Pike Wedding in Washington, DC; Chicago Tribune, May 19, 1898.

The Alger-Pike Wedding in Washington, DC; Chicago Tribune, May 19, 1898.

Ralph Rodney Root site plan for Mrs. Charles B. Pike.

Ralph Rodney Root site plan for Mrs. Charles B. Pike.

Living room (or library), (courtesy of the John P. Walsh website).

Living room (or library), (courtesy of the John P. Walsh website).

Dining room (courtesy of the John P. Walsh website).

Dining room (courtesy of the John P. Walsh website).

Address: 955 North Lake RoadYear built: 1917Architect: David Adler and Robert WorkLandscape architect: Adler and Ralph Rodney RootOriginal owner: Charles Burrall Pike and Frances Alger PikeBehindthe high brick wall on Lake Road is a magnificent Italian Renaissance country house witha sunken garden fronting Lake Michigan. David Adler designed the house for Chicago businessman Charles B. Pike andhis wife, Frances. The house, finishedin 1917, is sited on the same lot as a previous Pike home (designed by Arthur Heun in 1905) that had beendestroyed by fire in 1912. Charles B. Pike was a banker and real estate investor. He served as president of the Chicago Historical Society from 1927 to 1941 and played an essential role in the construction of the current Chicago History Museum building in 1932.Thefront and back of the Pike house have their own distinct welcoming experiences.Where the entrance on Lake Street is measured and defined, the back of thehouse, with descending gardens, once welcomed visitors off the lake. The Pikes frequently arrived from the city byboat. DavidAdler created a unique entry off Lake Road with a 50-foot vaultedwalkway overlooking a perfectly square courtyard and a patio surface composedof different colored Lake Michigan stones that form an “Adler” star. Inside, the home boasts a long gallery withTuscan columns, fifteen-foot ceilings and splendid views of the sunken gardenand the lake. Adler’s love of symmetryis evident in the placement of the living and dining rooms.Thelower level of the house opens to a sunken garden lined with sculpture andinterlocking yews. Landscape architect Ralph Rodney Root took David Adler’shand-dug lawn space and created a garden vista that includes the lake. (It took 100 men three months to dig the foundation for a sunken courtyard.) The path down to the water’s edge once led toanother formal garden.