514 N Vail Ave
Arlington Heights, IL 60004, USA

Nathaniel Moore Banta House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The Nathaniel Moore Banta House, built in 1908, is an early 20th century eclectic house with Arts and Crafts influences and, to a lesser extent, Tudor Revival, and Classical Revival influences. The house is contextually part of the Arts and Crafts Movement, which occurred in American architecture in the early 1900s and was more popular in the Midwest region of the United States and especially, Illinois. The house is locally significant and meets National Register Criterion C for architecture as a fine example of an eclectic mix of Arts and Crafts, Tudor Revival and Classical Revival stylistic influences. It is the work of the Elgin and Chicago architectural firm of W. W. Abell and Son.

Arlington Heights began as a farm town called West Wheeling in the 1830s. In the mid1850s, an early settler of the area, William Dunton, sold land to the Illinois and Wisconsin Railroad for a right-of-way and depot. The location of the railroad through town encouraged business investment and settlement, and the town was eventually renamed Dunton. By the 1870s, the village had grown to 995 inhabitants, and town fathers felt it needed a new name befitting its new status as a growing suburb of Chicago. In 1874, the name of the town was changed to the Village of Arlington Heights. In 1887, the village was incorporated.

As the town grew at the turn of the century, homes were built around the central business district. The majority of these homes were typical Victorian era houses and were designed and constructed by several carpentry firms located in town. These were the homes of the town's growing middle class, including merchants, doctors, teachers and other professionals. The introduction of the automobile spurred the growth of the suburb even more. By the time the U. S. Census for 1910 was taken, the population of the Village of Arlington Heights had grown to over 1,900 people.

The Banta House was built in the central residential neighborhood in 1908 and represents one of the earliest documented examples in Arlington Heights of the Arts and Crafts movement. The house was built for Nathaniel Moore Banta and his wife, Minnie. Banta was a local educator and school administrator. He left the field of education in 1906 to become managing editor of A. Flanagan and Sons, a publishing firm. While with A.

Flanagan, Banta authored more than 25 educational volumes including the popular "Brownie Books" series for children. During his lifetime, Banta was very active in the Arlington Heights community. He served on the boards of the local high school, public library, Presbyterian Church, and Park District. His wife, Minnie, was the eldest daughter of F. W. Muller, a soda pop manufacturer and prominent local resident. F. W. Muller sold the lot north of his home to his son-in-law for $1,000 in 1907. This was a practical way for the German patriarch to keep his grown daughter nearby. A year earlier, Muller had built a soda pop factory with two upstairs apartments on the lot immediately to the west of his home for his sons, William and Henry. Banta hired W. W. Abell and Son to design his home. According to oral interviews with Elizabeth Banta Muller, daughter of Nathaniel and Minnie Banta, William Wright Abell's sons, Ralph Elliot Abell was the primary architect on the project. This commission represents one of the earliest of Ralph Elliot Abells documented designs and is the earliest known professionally designed house in Arlington Heights.

Ralph Elliot Abell graduated from the University of Illinois in 1904 and received his master's degree from Cornell University, where he was awarded the Sands Medal for excellency in design. He joined his father's architectural firm in 1905. The firm was responsible for many residential and business designs in the greater Elgin area. The firm's work in the Northwest Chicago suburban area includes the John Ran stead House (remodeled in 1905, Elgin), Algonquin Village Hall/Firehouse (1906), McConnell House (1908, Richmond), E. C. Peter House (1909, Algonquin), Elliana Apartments (1910, Elgin), Fenz House (1913, Schaumburg), and St. Join Evangelical Church (1915, Algonquin). After W. W. Abell's death in 1916, Ralph became the principal of the firm. He became widely known for his designs of schools and public buildings in the Midwest. Buildings from this period include the Washington Street School Addition (c. 1920, Algonquin), former Algonquin Bakery Building (c. 1920), Crocker Theatre (1923, Elgin), Barrington High School (1924), Elgin Masonic Temple (1926), Arlington Heights Southside School (1926), Palatine Township High School (1927, of which only Cutting Hall is still standing), Arlington Heights High School Addition (1928), Bartlett New School (1928), Elgin High School Addition (1938), Wolff Funeral Home (no date, Elgin), Wauconda Township High School Addition (no date), Kimball Furniture Store Additions (no date, Elgin), and Peter Brothers Manufacturing (no date, Algonquin). Most of these public commissions date fi-om the 1920s and 1930s during the middle years of Abell's career.

Among the Abell’s known residential designs are the John Ranstead House at 4 North Jackson in Elgin (built in 1897, remodeled in 1905), the McConnell House at 5803 Broadway in Richmond (108), the E. C. Peter House at 414 North Street in Algonquin (1909), the Elliana Apartments at 389 East Chicago in Elgin (1910) and the Fenz House at 12 East Schaumburg in Schaumburg (1913).

The John Ranstead House at 4 North Jackson in Elgin is a Queen Anne styled house with classical details. It has a steeply pitched roof of irregular shape with a dominant ft-not gambrel. The facade is asymmetrical with a partial one-story front porch. The grouped classical columns begin at the porch railing height. The small gables above the porches and a large rectangular window have organic, Sullivans detailing. Another window divider features half timbering in a geometric pattern. The upper story is clad in dark green wood shingles, and the lower story is brick on a stone foundation. This finely crafted brickwork is a characteristic detail in the Abell’s' later work. There are bay windows and an oriel window. The patterned chimney is typical of the Queen Anne style. The dormers include gable, arch, and double eyebrow types. As in the Banta House, the second story has a slight overhang, and there are large paned windows, and art glass is used as a design element.

The McConnell House at 5803 Broadway in Richmond (1908) is an Arts and Crafts and Queen Anne styled house, rectilinear in shape with a side gable roof and sloped fi-ont overhang. In the front, the roof is interrupted by a central, steeply pitched gable with a gabled dormer to either side. The rear shed dormer contains two windows with fish scale shingles on the upper story. The horizontal lines of the house are emphasized by bands of lighter trim. The porch is glazed with 24 narrow banded windows. The fenestration on the east and west sides of the house is symmetrical. Large, oversized beveled glass windows have been used throughout the house. The rear porch of the house also features banded windows. The home's massive stone foundation firmly anchors it to its setting. Similar to that of the Banta House, the second story is half timbered, and the wide eaves feature wooden block modillions. The side elevations both include two double-hung windows topped with leaded glass fan lights. Their arch-like appearance recalls the arched window at the Banta House. On the interior of the home, there is a large vestibule with built-in seating typical of the period. The center front hall and staircase are Abell trademarks: wainscoting appears in the lower hall, and the staircase has closely spaced, rectangular spindles with a sturdy handrail. Interestingly, the McConnell House is the only architect-designed early 20th century house in Richmond, as the Banta House is in Arlington Heights.

The E. C. Peter House (1909) at 414 North in Algonquin is a Four-Square type. It shares many stylistic influences with the Banta House. It is rectilinear and has a hipped roof with dormer and wide overhanging eaves. The home is clad in stucco and has a contrasting horizontal wooden stringcourse which emphasizes the top half of the upper story. The home features banded windows and also has a center front entrance, but its porch covers only half of the east facade. The front concrete semicircular stairway enclosed a garden space in a similar fashion to the concrete walkway at the Banta House. The decorative braces under the window box resemble decorative roof beams. The house has small-paned windows. On the interior, the home has a modem, open plan. Upstairs, there are four bedrooms and bath. The home features a geometric staircase with Prairie detailing. As in the Banta House, there is use of different woods from one floor to the next. Oak flooring is used on the first floor and maple on the second.

The Fenz House at 12 East Schaumburg in Schaumburg is almost identical in shape to the Banta House and features many similar details but lacks the sophistication, craftsmanship, and use of materials exhibited by the Banta House. This is probably because, according to the Banta's daughter, Elizabeth, original plans were lent to the Fenz family. The arched window appears on the side elevation and not on the rear as the Banta House. The homes also do not have the classical details seen on the Banta House.

The Elleana Apartment Building at 389 East Chicago in Elgin (1910) is rectilinear and has a mansard roof The exterior cladding has three alternating bands of cream and tan brick. The front porch has round, flattened concrete urns. The intricate brickwork is typical of the Abells' work. The limestone caps and decorative treatment under the eaves are reminiscent of those at the Banta House. The art glass window with its emphasis on geometric shapes is also similar. As he did at the Banta House, Abell mixed classical and Prairie details by using classical block modillions under the eaves and a Sullivanesque decorative medallion at the top of the supporting pier.

The Banta House is a fine example of an early 20th century Arts and Crafts house. The Arts and Crafts movement started as a social reform effort in 19th century England. It was a reaction against the increasing industrialization and mechanization of society and its harmful effect on human beings Industrialization denied the worker the personal satisfaction of developing his product from concept to completion. Machines replaced the artistry of handcraftsmanship and, instead, emphasized economy and profit.

The philosophers of the movement included Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), John Ruskin (1819-1900), and William Morris (1834-1896). They sought social regeneration by adopting the values of the Medieval world ' These values were translated into a design aesthetic which emphasized "simplicity, elimination, and a respect for materials."^ Its principles also included "a sense of rightness, a unity between designer and craftsman, appropriateness to setting, and an interior in harmony with the exterior."

In America, this reform was divided into three stylistic periods. The first period (1876- 1893) opened with the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876 celebrating the nation's Centennial. The major design tastes were for British and Oriental designs In architecture, Henry Hobson Richardson popularized the Queen Anne Style and renewed interest in British building design The second phase (1893-1901) began with the Columbian World's Exposition of 1893. It was during this time that Arts and Crafts societies blossomed in the U.S. In architecture, there was a revival of Classicism due to the predominance of classical buildings at the Exposition. The era also saw advances in building techniques such as the use of balloon framing and concrete. The third period corresponds to the opening of the Pan American Exposition. The 1901-1916 period is considered the height of the Arts and Crafts movement in America. The reform was manifested in the work of Gustav Stickley and his "Craftsman" magazine, Elbert Hubbard and his Reycraft campus, and Louis C. Tiffany and his decorative arts."* In the field of architecture, styles associated with the Arts and Crafts movement in America were the Stick, Shingle, Tudor, Craftsman and Prairie.

The Prairie School of architecture was formed in Chicago by a group of architects who rejected historical revival as a source for their designs. Instead, they adopted the principles of pure design based on "abstract, geometric order."' The Prairie School building was "conceived as a total work of art; the interior decor, chairs, tables, windows, China and exterior landscape were important complements to the building's form.

Among the names associated with the movement were Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Dwight Perkins, Robert Spencer, Myron Hunt, Marion Mahony, Walter Burley Griffin, William Drummond, Barry Byrne, John Van Bergen, George Elmslie, William Steele, William Purcell, George Maher, Thomas Tallmadge, Vernon Watson, and Eben Roberts. The style was popularized by the many homemaker magazines of the period such as House Beautiful, which was published in Chicago. The new Prairie School Aesthetic was suitable for a growing and aspiring middle to upper-middle class and, on the whole, was not embraced by the conservative wealthy class. Clients were practical and were not afraid to modify their architect's designs for considerations of taste, comfort and cost.

The Banta House exemplifies the Arts and Crafts reform movement by its inclusion of a myriad of architectural elements of the period, including many in the Prairie and Craftsman styles. The Prairie elements of the home's exterior include its horizontal emphasis, broad eaves, use of stucco cladding, contrasting cap on the porch railings, wide chimney and use of geometric art glass The Craftsman influence is seen in the exposed, decorative roof beams, multipaned glazing with wood muntin’s (also seen in Prairie examples), banks of three or more windows, small high windows on each side of the chimney, curved wooden trim between porch supports, porch piers without break to the ground level, slightly battered foundation, and the use of dormers and urns.

Secondary influences on the Banta House exterior include the Tudor and Classical Revival characteristics as described in the McAlester’s' A Field Guide to American Houses. Tudor Revival influences were common to the Arts and Crafts home because they were based on the same English medieval precedents. At the Banta House, these influences include the false half timbering and overhanging second story The use of these design elements recalls the work of Oak Park architect Eben Ezra Roberts. Roberts began to design houses, similar to the Banta House, with strong rectilinear characteristics in 1896. Most of his residential work was constructed of brick, stucco or a combination of both materials Roberts also used half timbering as a veneer on houses which otherwise were progressive in form.

The Classical Revival elements include the symmetrical massing, lion head drain scuppers, applied wooden block modillions under the eaves, dentil molding on the front facade, spheres on the front balcony, ogee trim detailing and second story balustrades on the front and back porches. The use of these classical elements suggests a familiarity with the designs of Prairie School architect George Washington Maher. Maher designed many low, rectangular homes with broad hipped roofs and central projecting entryways. His homes were symmetrical, blocky masses.'^ His details were designed to harmonize with all portions of the work.

The interior of the home also reflects its Prairie and Craftsman and to a lesser degree, classical influences. The decor of the Arts and Crafts movement was a repudiation of Victorian excess. It stressed simplicity, honesty, harmony, and durability." The stained birch woodwork on the first floor, the square pillars at the entrance of the living room, the built-in window seat and bookcases of the living room, the stained birch ceiling beams in the dining room and the plate rail in the dining room all illustrate the functional Prairie and Craftsman styles. The full art glass panel in a geometric pattern on the front hall door is reminiscent of the geometric stained-glass designs of Prairie School architect Frank Lloyd Wright The two Art Nouveau windows with stylized flowers illustrate the Arts and Crafts movement's interest in nature. The paneled wall below the stairway stringer is an example of Craftsman detailing. The stained-glass window on the stair landing is in the classical style with the symbols of a torch and wreath.

The Banta House is significant, in that it is one of only a handful of homes built in the early 20th century and still existing in the downtown Arlington Heights residential district, that reflects the strong influences of the Arts and Crafts movement. Other turn-of-the century homes exhibit various Arts and Crafts styling but not to the degree of the architect-designed Banta House, 203 W, Fremont is a traditional Foursquare Prairie style house with hipped roof and four dormers (photo 46) The two-story brick-clad structure is an example of the common vernacular form and shares many stylistic details with the Banta House. Among these are strong horizontal lines, a wide chimney, a herringbone pattern enclosing the eaves, a full front porch, large porch windows, wide brick piers, and limestone capping on the porch and podia 514 N. Arlington Heights Road is another Foursquare design (photo 47). Typical of the period, it features a hipped roof, brick foundation, oft-center entrance and smalt diamond paned window to the right of the entrance. It shares the stucco cladding, dormers, wide piers, full front porch and simple rectangular porch spindles seen on the Banta House, but the overall impression is one of simplicity. 648 N. Dunton is another example of Foursquare design in Arlington Heights (photo 48), It has a hipped roof with two gables, an off-center entrance and is clad with siding echoing the original wood clapboarding on the first story. The stepped chimney is wide at its base and narrows dramatically as it leads to the second story. Like the Banta House, this home features a full front porch, wide piers, projecting upper story central bay with a window on each side, stucco cladding, half-timbering and modillions underneath the eaves.

The house at 515 N, Arlington Heights Road is a Craftsman home with a cross gable roof with flared roof line and two-story central projecting bay (photo 49), It has triangular brace supports and window box brackets. The home is similar to the Banta House due to its stucco cladding, its exposed decorative roof beams, podia with round urns, shingle dormer, wide chimney, second story porch and banding of some windows, 114 W, Fremont is a two-story rectilinear home c, 1913 with side gable roof (photo 50). The home shows Craftsman influence in its wood clapboarding, shingles, narrow eaves, asymmetrical windows, off-center entrance and stone foundation. The simple front porch railing and porch roof detail are also Craftsman-inspired. Additionally, the home is similar to the Banta House in its period of construction, banding of some windows, half-timbering details and simple balustrade.

The Banta House reflects its period of significance strongly in that it has had relatively few changes made to it since its initial construction in 1908. The quality of the original design and construction are still readily apparent. On the exterior of the home, changes have been minor: second-story porch railings and caps have been reproduced, flower boxes removed, a low brick wall at the rear entrance removed, the planters from this wall moved to the porch on the front of the house, the lions' heads scupper drains repositioned, a wrought iron railing added to the front steps and a garage added.

On the interior of the home, there have been few changes as well. During the Banta's residence from 1908 to 1958, the kitchen was enlarged to provide for an expanded eating area and a first floor hall closet was transformed into a powder room. The second owners, the Glueckerts, reinodeled the kitchen, closed the back stairway from the maid's room to the kitchen to add pantry space, reinforced the basement support structure with steel beams, paneled one of the bedrooms and the walls of the rear entrance, remodeled the upstairs bath, removed the doors from the living room bookcases, remodeled the vestibule closet and removed the original art glass windows in the dining room. In 1981, the Village of Arlington Heights acquired the property for use by the Arlington Heights.

Historical Society and Museum, at this time, the original dark stained wooden floors were refinished in a lighter color.

Extensive research for the restoration of the Banta House was begun by a group of volunteers from the Arlington Heights Historical Society. Their research included in-depth interviews with Elizabeth Banta Mueller and a search for period examples of wall coverings, draperies, lighting fixtures, floor coverings and famishing’s. The 1985 restoration included replacing flooring in the nursery and maid's room, restoring the front stairs and balusters, restoring the first-floor powder room, repapering the vestibule, front hall, living room, dining room, second floor hall and nursery, reinstallation of the original plate rail in the dining room, and installation of period light fixtures in the vestibule, intermediate stair landing, living room, and dining room.

The Banta House is a significant example of an early 20th century house with Arts and Crafts and, to a lesser extent, Tudor Revival and Classical Revival influences. It represents one of only a few extant examples of the Arts and Crafts movement in architecture in Arlington Heights that has maintained its original integrity in both design and construction.