7 days ago
Naperville Preservation holds contest to help document historic Tosi houses
Orange doors, geometric balconies and triangular chimneys: these are some of the features that distinguish the mid-century modern houses designed by architect Don Tosi.
The homes he built in Naperville and elsewhere represent a journey to the past — specifically, to a post-World War II era that offered a promise of a bright future for young families.
'I think the Don Tosi homes are probably the most representative of that time of great growth and optimism in Naperville,' said Jane Burke, secretary of Naperville Preservation Inc.
The nonprofit — in collaboration with Chicago-based firm Preservation Futures — is in the process of documenting all of Tosi homes in Naperville to help preserve and educate the public about the unique homes that capture a very different time in the city's past.
To help with the effort, Naperville Preservation is hosting a 'Spot the Tosi' contest in which participants are vying for a $100 gift card to the Italian restaurant Gia Mia in downtown Naperville. The contest closes at midnight Friday.
It is the third architectural survey being done by the local preservation group. It previously conducted two surveys — one in East Highlands in 2022 and the other in River Haven Estates in 2023 — to determine how many mid-century modern homes remain standing in those neighborhoods.
Their surveys revealed that while the majority of the historic homes in River Haven Estates were mostly intact, more than half of the 1950s-era homes in the East Highlands had been torn down to make way for sizable upgrades. It's possible Tosi houses fell victim to the wrecking ball.
'Some of the houses in those surveys were built by Don Tosi and we found that there was a lot of interest with people about mid-century and then about Don Tosi,' Naperville Preservation Inc. President Bill Simon said.
The buzz around Don Tosi gave the nonprofit the idea to do another survey, this time focusing just on Tosi homes in the city. With a total budget of $6,950, it's supported by grants from the Naperville Special Events and Community Arts Commission, the Driehaus Foundation and the Donnelly Foundation.
Simon said that while the organization had information on some of the Tosi homes in Naperville, they realized they could collect more with the public's help. So far, seven people have submitted entries to the contest, with participants identifying a total of 56 Tosi homes.
Tosi's architectural career started in the 1950s in Aurora, according to the former state publication Historic Illinois. At the age of 26, Tosi helped implement architect Bruce Goff's vision for the Sam and Ruth Van Sickle Ford House, one of the most renowned homes in Aurora to this day.
'Bruce Goff brought him on,' Simon said. 'They were old wartime buddies, and so he brought him on to do the construction.'
That project was crucial in shaping Tosi's future architectural style. He designed and built 16 houses in Aurora between 1951 and 1958, where his homes often included sharp angular features like irregularly shaped rooflines and triangular chimneys.
In 1956, Tosi took his design skills and affinity for angularity to the fast-growing Naperville. Features of his Naperville homes included prow-shaped windows, overhanging eaves and cantilevered balconies with no exposed posts on the outside wall for support.
Perhaps the most identifiable feature of a Tosi home are his front doors, almost always done in orange — a pop of color that stood out against the browns and beiges of neighboring homes, according to Historic Illinois. These signature doors, occasionally painted in a dark red, were a signature of Tosi house from the mid-1950s to the late-1970s. The Chicago Tribune declared them his 'trademark' feature in his obituary in 2009.
Not all of the Tosi homes that remain in Naperville today kept all of the original design features, Simon said. Some people end up replacing the cantilevered balconies because they can be difficult to maintain, he said.
Once Naperville Preservation finishes the creation of its Tosi home list, it hopes to publish the findings and share it with the broader community. The organization also hopes their findings may encourage owners of Tosi homes to get their houses landmarked.
'We tend to think of historical buildings as the historic district, the downtown,' Simon said. 'These homes by Don Tosi are really unique — and they are historical now. So we want to raise awareness of them because he is recognized as being a significant designer of homes and builder of homes.'
