The Historic Home located at 5427 Main Street is one of the oldest homes in Downers Grove. The structure was built as the Baptist Church’s parsonage in 1865. The home is a classic example of Greek Revival architecture which was popular in the United States in the 1830 through the 1860s. This is apparent with the home’s boxy, rectangular-shaped structure and its emphasized pedimented roof that prominently showcases a triangular shape above the projected front entrance. All of which is supported by the all-present Greek pillars.
The home has had many owners, multiple of which have been involved in the Downers Grove community. The first family to own and live in the home after the Baptist church sold it was the Kenyon family. The daughter of this family, Helen Kenyon, inhabited the home from 1872-1938. Notably, Kenyon street one block South of the home was named in her honor. Additionally Bill Haider owned the home from 1979-2024, who served on multiple community committees and brought the headquarters of Mid America Bank to the town. He sold the house to his daughter who now resides there with her family.
The home’s existence has been threatened twice. The first was by possible demolition in the 1970s when the Downers Grove National Bank was purchasing property on the whole block to turn into development. Thankfully the property just to the North was a lone holdout and wouldn’t sell. The Bank became exhausted and resold all the properties. The second threat was from a tornado that touched down in Downers Grove in 2011. The tornado ran from the home’s front yard southwest towards Woodward Avenue & 71st Street. While many old trees were destroyed the old home stood firm without a single window being broken.
The home has had many modifications over the years to keep up with the times. Plumbing and electrical were added sometime between 1952 & 1954, which also resulted in the homes first addition to include a first floor bedroom and bathroom. An additional upstairs bedroom was added in 1988, and a larger kitchen, sunroom, master suite and a larger basement were added in 1996. Despite the modifications over the years the home’s front still appears mostly as it did when it was built in 1865. The house also still contains some of its original windows, wood siding, lath and plaster walls, iron and wood door hardware, field stone foundation and fir wood floors.
See 5427 Main Street Historic Home Application here
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For more information about the Historic Home Program here in Downers Grove visit here.