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Harry Hale Waterman Houses and the People Who Called Them HomeIntroduction

By Carol Flynn

The Ridge Historical Society (RHS) has opened a new exhibit, “Harry Hale Waterman, Architect: Unique in any Style.”

At least 41 buildings in Beverly and Morgan Park are attributed to Waterman, making him the most prolific architect in this community. Most of these buildings are still standing.

The buildings he designed in other Chicago neighborhoods have not fared as well, so this community offers the best opportunity to see his work.

Waterman was a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright. They worked together as young architects just starting out, and Wright even lived with the Waterman family for a time.

They took different paths for their careers, however.

Wright developed his own style and founded a new movement or “school” of architecture, the Chicago Prairie School, for which he became very famous.

Waterman had a thriving practice, but never achieved the fame of Wright. While Wright appeared more fixed on developing his own style, Waterman appeared more client focused. He worked in many styles of architecture, bringing his own unique interpretation to each one.

In 1995, the Chicago Tribune stated that Beverly “is like an outdoor museum of architectural styles.” The newspaper said that the variety makes this community one of Chicago’s architectural high points.

Waterman clearly contributed to that reputation with his work.

However, while architecture has always been a very important feature for this community, these houses and buildings are more than just a collection of interesting architectural details. They are also the places where real people and families lived their lives and created their stories and legacies and memories.

Houses can be thought of as stage or movie sets where the action takes place.

The people who live in the houses elevate them above an outdoor museum exhibit to create a community.

This Facebook series will complement the exhibit by looking at the people who lived in the Waterman houses.

The series will start with Waterman himself, because the first house he built in Beverly, in 1892, that is still standing, was a house for himself and his wife Ida. The Harry Hale Waterman House, at 10838 S. Longwood Drive, is also known as the “Honeymoon Cottage” and is a local favorite.

The RHS exhibit, “Harry Hale Waterman, Architect: Unique in Any Style,” is open to the public for free on Tuesday and Sunday afternoons from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., or by appointment. RHS is located at 10621 S. Seeley Avenue, Chicago.

Next post: Waterman’s biography.

Houses Designed by Harry Hale Waterman and the People Who Called Them HomePart 1 – Waterman Begins His Architecture Career

By Carol Flynn

This is a companion series to the current exhibit at the Ridge Historical Society (RHS): “Harry Hale Waterman, Architect: Unique in Any Style.”

Harry Hale Waterman was the most prolific and versatile architect to work in Beverly and Morgan Park. At least 41 buildings in the community have been verified or ascribed to him.

Waterman’s contributions to the community were praised by architecture historian Harold T. Wolff, who served as past Registrar at RHS.

Wolff compiled files on many of the architects, including Waterman, who designed homes and other buildings in the Beverly/Morgan Park community. Wolff wrote that of all the architects, “none played a more significant role in establishing the character of these neighborhoods than Harry Hale Waterman.”

According to Wolff, it was Waterman who designed “imposing and distinguished houses for locations all over the Ridge,” and encouraged others “to spread the elegance [that was at first just] associated with Longwood Drive all over the landscape.”

Harry Hale Waterman was born on July 10, 1869, in Rutland, Dane County, Wisconsin, a small rural community. His father was John Adam Waterman, born in 1824, a farmer and cattle broker. His mother was Emily “Emma” Hale Waterman, born in 1838. John and Emma married in 1867 in Minnesota. Harry had one sibling, a sister, Jessie, born six years his junior.

The Waterman and Hale families were originally from the East coast, as were most of the families who moved west as the country expanded, buying land for farming and settling in the fertile Midwest.

Emma was John Waterman’s second wife. His first wife, Mary Kniffen, born in 1834, whom he married in 1855, and their daughter, Alice, died young. Alice died at four months of age in 1859, and Mary died in 1860. Interestingly, this foreshadowed a similar experience that Harry would have in his own life.

The family moved to Chicago when Harry was a young boy, where his father continued as a cattle broker. It’s safe to assume that the thriving stockyards operations making Chicago famous offered employment opportunities.

It is reported that Harry was educated in Chicago public schools, and he attended the Old University of Chicago Preparatory School.

The Old UC was the original university, established in 1856 by Baptist church leaders on land donated by Senator Stephen A. Douglas at 35th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. This school closed in 1886 for financial reasons and after fire damage, and was replaced with today’s University of Chicago, founded in 1890.

Preparatory schools were the forerunners of today’s high schools. Back then, there was a gap in public education institutions between grammar schools and colleges. For the wealthy, this gap was filled by expensive private secondary schools and private tutors, allowing those students to gain the knowledge to begin college-level courses.

To enable and encourage more young people to go to college, the universities started preparatory schools, which offered classes beyond the basic “three R’s,” geared toward helping students prepare for entry into one of the academic programs at the university. In Morgan Park, for example, the Mount Vernon Military Academy (now Morgan Park Academy) was started as a comprehensive military academy and preparatory school for the University of Chicago.

After the Old UC, Harry attended the Northwestern University Preparatory School through the 1887-88 academic year. He was listed as taking selective classes, which means he was not taking classes to qualify to enter a particular college. It does not appear that his formal education went farther than the NU Prep School, a common practice of the day. NU did not have a school of architecture at the time – few universities did.

Architecture was just developing into an academic specialty in the mid-to-late 1800s. Traditionally, designing buildings was considered part of the construction process, connected to such trades as carpentry and stonemasonry. These trades were learned through on-the-job training, apprenticeships, and many years of experience, observation, and networking.

From ancient Roman times on, it was recognized that mathematics, geometry, and engineering were the basics of architecture, along with a knowledge of building materials. Until the late 1800s, those were the types of classes/degree programs enrolled in by most people seeking architecture careers in the U.S. Those studies were followed by entry-level jobs, apprenticeships, and training in the offices of established architects.

In 1857, in the U.S., a group of architects founded the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to “elevate” the profession and to promote the qualifications of its members. The AIA developed policies on the training and credentialing of architects and set standards for ethical behavior and contracting services.

These were all guidelines, as the AIA was, and still is, a voluntary professional membership association, and not a credentialing or licensing body.

France had an architecture academy dating back to 1671 that became part of the famous École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In the U.S., the AIA did not have the finances to start its own architecture school, but gave support to architecture programs being set up at reputable universities, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (1868) and the University of Illinois (1873).

In 1897, Illinois would become the first state to implement a law to license architects, which meant standards were set for the practice of architecture as a profession. Today, architects must be licensed to practice anywhere in the country.

This was the world of architecture when Harry Hale Waterman began his career.

In 1887, the Waterman family, including Harry and Jessie, were living at 3929 S. Vincennes Avenue when a young man named Frank Lloyd Wright, 19 years old, began boarding with them.

Wright had arrived in Chicago from Wisconsin, where he had been a student in civil engineering, to pursue a career in architecture, against his family’s wishes. However, his uncle, the Rev. Jenkin Lloyd-Jones, a Unitarian minister in Chicago, relented, and helped him find lodgings with congregants who lived nearby – the Waterman family. Wright and Harry became acquaintances.

Wright had started as a “tracer,” or draftsman, in the architecture offices of Joseph Lyman Silsbee in January of 1887.

Silsbee, twenty years older than Wright and Harry, was a reputable architect with a practice in the state of New York as well as in Chicago. He had attended MIT, the first architecture school in the country. He was a founder of the Chicago and Illinois chapters of the AIA.

One example of Silsbee’s work in Chicago is the Lincoln Park Conservatory, built between 1890 and 1895, described as “a paradise under glass.”

Harry began employment in Silsbee’s office as a draftsman in 1888, working alongside of Wright. Other young trainees being mentored by Silsbee included George Maher and George Elmslie. Silsbee’s offices developed a reputation as a training ground for talented new architects.

Another young architect in this same orbit was Dwight Heald Perkins, who had worked at the stockyards before being accepted into the architecture program at MIT, and in 1889 began employment with architect Daniel Burnham. Among his many works, Perkins designed the Lion House and Café Brauer in Lincoln Park, as well as many schools in Chicago.

An early believer in “green spaces,” Perkins, along with landscape architect Jens Jensen, often led hiking expeditions to the Blue Island Ridge. He became known as the “Father of the Cook County Forest Preserves.”

These were the architects that were all part of Harry’s circle during his formative years.

1893 was a pivotal year for architecture in Chicago, thanks to the World’s Fair, known as the Columbian Exposition, or the White City. As one of his projects, Silsbee designed the Moving Sidewalk at the Fair, for which he won the Peabody Medal in 1895. Many of the young architects from Silsbee’s office contributed to the Fair.

More on Harry Hale Waterman’s early years with Silsbee and Wright and the 1893 Fair is covered in the RHS exhibit, which is open for free on Sundays and Tuesdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. or by appointment. Additional information will be presented by RHS BOD member and Exhibit Curator Tim Blackburn in a repeat of last month’s program, “Waterman: From the White City to the Ridge,” scheduled tentatively for Friday, March 7. Watch this page for further details.

1893 was also the year that Waterman, at the age of 23, left employment with Silsbee and started his own practice. While the other architects like Wright and Maher established their own styles, which became major parts of the Chicago Prairie Style movement, Waterman worked in many different styles according to his clients’ expectations and other factors.

The next post will conclude Waterman’s bio, covering his three marriages and other interesting details of his personal life; then the series will look at families who used Waterman’s services to design their homes in Beverly and Morgan Park.

The Ridge Historical Society

Houses Designed by Harry Hale Waterman and the People Who Called Them Home: Part 2 – Ida May Vierling Waterman

Carol Flynn

This is a companion series to the current exhibit at the Ridge Historical Society (RHS): “Harry Hale Waterman, Architect: Unique in Any Style.”

Waterman was just 23 years old when he started to design buildings in Beverly and Morgan Park in 1892. This was around the time he left the architecture firm of Silsbee and Kent, where he worked alongside Frank Lloyd Wright, and started his own practice. It was also the time of exciting architecture projects for the 1893 World’s fair, the Columbian Exposition, in Chicago.

One of the first houses Waterman designed was a house for himself and his bride at 10838 S. Longwood Drive, built in 1892. The Harry Hale Waterman House, also known as the Honeymoon Cottage, is a favorite local landmark.

Waterman and Ida May Vierling married on October 27, 1891.

Ida was born in 1872. Her father was Frank Charles Vierling, and her mother was Margaret Chadwick Williams.

Frank Vierling was born in 1850 in Ohio. His parents came from France, and the family came to Chicago when Frank was five years old. On the 1860 U.S. Census, his father is listed as a cook and his mother as a washwoman, and a bio of Frank said the family worked at the Tremont House Hotel – including Frank as a cook at the age of 11.

During the U.S. Civil War, Frank served as a drummer boy for the 23rd Illinois infantry and enlisted as a soldier in 1865 at the age of 14. He was reported as the youngest soldier from Illinois. He only served three months, as the war ended that April, and he mustered out as a corporal.

Frank, his three brothers and his sister, were educated in the Chicago public schools. After the war, he attended business school, and in 1870, he began a career in real estate.

Frank and Margaret Chadwick Williams married in 1871 in Chicago. Margaret was born in England in 1845 and came to the U.S. in 1851. She had a daughter from a first marriage to Phillip Williams, Mary (Mamie), born in 1864 in Pennsylvania. Not much has been found on Margaret’s life before she married Frank. Frank took on the role of providing for his step-daughter Mary, who used the name Mary Vierling.

Frank and Margaret had two children of their own, Ida, and son Arthur Garfield Vierling, born in 1880.

Frank became very well-known in Chicago, recognized for his success in his real estate business dealings, his commitment to U. S. veterans’ organizations, and his involvement in city politics.

Frank was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and other organizations and championed causes like retirement homes for veterans. His wife Margaret was active in the women’s auxiliaries of the organizations.

In 1889, Frank successfully ran for alderman and served in that role for several years. He was even encouraged to run for Mayor.

Frank’s brothers became very prominent in the iron and steel works manufacturing industry.

The Vierling family is a good example of how families became part of “high society” in developing Chicago. It wasn’t just family background or inherited wealth that made a family prominent, although those factors certainly didn’t hurt. Many people moved “west” to Chicago to seek out new opportunities, and hard work, business acumen, and recognizing and taking advantage of situations and opportunities led to advancements for those with the ambition and stamina to persevere.

Besides their business, veterans, and political activities, Frank’s and Margaret’s names were in the paper for events like the French Club of Chicago meeting at “the house of Mrs. Frank C. Vierling at 2347 S. Michigan Avenue,” and Frank travelling to Nebraska to go antelope hunting and returning “well supplied with prairie chickens and ducks.”

In 1886, their oldest daughter Mary was married at their house to Jesse Thomas Blake. Mary and Jesse eventually lived on the Ridge in a house Waterman designed for them at 2023 West 108th Place, and Jesse worked as an accountant at the Morgan Park Post Office, another building designed by Waterman. More on this will be in a later post.

Frequent litigation in court over business and personal matters went on in Chicago at that time. It appears that this basically was considered “business as usual.” Frank was a party in multiple lawsuits covered in the newspapers.

Frank was “on very bad terms” with at least one of his brothers, according to the Inter Ocean newspaper, which led him to sue his brothers for fraud and attempting to cheat him out of his share of a business he helped them finance. The judge found in Frank’s favor.

As an alderman, Frank was involved in decisions and dealings related to the planning of the 1893 World’s Fair, including choosing the location, and meeting with foreign businessmen from the iron and steel industry who were interested in participating in the fair. His membership in a Masonic organization led to him being appointed to an Entertainment Committee for the Fair to welcome Masonic visitors from around the world. [In his later years, as an ex-alderman, Frank was accused of embezzling funds from an estate he managed and stood trial. The jury found him not guilty.]

This was young Ida May Vierling’s world when she met Harry Hale Waterman.

Ida was a socialite, and her appearances at dances and parties were mentioned in the society pages of the newspapers. Her first year of “coming out” was 1888 when she turned 16. She attended the Leap Year party of the Indiana Club, accompanying her parents, uncles, and aunt. They were regulars there for the monthly dances throughout the year.

For Decoration Day (Memorial Day) that year, Ida and her father participated in the program for the Washington Camp of the Patriotic Order Sons of America.

That year she graduated from Moseley School, the public school at 24th Street and Michigan Avenue, where she won a Daily News Medal. These medals, paid for by the newspaper, were awarded to select students for essays on American patriotism. She also won a certificate of merit from her Plymouth Congregational Sunday School.

Ida’s aunt, her father’s sister, Miss Clara Vierling, was a star of the Chicago social scene and hosted famous New Year’s Eve parties. Ida was included in the party in 1888, as covered in the attached newspaper article.

In October of 1891, the wedding of Miss Ida Vierling and Mr. Harry Hale Waterman took place at her parents’ house, and was covered in newspaper articles.

The following year the young couple moved into their Honeymoon Cottage.

Ida gave birth to their daughter, Louise, on August 26, 1895.

Tragically, Ida died the following year, on August 14, at the age of 24. The cause of death is not known. She was buried in Oak Woods Cemetery.

Waterman left Morgan Park, never to return there again to live, although he continued to design buildings there. He and his baby daughter Louise moved back in with his parents on the 3900 block of South Vincennes Avenue, where he lived the rest of his life.

Next post: Louise Waterman, and Harry Hale Waterman’s second and third marriages.

The RHS exhibit is open to the public for free on Sunday and Tuesday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m. or by appointment. RHS is located at 10621 S. Seeley Avenue, Chicago.

Houses Designed by Harry Hale Waterman and the People Who Called Them HomePart 3 – Waterman’s Second and Third Marriages

By Carol Flynn

This is a companion series to the current exhibit at the Ridge Historical Society (RHS): “Harry Hale Waterman, Architect: Unique in Any Style.”

Harry Hale Waterman’s first wife, Ida May Vierling Waterman, died in 1896 at the age of 24, leaving Harry with a one-year-old daughter, Louise Hale Waterman. The family had been living at 10838 Longwood Drive in the “Honeymoon Cottage” that Harry designed, but now Harry and Louise moved back into Harry’s parents’ house at 3929 Vincennes Avenue. A complete look at Louise Waterman will be covered in the next post.

Six years later, in 1902, Harry, 33, married a second time to Carrie Frances Rowse.

According to records on Ancestry, Frances, as she appears to have been known at least in her later years, was born in 1877 in Ohio. On the 1880 U.S. Census, the family is listed as living in Ohio, and in 1900, she is listed as living in Chicago with her parents, Charles H. and Minnie E., and younger brother William M. at 630 46th Place. Her father’s employment is listed as a baking powder manufacturer. Employment for Frances is not listed.

It is likely that Harry and Frances lived with Harry’s family, which included his parents John and Emma, his sister Jessie, and his daughter Louise. This was not an uncommon situation back then, to have extended families living together.

Few details are really known about this second marriage. However, one encounter in 1906 that received media attention showed that there were issues.

It was reported that Harry “borrowed” a horse and buggy without the owner’s permission to chase after Frances who had departed in another buggy. An article about the incident is attached to this post. The last paragraph refers to a meeting planned for Harry, his lawyer, and the man whose carriage Harry took, at which Harry was to explain his actions.

It would have been interesting to have been “a fly on the wall” for that conversation. Alas, we don’t know Harry’s reason for following his wife that day, but apparently the charges of theft were dropped.

However, Harry and Frances divorced in 1907 after five years of marriage.

The following U. S. Censuses list Frances living with her parents and working as an assistant to her father in his retail businesses. She did not remarry. In 1950, she was living by herself as Frances Waterman in an apartment in the grand brick courtyard building at 2330 N. Lincoln Park West.

According to her obituary, she moved to a retirement home in Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1956, where she was an active member of the Presbyterian Church. The Rowse family were an “old” family there going back to the founding of Bucyrus in 1822. In fact, there was another Carrie Frances Rowse who grew up there, which may be why Frances went by her middle name.

She died there at the age of 84 in 1961 and was buried in the cemetery where many of her relations were buried. Her gravestone reads Frances Rowse Waterman.

Interestingly, one of Harry’s Waterman cousins, Mary Ellen or “Nellie,” married a man named Herman Rouse. Whether this was coincidence, or the families were connected is not readily apparent. Herman’s family reportedly originated in New York and came to Wisconsin. The Rowse Family in Bucyrus originated in Pennsylvania and came to Ohio. But their connections could go back farther, of course, to Europe prior to emigration.

Harry remained single for the next two decades, but in 1921, in his early 50s, he married Alice Hale.

Alice was born in 1895 in Stoughton, Wisconsin, and was a good 25 years younger than Harry. She was a distant cousin on his mother’s side. Her father was Percy Isham Hale, the son of Harry Hale, and her mother was Harriet Grubb Hale.

Percy Hale graduated from Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois, founded by the Universalist Church, then took over his father’s successful dry goods business. He was also known for being very active in the Universalist Church.

Stoughton, part of the Madison metropolitan area with 13,000 residents today, was small enough in 1900 that 5-year-old Alice’s bronchitis was reported in the newspaper, and large enough that this signified the family’s prominence in the community.

It appears that Alice was popular and accomplished. She was president of her high school senior class in 1913. She sold Christmas seals to raise money for charity. She participated in her church.

She attended and hosted parties. In 1911, she hosted a St. Patrick’s Day party as a birthday celebration for herself (March 18 birth date) and a friend with a birthday at the same time.

Her real claim to fame was as a talented vocalist (mezzo soprano), pianist – and whistler.

For many years, Alice was a student of Clara Falk Murphy, who was highly regarded for her own performance, composing, and teaching skills. Ms. Murphy arranged many concerts and recitals in Madison and the surrounding areas, and Alice was prominently featured. Alice was also a soloist for her church.

Alice was mentioned for her whistling skills, which not only entertained friends at parties but were performed on stage. In 1921, she performed “The Stars and Stripes Forever” at a theater.

Alice graduated from Lombard College, her father’s alma mater.

Her engagement to Harry Hale Waterman was announced in 1921. She was given at least three bridal showers by friends and organizations in which she was active. Gifts included a silver vase and a hand-painted fruit bowl.

One party was a handkerchief shower – women always carried a handkerchief back then, and there were special ones for special occasions. Another included an afternoon of the attendees’ hemming napkins for the bride.

Alice was a member of a bridge club and the night before her wedding, one of the women of the club held a party for her.

The wedding took place at her parents’ home in Stoughton in November. The newlyweds spent their first Christmas back there with her parents.

Harry and Alice made their home on Vincennes Avenue. By then, Harry had built several apartment buildings and was now a landlord.

In 1931, they participated in a “flower garden honor roll” for the Chicago Tribune, which was looking for outstanding gardens within a 40-mile radius of the Tribune Tower. They won honorable mention for turning their driveway into a lily pool.

During the Great Depression in the 1930s, it appears Harry had to come out of retirement and return to active work. In 1937, the Executive Committee of the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects noted in its minutes that health issues prevented Harry from keeping up with his dues. Citing Harry’s high standing in the profession and advancing age, the committee voted to waive his dues and award him emeritus standing.

This past year, Harry’s great nephew, David Hale Hand, age 92, the adopted grandson of Harry’s sister, Jessie, shared some remembrances with RHS researchers of childhood visits with “Uncle Harry” and “Aunt Alice.”

Annually, when he was 2 to 6 years old, his family visited Chicago from California.

David wrote of these trips: “We stayed with Uncle Harry on Vincennes Avenue while in Chicago. At that time, this was a very fashionable neighborhood. Uncle Harry was an Architect and [he built] this block of Victorian style brownstones. He designed them, built them, owned them, and was the landlord. That provided his income for the rest of his life. He was a gruff type that always started his day with a raw egg and finished with a big cigar. His wife Alice was a dear. As little kids, he scared the hell out of us most of the time.”

Anecdotal stories from other sources also report that Harry liked to get together with William Gregson, one of his clients, and others, to smoke a friendly cigar.

Harry died in 1948, leaving Alice a widow at age 53. Alice married Dr. Chester William Darrow in 1961. He was a pioneering psychologist at the Institute of Juvenile Research and invented one of the first lie detector machines. Alice was a lecturer at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Dr. Darrow died in 1967, leaving adult daughters and grandchildren from a prior marriage, and Alice as his widow.

Alice died in 1975 at the age of 80. She was buried back home in Wisconsin.

The next post will look at Harry Hale Waterman’s only child, Louise Hale Waterman Hess.

The exhibit is open to the public for free on Sunday and Tuesday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. or by appointment. RHS is located at 10621 S. Seeley Avenue, Chicago

Houses Designed by Harry Hale Waterman and the People Who Called Them HomePart 4 – Waterman’s Social Life

By Carol Flynn

This is a companion series to the current exhibit at the Ridge Historical Society (RHS): “Harry Hale Waterman, Architect: Unique in Any Style.”

An article in the Inter Ocean newspaper in 1906 described Harry Hale Waterman as “architect and South Side clubman.”

The “clubman” aspect, his “social life,” is something new to look at for Waterman. This also affected his daughter, Louise, who we will look at in the next post.

Historically, clubs were found in all ancient societies. Once unrelated clans started living together in larger groups, they started forming subgroups based on common interests that took them beyond their traditional kinship connections.

By the late 1800s, men and women at all levels of society were involved in clubs as their primary means for networking and socializing. Clubs formed for many purposes – professions, sports and athletics, charity and service work, community improvement, literary interests, music, art, hobbies – if someone was interested in something, there was most probably a club for it.

There were also clubs limited to very specific memberships. Some examples included university alumni clubs and military veterans’ clubs.

Men-only clubs were the norm, so women formed their own clubs. Membership in both men’s and women’s clubs usually depended on social standing and wealth, church affiliation, and political leanings. African Americans, Jews, and Catholics were excluded from most of the clubs formed by the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant establishment, so they formed their own clubs.

By the late 1800s, there were hundreds of clubs in the Chicago area.

Waterman, like everyone else, was involved in clubs, and some of his social life can be pieced together from various sources.

To start, it is known that Waterman and his fellow architect-in-training, Frank Lloyd Wright, who boarded with the Waterman family, liked to put on boxing gloves and spar with each other.

In the late 1800s, boxing became trendy for young, upper-class white men in the U.S. Long considered a barbaric “sport” of the lower classes, boxing was now being praised for instilling self-confidence and courage in a group that was concerned about going soft from “over-civilization.”

Rules for boxing changed (the “Queensbury rules”) to include gloved fists and less physical contact.

Universities started boxing programs, and athletic clubs in the cities, with indoor gymnasiums, hired ex-bareknuckle boxers to show their members how it was done.

Waterman and Wright were part of a trend that included Teddy Roosevelt.

Waterman’s immediate family does not show up in searches for social activities in Chicago, so more digging will have to go on to find out what they were up to, but Waterman’s marriage to Ida May Vierling on October 27, 1891, opened up social opportunities for him. He was 22 years old, and she was 19 years old when they married. Ida and her family were covered in Post #3 of this series.

Ida’s father Frank became successful and wealthy through real estate. He entered city politics and became an alderman. As a Union veteran from the U.S. Civil War, he was very active in veterans’ affairs.

His three brothers became wealthy and prominent in the iron and steel works manufacturing industry.

The wealth and prominence the brothers achieved allowed their sister Clara, who never married, to become a star of the Chicago social scene, where she was especially famous for her New Year’s Eve parties.

Ida was a young socialite when she and Waterman married, appearing in the society pages for the parties and events she attended. Details of their wedding, held at her parents’ house, were covered in the newspaper. Her wedding dress and the decorations were described.

In January 1892, the Inter Ocean newspaper ran a lengthy story about a charity ball given at the Auditorium Theater by the Knights Templar, a Masonic organization, attended by 4,000 people.

As was customary for the papers in reporting an event like this, the most prominent citizens in attendance were listed, and about 175 high society women were singled out to be mentioned for their fashion that night.

Ida’s father was a Freemason and a member of an appendage organization, Queen Esther Chapters of the Order of the Eastern Star. He had to be a Master Mason to qualify for that. Ida was also a member; women who were daughters, sisters, wives, or mothers of Master Masons could join.

Listed as attendees at this event were the F.C. Vierlings, the H.H. Watermans, the J.T. Blakes, and Miss Clara Vierling. The J.T. Blakes were Ida’s older half-sister Mary and her husband Jesse Thomas Blake.

Ida and Mary were both reported as wearing white silk with pearl trimming, and their mother was dressed in black silk with jet and diamonds. Clara wore white embroidered crepe du chien and diamonds.

Many prominent citizens of Chicago were in attendance, including Eugene Pike and his wife, and Mrs. Pike wore black silk with jet and diamonds.

Waterman was busy at the time designing and building a house for Ida and himself in Morgan Park at 10838 Longwood Drive.

It was announced in the newspaper in 1892 that “Mr. and Mrs. H.H. Waterman, nee Vierling, Morgan Park, will be ‘at home’ after Sept. 1, instead of June, as formerly announced.” It was “high society” to make an announcement like that.

Waterman embarked on a very prolific next few years on the Ridge, designing at least 14 buildings in 1892-94, including the gardener’s cottage for Pike at 1826 W. 91st Street and the home for the Blakes at 2023 W. 108th Place, just down the street from his own house.

Ida gave birth to their daughter, Louise, on August 26, 1895.

Tragically, Ida died the following year, on August 14, 1896, at the age of 24. RHS does not know the cause of death. She was buried with the Vierling family in Oak Woods Cemetery.

Waterman and Louise left Morgan Park at that time and moved back in with his parents and sister on 39th Street and Vincennes Avenue. He stayed on Vincennes Avenue for the rest of his life.

Waterman maintained connections with his late wife’s family, which we will cover shortly.

It was a given that an architect like Waterman would join professional organizations.

Waterman began his career in 1888 as a draftsman in the architecture firm of Silsbee and Kent. Joseph Lyman Silsbee was a founder of the Chicago and Illinois chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), which began nationally in 1857.

All through the years, entries in the “Book of Chicagoans,” later called “Who’s Who in Chicago,” list Waterman as a member of AIA and the Illinois AIA, and the “Architectural Club.”

The Chicago Architectural Club was part of the Architectural League of America, which was formed in 1899 to improve architecture practices in cities. The League called for enforcement of better building standards, as well as beautifying cities with more parks and trees and less billboards.

This was all part of the “City Beautiful Movement” of the Progressive Era to reform urban planning to improve living conditions and quality of life, thereby improving “moral and civic virtue” within urban populations.

The Chicago Architectural Club held conventions and exhibits usually at the Art Institute of Chicago and is worthy of its own story in a future post. It’s noteworthy that Waterman was a member of this progressive group.

In 1896, the Illinois chapter of the AIA supported legislation to begin licensing architects based on an examination before an appointed board. Up to that time, anyone could design and build a structure and there were considerable shoddy practices.

Waterman, as well as his mentor Silsbee, were among the many educated and trained architects listed in support of licensure. Illinois became the first state to license architects, largely through the efforts of this Chicago group.

In 1897, an article in the Inter Ocean newspaper mentioned Waterman’s attendance at a dinner and program put on by the Chicago Architects Business Association at the Union League Club.

The program explored “The Architect’s Relation to the Business World” as seen from many different perspectives, including builders, real estate agents, homeowners, lawyers, and architects themselves.

Other attendees at the program included George Maher and Dwight Perkins. Waterman had worked with Maher at Silsbee and Kent.

In 1898, Waterman and Perkins were hired to design a house at 4914 Greenwood Avenue, according to the Chicago Tribune, “for a manufacturer whose name is not given out.” This house was for his late wife Ida’s uncle Robert Vierling and Robert’s sister Clara, the famous “Miss Vierling” of the society pages. The house, which still stands, was built in the tony Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago.

Waterman was listed as one of the “men high in official, business, and social circles” in attendance at an incredible event in 1898 where past U.S. President Benjamin Harrison appeared at the Auditorium Theater in a standing-room-only program put on by the Union League Club. Harrison delivered a speech in which he admonished the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes.

In 1900, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), an organization for veterans of the Union military who fought in the U.S. Civil War, announced plans to hold the annual encampment of the group in Chicago, with a massive fund-raising campaign to raise $100,000. Frank and Margaret Vierling, the late Ida’s parents, were very active in this group.

The Finance Committee formed more than 60 subcommittees of professional men to raise this money within their professional groups. Waterman was a member of the Architects subcommittee, along with the famous William Le Baron Jenney.

In fact, the subcommittees read like a who’s who of famous Chicago businessmen. O.W. Hinkley represented Bottlers of Mineral Water and Beverages; C.H. Wacker (of Wacker Drive fame) represented Brewers; H.C. Lytton represented retail Clothing; John M. Smyth represented Furniture Manufacturing; W.A. Stanton (great-grandfather of RHS Historian Linda Lamberty) from Beverly represented Silk Dealers and Threads. Waterman was with good company.

For years after Ida’s death, Waterman was listed as a member of the south side Kenwood Club. The Vierling family was very active in this club, which was organized in 1881 as a “purely social club” that offered everything from art talks to progressive euchre parties to dances to telepathy sessions to theatrical entertainment considered “far above the average of amateurs.”

The next post on Waterman’s daughter Louise will cover how her Great Aunt Clara Vierling introduced her as a debutante at the Kenwood Club.

In his later years, Waterman kept a low social profile but always maintained his membership in the AIA.

Apparently, the Great Depression and illnesses caused Waterman to fall behind in paying his membership fees to the Chicago Chapter of the AIA, and in 1937 the Executive Committee of that group voted to waive his fees in view of his high standing in the profession. He was approaching the age of 70, which would entitle him to emeritus status.

Much more about Waterman’s career can be learned from the RHS exhibit, which is open to the public for free on Tuesday and Sunday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m. or by appointment. RHS is located at 10621 S. Seeley Avenue in Chicago.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 19, 2025 – 7PM

WATERMAN: From the White City to the Ridge

A final encore presentation: Exhibit Curator Tim Blackburn will discuss how influences from the Columbian Exposition can be seen on the Ridge today, including through buildings designed by Harry Hale Waterman. He will also share updates from his recent visit with Waterman’s great-granddaughter and eight additional Waterman photos from her.

Architectural photographer Mati Maldre will also discuss his photos of thirty Waterman buildings, primarily taken in the mid-1980s.

Attendees are encouraged to view the exhibit "Harry Hale Waterman: Unique in any Style" before or after the program. The exhibit is open Tuesdays and Sundays from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., or by appointment, through September 28.

Members: $10 | Non-members: $20 | Students under 18: $5

Ridge Historical Society, 10621 S. Seeley Ave., Chicago, IL 60643

Limited Capacity. Get tickets here: https://bit.ly/Waterman9

RSVP: ridgehistory@hotmail.com 773.881.1675

For the month of September, the Ridge Historical Society (RHS) presents a special encore of the "Harry Hale Waterman: Unique in Every Style" exhibit, now featuring additional photos of the architect. While the exhibit previously displayed only one photo of Harry Hale Waterman in his 30s, RHS now has photos of Harry throughout his life, courtesy of Waterman’s great-granddaughter.

Harry was just 18 years old when Frank Lloyd Wright came to Chicago seeking employment and was hired by Architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee. It was during Wright's first weekend in Chicago that he met Harry Hale Waterman and boarded with the Waterman family. Frank Lloyd Wright spent a brief time at the Silsbee firm, and it is likely through the relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright (or the Waterman family’s connection to Wright’s uncle) that young Harry Hale Waterman was also hired by the Silsbee firm, where he worked for his first five years in architecture.

Some have suggested that this cabinet card photo of Harry Hale Waterman, taken around this time period, has a similar appearance and mysteriousness as photos of H.H. Holmes, the notorious con man and serial killer who preyed on visitors to the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. In the photo, Waterman is wearing an Inverness coat, a popular coat style at the time, complete with a derby hat, walking stick, and gloves for a formal look.

EXHIBIT: “Harry Hale Waterman: Unique in Every Style” is open Tuesdays and Sundays from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., or by appointment, through September 28. Admission is free.

Ridge Historical Society, 10621 S. Seeley Ave., Chicago, IL 60643

Tickets are available for the program “WATERMAN: From the White City to the Ridge”, which will take place Friday, September. 19, 2025, at 7PM. Exhibit Curator Tim Blackburn will discuss how influences from the Columbian Exposition can be seen on the Ridge today, including through buildings designed by Harry Hale Waterman. He will share updates from his recent visit with Waterman’s great-granddaughter and the additional Waterman photos from her. Architectural photographer Mati Maldre will also discuss his photos of thirty Waterman buildings, primarily taken in the mid-1980s.

PROGRAM: “WATERMAN: From the White City to the Ridge”

FRIDAY, SEPT. 19, 2025 – 7PM

Members: $10 | Non-members: $20 | Students under 18: $5

Limited Capacity. Get tickets here: https://bit.ly/Waterman9

RSVP: ridgehistory@hotmail.com 773.881.1675