31 Mar recent photographic survey of herman von holst’s public service house substation in skokie, il.
March 31, 2026
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized
photographic survey of herman von holst’s public service house substation (1926), located at 5100 church street, skokie, il.
public utilities magnate samuel insull commissioned von holst to design several stations in residential neighborhoods across the city of chicago during the early 20th century. the use of distinctive ornament was von holt’s solution to beautify these otherwise unsightly utilitarian complexes for greater curb appeal to appease neighborhood residents.
his earlier prairie style buildings were often accentuated with richly colored tiled panels arranged in simple geometric patterns. i’ve studied a few salvaged panels from demolished stations and nearly all are “stock” pattern tiles fabricated by mosaic tile company of zanesville, oh.
