A four-bedroom, 4,687-square-foot mid-century modern house on a 3.5-acre, sloping lot on a bluff overlooking the Illinois River on Peoria’s north end recently was listed for $975,000.
Built in 1949 and designed by noted Chicago-area architect Paul Schweikher (1903-1997), the low-slung, rambling house, which came on the market in mid-November, is one of Peoria’s most architecturally significant homes, said listing agent Mark Ferrill of RE/MAX. The house has walls of glass that look out on a wooded setting, natural materials and horizontal rooflines that blend in with the landscape.
Features include four bathrooms, four fireplaces and a three-car garage tucked under the house. All the principal rooms face east, toward the river.
“One of the unique things about it is the site,” Ferrill said. “We have a tremendous river-view community in this area. And the house is mid-century, but it’s kind of a crossover because it was built in the (late) 1940s, so it’s a little ahead of itself. It’s kind of (Frank Lloyd) Wright-ish.”
Schweikher expert Dan Fitzpatrick, managing director and historian at the Schweikher House in Schaumburg, told Elite Street that the Peoria house, known as the Burhans house after its first owners, is an example of how the architect “masterfully executed” his “hallmark blend of Japanese design with American modernism.”
“Large glazing blends the indoors and outdoors harmoniously while offering four fireplaces of creative brickwork as well as bespoke entry doors and sliding wood cabinetry in a Japanese style,” Fitzpatrick said. “The home was (showcased) internationally including in the Argentinian periodical Nuestra Arquitectura in 1952, among other publications.”
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.