Architect. From an early age, Shaw was exposed to architectural design. He grew up on Prairie Avenue, one of Chicago's most modern residential areas. His father was a successful businessman and his mother was a painter. Educated at the Howard School in Chicago, Yale University, and the School of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he would integrate elements of Georgian, Tudor and neoclassical design he learned there in most of his later work. In 1891, he began his career in Chicago with Jenney and Mundie. His first commission was a house for his wife's parents. After traveling to Europe to study architecture, he returned to Chicago and Jenney and Mundie, completing his last commission for them, the Snitzler house in 1894. Establishing his own firm, he designed two homes for family followed by his first major commission, a printing plant for Lakeside Press. Today the Lakeside Press Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). He purchased in 1897 a one third share in a 53 acre building site. He designed homes for his family and two others. These were Shaw's first foray into the Arts and Crafts movement. His house, Ragdale, is considered one of the best examples of this style and is also listed on the NRHP. At an exhibition for Chicago architecture, he would meet with other Arts and Crafts architects including Frank Lloyd Wright in a lunch group known as The Eighteen. This was an early version of the Prairie School of architecture. After a fire in 1900, he rebuilt the Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago whose sanctuary today remains one of the most intact Arts and Crafts interiors in the United States. Other prominent buildings he designed include Mentor Building, Camp-Woods (also NRHP) and Goodman Memorial Theatre. In 1915, he was asked to design Market Square in Lake Forest, Illinois which became the first planned shopping center in the United States which incorporated both parking and a center courtyard. He designed fraternity houses for the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago. In 1907, he was named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and awarded its AIA Gold Medal shortly before his death. Several of his students became notable architects.
Architect. From an early age, Shaw was exposed to architectural design. He grew up on Prairie Avenue, one of Chicago's most modern residential areas. His father was a successful businessman and his mother was a painter. Educated at the Howard School in Chicago, Yale University, and the School of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he would integrate elements of Georgian, Tudor and neoclassical design he learned there in most of his later work. In 1891, he began his career in Chicago with Jenney and Mundie. His first commission was a house for his wife's parents. After traveling to Europe to study architecture, he returned to Chicago and Jenney and Mundie, completing his last commission for them, the Snitzler house in 1894. Establishing his own firm, he designed two homes for family followed by his first major commission, a printing plant for Lakeside Press. Today the Lakeside Press Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). He purchased in 1897 a one third share in a 53 acre building site. He designed homes for his family and two others. These were Shaw's first foray into the Arts and Crafts movement. His house, Ragdale, is considered one of the best examples of this style and is also listed on the NRHP. At an exhibition for Chicago architecture, he would meet with other Arts and Crafts architects including Frank Lloyd Wright in a lunch group known as The Eighteen. This was an early version of the Prairie School of architecture. After a fire in 1900, he rebuilt the Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago whose sanctuary today remains one of the most intact Arts and Crafts interiors in the United States. Other prominent buildings he designed include Mentor Building, Camp-Woods (also NRHP) and Goodman Memorial Theatre. In 1915, he was asked to design Market Square in Lake Forest, Illinois which became the first planned shopping center in the United States which incorporated both parking and a center courtyard. He designed fraternity houses for the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago. In 1907, he was named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and awarded its AIA Gold Medal shortly before his death. Several of his students became notable architects.
Bio by: Winter Birds PA
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