Arthur D. Heffron House

Built for a seed company buyer, this characteristic George W. Maher design features the architect’s signature flanged segmental arch opening over the front corner porch. He derived his arches from the British Arts & Crafts movement. Another example of this can be found at Maher’s nearby 10432 S. Longwood Drive, a symmetrical Prairie Style house designed a few years later. SUGGESTED DETOUR #1: Extend your walk by heading East a couple of blocks to Walter Burley Griffin Place. This tiny landmark district boasts the largest concentration of small-scale Prairie Style houses in Chicago, seven designed by Griffin. The houses are far from uniform, however. To sample the range, check out the wood frame Van Nostrand House at 1666 W. Griffin Place and the stucco Garrity House at 1712 W. Griffin Place. SUGGESTED DETOUR #2: Venture over the ridge to the 10400 and 10500 blocks of South Hoyne Avenue. The payoff is a pair of so-called “American System-Built Houses” designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1917. The Guy C. Smith House (10410 S. Hoyne) and H. Howard Hyde House (10541 S. Hoyne) are prototypes for what should have been a 25-acre Beverly subdivision of prefabricated middle class dwellings. World War I mothballed this development, with just the two houses built.