20. Arts & Crafts Cottages

Location: Lakeshore Drive, Douglas and Saugatuck Township
Date: 1890s-1930s

The Alvord cottage, 332 Lakeshore Drive, Douglas, was built in 1901 for John Alvord, a partner of the Chicago urban planner Daniel Burnham. The builder was Arthur Weed.

The American Arts & Crafts movement was a revolution in the way people of the later 19th and first half of the 20th century approached house design and daily life. The movement promoted a “back-to-nature” social reforms that included concern for moral, spiritual and physical health. This philosophy was expressed by the work of Chicago (particularly the suburb of Oak Park) and Midwestern architects, home builders and furniture designers.

Many of the early cottage dwellers along the Douglas-Lakeshore Drive area were influenced by these ideals and looked to Frank Lloyd Wright, Elbert Hubbard, the Stickley Brothers, and Thomas Eddy Tallmadge for examples of how to build and furnish homes. One of the most popular plan-book houses was the Craftsman Bungalow — but others were architect-designed or simply owner-made. Another popular visualization of these ideals was the reproduction log cabin, a craze that hit the area in the 1920s and 1930s. Respect for trees and simple design was key. The whole idea was to respect nature, not interrupt it.

The Lakeshore Chapel at Campbell Road and Lakeshore Drive and the cabin at 11 Lakeshore Drive in Douglas are other excellent example of American Arts & Crafts structures.