On June 1, 2004, the Board of Trustees designated 239 East Walnut as an historic landmark. The house is located prominently at the top of a hill on a corner. This Queen Anne "Free Classic" style house was built in 1889 and displays significant original characteristics such as a steeply pitched main roof, a variety of roof lines and roof types, a dominant front-facing gable, bay and transom windows, contrasting wall surfaces and a one-story front porch, which originally spanned the entire front wall. The building also contains high quality details such as the prominent frieze band encircling the house atop the second-story windows, curved brackets beneath the projecting gables on three sides of the house, patterned/cut shingles, heavy moldings on the dormers and beneath eaves, and a geometric design in the front porch roof's small gable.

The building's original owner, Mrs. Gertrude M. Ridgway, was among the founders of the Hinsdale Women's Club, which was formed for educational, social, civic and philanthropic purposes. The building was later given to the Ridgway's daughter, Helen, as a wedding gift when she married Heinrich Adolph Weidig in 1896. Mr. Weidig served as an assistant conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under CSO founder and principal conductor Theodore Thomas. The Weidigs hosted many musical gatherings at the house during their lengthy residency.  


Please contact the Village Planner at (630) 789-7030 with any questions and for assistance in designating your home as a landmark.

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