Architect Henry Fiddelke may not be a household name in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park, but he designed a number of well-known mansions, including the Hales Mansion on Chicago and Oak Park Avenue, as well as municipal and commercial villages throughout the area.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, self-proclaimed Fiddelke “super fan” Michael Thomas will be sharing his knowledge of the Oak Park-based architect in a talk at the Forest Park Baptist Church, also designed by Fiddelke.
Thomas, who developed an interest in architecture over decades of living in Oak Park, said he became interested in Fiddelke when he became a member of Forest Park Baptist Church.
He said the building is inspiring.
“Upstairs, there’s a cloakroom,” he said. “It’s kind of a small room, and all the windows have this golden stained-glass color. And there are brown oak door frames and window frames. When the sun shines, those brown frames have a golden tint. They just glow.”
As an usher for the church, Thomas spent a lot of time in the cloakroom and said he was inspired by it to delve into who designed the building. When he found out it was designed as the German Baptist Church by Fiddelke, he researched the architect with the Oak Park and River Forest Historic Society and prepared a presentation for his church on Fiddelke.
Now, he’s building on that presentation to spread the message of Fiddelke to architect buffs from far and wide.
Thomas, who said he’s such a super fan that he created an H.G. Fiddelke t-shirt, points to three main reasons why he is attracted to Fiddelke’s work.
“I admire his architecture. I admire his love of community. I admire his integrity. The more I learned about his personality, the more I respected him.”
Born in 1865 in Matteson, Illinois, Fiddelke began to work in the architecture offices of Joseph Silsbee in Chicago in 1885. He was later employed in the office of Jenney and Mundie before becoming a licensed architect himself. By 1894, he was working in the Oak Park office of architect Frank Ellis. Fiddelke started his own firm in Oak Park in 1895.
Thomas pointed out that Fiddelke was married to his wife for years, consistently attended church and donated the stained glass to his church, now Forest Park Baptist Church, where his funeral was held in the early 1930’s.
Fiddelke designed the State Bank of Oak Park in 1913, which stood at the corner of Marion and Lake Street. He also built the original Holmes school, although his building was razed in the 1950’s.
When Thomas contacted the Matteson Historical Society, he said he learned that even though Fiddelke had moved away from his hometown, he designed the Matteson Village Hall in 1897. The building was destroyed in 1948.
Thomas said he likes that Fiddelke worked in a number of styles.
“There’s just a wide range, from Queen Anne to Victorian to Prairie to Tudor Revival. He was a very sophisticated architect and used lots of details like herringbone brick work or turrets.”
During his lecture, Thomas said he will discuss Fiddelke’s work with Grace Hemingway on the Hemingway boyhood home and with Flora Gill, one of Oak Park’s first women entrepreneurs.
Those who attend the lecture in person will be treated to an up-close view of another topic: the stained-glass windows at Forest Park Baptist Church. Thomas said the windows are a key part of the design of the church.
“When I was taking photos of them for the lecture, the sun was coming through,” he said. “It was like a Van Gogh painting. There’s something magical about stained-glass windows. Some of them are painterly. They’re very alive, moving and vibrant.”
The lecture also will include bits pertaining to the time when the church was in the Village of Harlem, with some stories of people who lived there during those times.
Overall, Thomas said, he hopes that people will walk away with a newfound appreciation of Fiddelke the man and the architect.
“I think Fiddelke needs attention, and I think in exploring him, you explore architecture and history. I think H.G. Fiddelke is golden.”
Thomas’ lecture takes place at 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 8 at Forest Park Baptist Church, 133 Harlem Avenue. The event is free, and attendees can RSVP at www.forestparkhistory.org