Tara Kolber grew up in Waukegan and said she always wanted to live in a historic home on the east side of Sheridan Road.
Steve Kolber, Tara’s husband, is an architect who designed the addition of a home originally built in 1916 on the east side of Sheridan. Three years ago, the owners called asking him to design a new home for them in Tennessee where they planned to move.
Seeing an opportunity to potentially acquire a dream home, Steve Kolber called his clients — Roy and Gera Czajkowski — to learn whether they intended to keep their Waukegan home as well. They planned to sell.
“We got together and it was all Tara and Gera,” Steve Kolber said. “Roy and I just listened. They didn’t talk about a price. They just talked about their love of old things and they made the deal. We took the rooms as they were and redirected them to our own tastes.”
The Kolbers’ house on Sheridan Road was one of three homes and five buildings visited as part of the Waukegan Historical Society’s 56th-annual Tour of Homes on Sunday, giving more than 200 people a glimpse into the city’s past.
Along with the Kolber home in the 500 block of Sheridan, participants viewed a house used primarily as a short-term rental in the 800 block of Sheridan built in 1903, and another in the 200 block of West Ridgeland put up in 1916.
Lori Nerheim, the historical society’s president, said people also visited the Haines House Museum in Bowen Park — originally a house built in 1844 — and the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie.
Originally built in 1903, the Carnegie was the city’s library until it moved to County Street in 1965. It was dormant until a thorough restoration was finished earlier this year as a joint effort involving the historical society and the Waukegan Park District. Nerheim said it was a chance for the public to get a look at the two museums as part of the cost of the tour.
At each of the three houses, the homeowners and other volunteers were there to give detailed tours and answer questions. At the home on Ridgeland, owners Abraham and Tatiana White, wore clothes representative of the early 20th century to greet guests.
Adjusting their home to meet their needs, the Kolbers were working with three stories of addition built 20 years ago and the original structure constructed nearly a century before. The master bedroom was on the third floor of the addition. Next to it were four smaller bedrooms.
Now three of the smaller bedrooms are her large master closet, his large master closet and the laundry room. One of the newer rooms is for three-season living because there is no heat. The previous owners did that to keep property taxes lower.
From two balconies and a patio, there is a view of the expansive backyard with views of Lake Michigan and occasionally wildlife.
“I’ve seen a wild turkey there,” Tara Kolber said. “There are coyotes, too.”
Needing to relocate to the Chicago area from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, 2½ years ago for a new job as a chef for a manufacturing company, Abe White said he and his wife started looking at places along the North Shore with an easy commute, particularly by train, to Chicago.
“It’s walking distance to the train and near everything else,” Abe White said. “It seemed like God was walking with us.”
Though Waukegan was farther away than other possibilities and they did not necessarily require an old, historic home, the more than century-old house on West Ridgeland appealed to them. Now empty-nesters, they quickly made a change to the attic.
“It’s a game room for our grandchildren when they come to visit,” Tatiana White said, as she and her husband stood near two dolls sitting at a miniature table. It has all the things a child could want.”
Located in the 800 block of Sheridan is a house owned by Todd Johnson and Steve Hill — they live nearby — with large living and dining rooms, as well as a good-sized entry hall. For Johnson and Hill, it is a business venture for short-term rentals for a variety of family events.
Nearly every weekend, the house is rented to a family coming to the area to watch their son or daughter graduate from Naval Station Great Lakes, going from the ranks of raw recruits to sailors in the U.S. Navy.
“We get extended families,” Johnson said. “There’s room for parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. It’s good for the local economy. They eat at the restaurants, and shop at the local stores. We have family reunions and corporate events. It’s good for corporate team building.”
