Day 82: Ridgewood 1907..."Anything Historic is Gone"

On a walk last month on Green Bay Road, I saw the remnant of a fence.

And then more fencing.

And then a gate.

There are inscriptions above the brick posts.

RIDGEWOOD 1907

This fencing went on for a long time. Don't believe me. Here is a minute and half of fence.





Curious about these blocks of fencing and the inscription, I contacted the Highland Park Library Archives. The next day, I received a link from the archivist to the Second book of the North Shore; homes, gardens, landscapes, highways and byways, past and present, by Marian A. White. (Marian Ainsworth) Chicago, J. H. White, 1911 and a 1916 map of Highland Park with the location of the estate.

The Kimball Estate was built by Curtis Kimball, the nephew of William Wallace Kimball. During the panic of 1857 William had just sold some land and decided to help a friend out who went bankrupt and could not sell his last four pianos.  Mr. Kimball sold them in two days and decided to pursue selling pianos.

William founded the Kimball Organ Company in 1857 as a reseller of primarily square pianos, including those made by Hallet & Davis, F.C. Lighte, Emerson Piano Company, and Chickering & Sons – and reed organs.

Chickering Square Grand Piano

He obtained a factory in Melrose Park after the Chicago fire in 1871 and the W.W. Kimball Company distributed their pianos and reed organs throughout the Midwest.


When he was 17, Curtis Kimball received a call from his uncle to help him with the business. Curtis helped build and expand the brand becoming Vice President in 1898 and succeeding William as President in 1905.

That same year, Curtis bought the 80 acre estate which he called Ridgewood. He was a lover of the arts, a patron of opera, and a collector of rare books and paintings. He took an intense personal interest in developing the grounds of the estate.

Curtis Kimball

West Front

East Front

The Library

Curtis Kimball died in 1936. The property was subdivided in 1942 and the three-story main house, which contained a pipe organ as a memorial to his uncle William, was demolished.

 In 1959, the W.W. Kimball Company was purchased by the Jasper Company and renamed Kimball International.

In 2015, the coach house, the last building of the estate was torn down.

The realtor at the time said, "It's been bastardized over the years and had a lot of additions. Anything historic is gone."