Excerpts from the rblandmark.com:
Firefighters were called to 3744 Stanley Ave. in unincorporated Riverside Township at about 1:50 a.m. June 28. By the time they arrived, the house was completely engulfed in flames. The last historic home left standing in Riverside Lawn burned to the ground.
Because the house has been vacant for more than a year and the protective metal shutters over the house’s lower-floor windows appeared not to have been breached, firefighters concentrated on putting out the blaze from outside.
The fire is being investigated by the Illinois State Fire Marshal and Cook County Sheriff’s Police. While no cause has been announced, officials have not ruled out that it may have been set intentionally.
Several agencies responded to the blaze, including firefighters from Riverside, Brookfield, McCook, Bedford Park, and LaGrange.
The house was among the oldest built in Riverside Lawn. It was constructed around 1899 by Alexander Watson, the man responsible for developing the neighborhood, much of which lies in a flood plain on the south bank of a sharp bend in the Des Plaines River north of 39th Street and east of Joliet Avenue. Built of field stone and sporting a picturesque corner turret, the house is among about 20 properties purchased within the past two years by the Cook County Land Bank as part of a buy-out program to rid the flood-prone area of homes.
While most of the houses bought by the county have already been demolished, the one at 3744 Stanley Ave. was left standing after it was deemed eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lyons Fire Department photo
historic Riverside Lawn home that was destroyed by fire
