Preservationists Save House Containing 1893 World's Fair Parquet

The parquet floors were originally used as a dance floor. (Image: William Witten Home Facebook page)Numerous different flooring patterns can be found throughout the home. (Image: William Witten Home Facebook page)Developers had proposed relocating the building and reinstalling the flooring in a different location. (Image: William Witten Home Facebook page)An ad posted by hardwood floor craftsman William Witten in a 1906 telephone directory.Earlier this year, the fate of a house containing a parquet dance floor used for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago seemed certain: it would be removed and its floors taken out and relocated.

But after a movement by local preservationists to save the landmark-status home, the building, and its historic parquet, will remain in place, according to The Highland Park Landmark.

The historic William Walter Witten home in Highland Park, Ill., was purchased in August by a developer who planned to construct an assisted living facility at the site, according to the Chicago Tribune. Witten was the hardwood flooring professional responsible for a parquet dance floor used at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Following the fair, Witten installed pieces of the stunning parquet throughout his Highland Park home. 

The developer had planned to remove the parquet and have it installed elsewhere. Local preservationists moved to stop the relocation of the home, which is protected under the city’s historic preservation ordinance, and after a large showing of opposition, the Highland Park’s Historic Preservation Commission denied the developer’s request to relocate the Victorian building.