When talking about awe-inspiring architecture in Illinois, Chicago usually gets all the attention. But as true enthusiasts will tell you, there’s more to appreciating architecture than big-city buildings.
One historically significant structure can be found in Decatur: the Adolph Mueller House. Marion Mahony, one of the first licensed female architects in the U.S., designed the home back in 1910. The magnificent structure features a striking roofline that combines uplifted eaves with gabled roofs, reminiscent of Japanese style. Inside, a sunken living room is covered by a gorgeous stained-glass ceiling above. Mahoney even designed a complementary bat house for the backyard to match the main house’s exterior (the Mueller’s requested it because they wanted the bats to help with insect control).
Today, Millikin University owns the Adolph Mueller House, which serves as the house for the institution’s president; however, several historical photos of the home can be viewed in Decatur’s Hieronymus Mueller Museum. For more information, visit muellermuseum.org.
During the early 40’s my father lived above the garage of the Mueller house and and drove Mueller around as a driver for him while he attended Millikan before officer school in the Navyy. We are traveling east from California in April and May in our Sprinter Van RV and will be visiting Decatur where Mom and Dad went to
college. Interesting to think about those early dayys before they married.