R. Harold Zook
Zook studied at the Armour Institute (now I.I.T.) and apprenticed to Howard Van Doren Shaw. He opened his own office in Chicago in 1924, the same year he moved his young family to a small house of his own design at 327 S. Oak in Hinsdale. Although Zook was busy during the 1920s, the Depression of the 1930s took its toll on his business. Zook was involved in the choosing of Edwin H. Clark, the architect for the Memorial Building and in 1932 was chairman of the Hinsdale Plan Commission. Ultimately, Zook built 31 houses and 6 commercial buildings in Hinsdale. He also designed the Art Deco Municipal Building in St. Charles City Hall and the Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge. Most of his houses are exceptionally crafted with detailed woodwork and hardware, patterned brickwork, decorative leaded glass windows and unusually complex rooflines. Zook houses are still instantly recognizable.