Naperville Preservation Inc. Publishes Architectural Survey

Most buildings are simply places to live or work, but the best ones also help define the times and places where they were built. Such is the case with the homes designed by builder/architect Don Tosi during the post-World War II housing boom, which saw Naperville grow from 7,000 residents in 1950 to 22,851 by 1970.

This was the time of the New Frontier and what we today call “mid-century modern” architecture. Tosi took Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School philosophy to the next level, giving his horizontal designs a Space Age twist.

Although he built in other cities, most of Tosi’s homes were built in Naperville. Therefore, Naperville Preservation Inc. is acknowledging and honoring his work by publishing a new book, Don Tosi’s Naperville: A 2025 Architectural Survey.
Some of Tosi’s homes have been demolished, but the 2025 survey by Preservation Futures Inc.—a Chicago-based preservation planning consulting firm—identified 172 Tosi homes in Naperville.

Although not in Naperville, Tosi also built the Ford House in Aurora, a notable round home designed by architect Bruce Goff, Tosi’s mentor and the subject of a recent major exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. Like Goff, a Frank Lloyd Wright protégé, Tosi’s work exhibited an expansive approach to materials and sensitivity to its surroundings.

The new publication details the intensive research done by Preservation Futures, which identified and photographed Naperville’s Tosi homes. Funding came from several sources: the City of Naperville Special Events and Community Arts Commission (SECA); the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; Landmarks Illinois; and the Republic Bank of Chicago.

A not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, Naperville Preservation Inc. (NPI) evolved from Save Old Nichols Inc., founded in 2017 when the historic Old Nichols Library was threatened with demolition. In addition to helping save Old Nichols, NPI also helped prepare applications for Naperville’s two most recent locally designated landmarks, the Beidelman buildings on Washington Street and First Congregational Church on East Benton.

NPI earlier hired Preservation Futures to survey Moser Highlands and River Haven Estates.

NPI will donate copies of Don Tosi’s Naperville to libraries and historic institutions across the region. A limited number of the books will be available at NPI’s Wednesday May 13th event at Nichols Library, at-cost for $18. Contact NPI at napervillepreservation@gmail.com or see our website, napervillepreservation.org.

Article by Joe McElroy and Bill Simon