Lowden Model

The Lowden Model was designed by Nagle Hartray Architecture, a medium-sized design firm founded in 1966. The firm designed seven different house models (over 100 houses) at Prairie Crossing, and the Kennicott Building at the Charter School. Jim Nagle, Dirk Danker and Don McKay all worked on the designs for Prairie Crossing. Don McKay has been with the firm for 31 years and is Design Director and Managing Partner. Their many award-winning projects have included educational and commercial facilities, and custom homes nationwide.

This model is named after Illinois Governor Frank O. Lowden (1861-1943), who gained national recognition for reorganizing state government and reducing government bureaucracy.  A practicing attorney and professor of law at Northwestern University School of Law, he was married to Florence Pullman, daughter of George M. Pullman, who founded the new town of Pullman, Illinois. The Lowdens owned Sinnissippi Farm, a large estate near Oregon, Illinois, which was designed by the midwest landscape architect O.C. Simonds and noted for its modern farming methods.