Naperville's Tosi Homes

Spot the Tosi Contest

Win a $100 gift card by spotting the most houses in Naperville built by mid-century builder Don Tosi!  Tosi was a builder in Naperville known for designing unique mid-century homes and we are trying to identify them all. Your can submit one or more entries. Your entry can be your own home or any home that you know was designed by Tosi, but in all cases, the home must still remain standing.

Why? Naperville Preservation is engaging a historic preservation consultant to document a historic survey of Tosi homes in Naperville, to catalog the contributions by this noted builder.*

Here's where YOU come in:  Your entries in this contest could identify a home that is not yet on our list! Use this form for up to 8 properties.  Respond with a second form if needed.  All responses will be checked before tallying. Ties will be broken by drawing names.

The deadline for submissions is midnight, Friday July 25th!  Enter today!

Don A. Tosi was a prominent postwar designer and  homebuilder recognized for his modernist inspired home designs. As a protege of  renowned mid-century modernist architect Bruce Goff, Tosi served as general  contractor for the construction of the Goff-designed Ruth Van Sickle Ford House  (1950) in Aurora, Illinois. Following completion of the Ford House, Tosi established a  name for himself as a creative, oftentimes eccentric, designer and builder of custom  suburban single-family homes. Tosi's unique built legacy can be seen throughout the  Aurora and Naperville subdivisions erected between 1950 and 1980, particularly in  the West Highlands, Maplebrook, and Cress Creek neighborhoods. Being more than 50 years old these homes are now considered "historic" by City of Naperville Historic Preservation standards.

A  preliminary  list of houses potentially designed by Tosi has been compiled and the number is  over 70. Many of these homes are located in subdivisions with ongoing “tear-downs” being built, so  documenting these unique homes needs to be done before more are lost.

The homes built by Don Tosi are an important part of Naperville’s history. They  exemplify Mid-century Modern style, a significant design movement. Mid-century  architecture was frequently employed in residential structures with the goal of  bringing modernism into America's post-war suburbs. Tosi homes are perhaps the  ultimate examples of Mid-century Modern in Naperville. It is important to document  them.