The most recognizable house on Winnetka's lakefront no longer stands.

The mansion at 445 Sheridan Road, built in 1912 in the Mission Revival style with its white stucco façade and red-tile roofs, was demolished in 2025 after owners Vijay and Shiraz Kotte received approval to replace it with a 28,690-square-foot French-style residence.

Construction on the new home, estimated at $10 million, was underway in January 2026, according to The Real Deal.

The loss prompted a resignation from Winnetka's own preservation board. Laura Good, a Landmark Preservation Commission member, stepped down after the June 17, 2024 meeting, saying her motivation was disappointment at "not being able to save 445 Sheridan Road from being demolished."

The house had just five owners across its entire existence, according to a history published in the Winnetka Historical Society's Fall/Winter 2024 Gazette, written by Laurie Petersen.

Lena Gilmore, a California-born widow who inherited an extensive Chicago real estate portfolio from her first husband, Judge Van H. Higgins, commissioned the home in 1912. It was the only Mission Revival structure on Winnetka's shore. She sold it in 1919 and returned to California.

Albert Pick II, owner of a hotel and restaurant supply company, bought it next. During his 12-year ownership, he installed one of the country's first residential elevators and commissioned four wrought iron and bronze doors from metalworker Oscar Bach, whose archive now resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The entrance hall floor was tiled entirely with handcrafted ceramics from Pasadena's Batchelder Tile Company. The Great Depression forced Pick to sell in 1931.

James G. McMillan, president of the company that manufactured Ovaltine, owned the house from 1931 until his death in 1964. His company sponsored the radio show Little Orphan Annie and its famous secret decoder badges.

W. Clement Stone bought the house in 1966. A self-made insurance millionaire who founded what became Aon Corporation, Stone was known for his philosophy of "positive mental attitude" and his political donations to Richard Nixon.

He and his wife Jessie both lived to 100, dying on the same calendar date two years apart: September 3, 2002 and September 3, 2004. A 1967 Chicago Tribune headline about their renovations read: "They're So Busy Partying There, Who Can Move In?"

The estate sold the property in 2006 to Randy and Sherry Abrahams, who worked with architect Paul Konstant to maintain its historic character.

The Kottes purchased the property on August 31, 2023 for $12.25 million through a trust, according to property records reported by The Record North Shore. Vijay Kotte, CEO of health-insurance broker GoHealth, submitted a demolition permit on October 5, 2023.

Kotte told the Landmark Preservation Commission that the home's design did not meet the owners' desires and that renovation posed too many challenges, including foundation concerns. The state's Memorandum of Agreement, signed February 11, 2025, noted the owners had been unaware of years of accumulated window leaks and water damage.

The commission imposed its maximum 270-day demolition delay beginning February 5, 2024, but had no legal authority to block the teardown. On November 7, 2024, the Illinois State Historic Preservation Officer determined the house was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for Architecture.

It didn't matter. The demolition went forward.

Jack Coladarci, chair of Winnetka's Landmark Preservation Commission, put it plainly: "How much more history and character that makes Winnetka a special place can we afford to lose?"

The numbers tell the story. At least $200 million has been spent on new lakefront home construction on the North Shore over the past decade, according to a March 2026 Real Deal report. Since 2016, 52 lakefront homes have been built, compared to 43 in the prior decade. Average home prices in Winnetka have risen more than 50 percent since 2020, the same report found.

The village extended its maximum demolition delay from 60 days to 270 days in March 2021, but Good said the ordinance still lacks enforcement power. The Kottes were among homeowners who sued Winnetka over its 2024 lakefront bluff construction ordinance, arguing it cut millions from their property values. They dropped out of the litigation in December 2025.

As mitigation for the demolition, the Kottes agreed to commission a scholarly context statement on Mission Revival architecture across North Shore communities including Winnetka, Glencoe, Kenilworth, and Wilmette.

That document must be submitted to the state preservation office and the Winnetka Historical Society before construction can proceed.

The original house at 445 Sheridan sat on more than 2 acres with a private 130-foot beachfront adjacent to Cherry Street Beach. Three stories, more than 6,000 square feet, 14 rooms, a pool house, swimming pool, sauna, speakeasy-style lounge, solarium, and elevator access to all four levels.

What replaces it will be nearly five times larger.