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Location 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
600 S. See-Gwun – Mount Prospect Country Club
The history of the Country Club is directly linked to the history of Mount Prospect in general. The country club and golf course were at the center of the development from Elmhurst West and Lincoln South in 1926.
In 1926 Axel Lonnquist
began a real estate venture to subdivide the area that today includes the golf
course and surrounding houses. People who bought the lots from Lonnquist
received a membership to his golf course. Known as the Northwest Hill Country
Club at the time, Lonnquist hoped to create an elite area for residents during
the first influx of families from the city to the suburb. In 1931, however,
Lonnquist suffered under the depression and the country club was bought by a
local real estate broker named Harold Wilson. Wilson changed the name of the
club to the Mount Prospect Country Club and made the club semi-private, charging
$60 dues for a year membership.
Wilson remained the
owner until 1950 when Henry Sophie bought the club. It was owned by Sophie
until 1958 when reputed gangster Richard Hauff bought it. Hauff added a pool
and new locker rooms to the club and hired Trent Jones to redesign the course.
In an attempt to
bring publicity to the club, Hauff held the Master’s Tournament for Women in
1959. Unfortunately, this extravagant spending led to Hauff’s bankruptcy
shortly after and the club fell into disrepair as citizens and the Village made
attempts for the Mount Prospect Park District to buy it. In January of 1961,
Hauff sold the club to 11 men and 1 woman, but the deal was fought by the
Village and the Park District was able to buy it in April of that year.
The clubhouse itself
was built under Axel Lonnquist in 1929 along with a small outbuilding. The
clubhouse was styled in the Tudor fashion. The outbuilding was decorated with
big candy
replicas and called the
“Hansel and Gretel”
cottage, becoming a playhouse for children. In 1931 the clubhouse was remodeled
under Harold Wilson and remained the same until it was owned by Hauff. A new
West wing was added in 1958 designed by Trent Jones. After the Park District
acquired the club, another renovation was done. Around 1982 the small
outbuilding was demolished and in 2003 the clubhouse was demolished to make way
for a new state of the art clubhouse, built by Trapani Construction.