very unique and well-built c. 1886 american interior residential hardwood room divider or colonnade attributed to the northwestern grille works, chicago, il. the complete freestanding unit was carefully salvaged from the extant david c. cook mansion, located in elgin, il. the room divider was originally located on the second floor near the central staircase. the original hand-painted faux wood grain finish remains in excellent condition, considering age. the boxes and square-shaped posts of columns are structurally sound and solid. the corbels and evenly-spaced grille blocks are all intact. david c. cook, founder of a prominent religious publishing operation, built the high victorian queen anne chateauesque style mansion on the corner of gifford and division streets in 1885. in 1945 the grand residence was converted (i.e., modernized and expanded) into the mary margaret nursing home and later renamed the bowes retirement center. fortunately, interior elegant furnishings located on both the first and second floors were left intact from the time of mr. cook's occupancy. the fate of the house remains uncertain. measures approximately 119 x 10 x 107 inches.