features tall brick chimneys with corbelled chimney caps, dormers, bay windows and a large veranda. The architect, if there was one, is unknown, though it is probable that Lake himself was the builder. One possibility is that John Lake obtained the architectural plans in England, his native land, where he had returned from as construction on the house began in 1873. This example of Gothic Revival architecture is particularly noteworthy for its exterior trim details. Typically, the gable ends, at the edges, feature curvilinear (or gingerbread-type) vergeboards in residential Gothic Revival styled buildings. The Lake–Peterson House has simple pointed arches with ornamented pendants. The windows are also somewhat unusual in their variety. Three of the home's four sides have bay windows and other windows are topped by limestone hood molds. The windows themselves show differing forms as well, including the double-hung sash windows on the second floor and the diamond-paned windows with colored glass in the sitting room. Sometime after 1918 the Lake–Peterson House underwent its only major alterations. An addition was added to the southeast portion of the home, it features a smooth stone finish and window groupings characteristic of late period Gothic Revival. At around the same time, a three-story enclosed porch was added to the same area of the house. Carriage house The Lake–Peterson House property has an extant outbuilding, the carriage house, which is also cast in the Gothic Revival style. The Lake-Peterson Carriage House was built around the same time as the main house. The building features clapboard siding, arched windows and decorative vergeboards. The carriage house's most striking feature is its multi-gabled louvered cupola. Surviving, contemporary outbuildings are unusual. The carriage house, aside from the Lake–Peterson House itself, was identified as architecturally significant by the Illinois Historic Sites Survey in 1974. Significance The Lake–Peterson House is architecturally significant on a statewide scale, being one of Illinois finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture. Indeed, the 1974 Illinois Historic Sites Survey cited the house as architecturally significant, as well as significant in the area of industry because of its prominent owners. The Lake–Peterson House displays nearly all elements described by architectural historian John Blumenson as embodying the Victorian Gothic style as opposed to later or earlier manifestations of the style. The Lake–Peterson House is listed as a local landmark by the city of Rockford. On June 25, 1980, the house was listed on the U.S. National