John M. Rauhoff House

Built by John M. Rauhoff about 1909, this house is notable for its stucco-like exterior surface made with Ironite. Rauhoff was a prolific inventor with more than 13 patents, and his patented designs were used to manufacture the Diamond Spiral washing machine in Tinley Park's first factory at the southwest corner of Ridgeland and Oak Forest Avenues between 1905 and about 1908. Beginning around 1906, he experimented with ways to waterproof concrete blocks after manufacture, leading to Ironite, an additive that waterproofed concrete before it was formed. Ironite was also formulated for application to existing concrete surfaces, where it served as fireproofing for wooden floors and structural timbers in factories and warehouses. It was produced in Tinley Park into the 1960s and is said to have been used in the construction of the Hoover Dam.

Tinley Park, Illinois · United States