[1] Jens Jensen was a Danish immigrant who rose from a laborer for the West Park Commission in Chicago, Illinois to its general superintendent.

He was serving in this role in 1908, when he decided to build a summer house in Highland Park.

[2] Upon its completion in 1915, Jensen gradually moved his operations from Chicago to his new Highland Park estate.

[2] Jensen lived at his Highland Park until the early 1930s, when he moved to nearby Wilmette, Illinois.

He maintained operations at the studio until 1934, when he established The Clearing in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin.