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In August of 1946 a young man Edward Leonard Burch, returned home from the Battle of the Bulge in Europe to his wonderful wife, Mary and his two and a half year old twin boys whom he was meeting for the first time. Having received his Commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and his degree from the University of Illinois at the same time four years earlier he was eager to finally build something. He accepted a job designing the Christian Science Churches for Charles Faulkner at 664 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago.

The Chicago Tribune sponsored a home design contest and the first prize was to receive the commission to have the home built. He entered it with hundreds of other architects and won first place. Suddenly, as a result of the publicity he had 20 other homes on his drawing board and decided to start his own architectural firm, Edward L. Burch & Associates. He had an office downtown Chicago but he worked a lot at home and his sons watched and learned and went with him to his jobs to see a man’s dreams become reality for his clients. They acquired his love of architecture, talents and skills. They also acquired his work ethic and ability to communicate with the tradesmen who used their skills to build for his clients.