This 1-story brick and terra cotta commercial building was designed by architect Maurice L. Bein and constructed some time around 1925. Bein designed a number of Rogers Park buildings, and I'll be investigating some more as I'm able to get out and take current photos.
I was lucky to find two historic photos, one from the Digital Archives of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the other in a UIC collection called Images of Change. Both are great sources for overlooked neighborhood buildings.
Originally the storefront at the corner was pulled back to allow a generous entrance flanked by display windows. By the time the middle photo was taken that area had been enclosed by a homemade wall insert. In the bottom photo a new storefront has made the transformation permanent. Porches that become enclosed over time often have the same progression.
People generally tend to idealize signage on historic buildings, but by the 1950s the era of tasteful gold stenciled lettering in the windows was long gone.
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| SW Corner of Clark and Rogers |
I was lucky to find two historic photos, one from the Digital Archives of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the other in a UIC collection called Images of Change. Both are great sources for overlooked neighborhood buildings.
Originally the storefront at the corner was pulled back to allow a generous entrance flanked by display windows. By the time the middle photo was taken that area had been enclosed by a homemade wall insert. In the bottom photo a new storefront has made the transformation permanent. Porches that become enclosed over time often have the same progression.
People generally tend to idealize signage on historic buildings, but by the 1950s the era of tasteful gold stenciled lettering in the windows was long gone.
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