Cottage Chicago

Few buildings convey the historic character of the city as recognizably as the Chicago cottage. They
can be found throughout Chicago in working and middle-class neighborhoods.  Many were built in the 19th and early 20th century, but in reality the cottage never went out of style, it just transformed itself again and again.

2322 N. Cleveland, 1895

In general terms a cottage is one or one and one-half stories in height and built of wood or brick.  After the great fire of 1871 the city rushed to rebuild itself- in wood.  It took a few more years (and another fire in 1874) to impose strict regulations requiring fireproof construction within city boundaries. 

2044 W. Iowa, c. 1880

Most cottages are rectangular in plan, and fit on a typical Chicago lot (25' x 125').  They have front facing gable roofs and offset front entrances.  Architectural styles were often expressed through the window and door surrounds, as well as the cornice.  Most have a basement, although many early cottages just have a crawlspace.

1334 S. Karlov, 1890s

Cottage were constructed by individuals, but were often part of larger real estate developments.  Early Chicago had block after block of cottages, often taking advantage of mass produced ornamentation and informed by popular pattern books of the time.  Most common are those in the Italianate style, which decorative hood moldings and paired brackets under the eaves.  The one above is an example of the Queen Anne style, which used elaborate surface treatments and varied textures.

3703 W. Wrightwood, c.1890

Here's another Queen Anne cottage with a tripartite window configuration on the second floor with a sunburst pattern.  The porch is covered with fish-scale shingles.  

2020 W. Augusta, 1899

Above is an unusual example of a greystone cottage with a projecting bay.  "Greystone" is an Indiana limestone  commonly used for multi-family homes in Chicago in the 1900s and 1910s. 

1530 N. Greenview, 1910.

This cottage uses a simplified gothic vocabulary, with paired arched windows and elaboration of the gable parapet.  

2042 W. Iowa, c.1900

I'm not sure exactly what happened, here, but I suspect this cottage was rebuilt with stepped parapet. Work this extensive usually resulted from a major damage, such as a fire. But behind it  you can still see the classic massing of the cottage.

2404 N. Bernard, 1906

This is an amazing classical revival treatment of a cottage.  It uses a gambrel and triangular roof, and incorporates all sorts of pressed metal details, including a lantern motif to ornament the spring-points of the roof.  There's an unusual palladian window configuration on the second floor, with stepped limestone lintels.

2731 W. Haddon, 1894

And just to illustrate the breadth of the classical revival style, here's another one with elaborate ornamentation.  The centerpiece  the segmental arched window with a sunburst motif.  I can't even adequately describe the cornice...  

6413 N. Troy, 1958

The post WWII building boom of the 1950s built many neighborhoods in Chicago.  These used a new palette of materials and construction methods, many of which were developed during the war and quickly adapted to private development.  But its hard to improve on the overall massing and utility of the cottage.  

6401 S. Austin, 1964

The 1960s brought an even greater variety of materials and ornamental approaches.  This is considered a raised ranch, but for me it's a Chicago cottage pointed into the future.

Rowhouse Chicago: 1900s through 1920s

After the 1890s it became much harder for me to find row houses.  Since this isn't exactly a scientific study it's possible I'm just missing them, but it seems to be more than that...

My guess is that that urban land became expensive enough to usher in the era of larger apartments.  Also, more affluent buyers were drawn to the expanding first tier suburbs, which had increasingly strong public transit connections and were far from the pollution and political unrest of Chicago.

Anyway, I'm hoping to add more examples from these decades as I find them.

201-217 N. LeClaire, 1900.

I had to restore one demolished unit based on photographs (second from the right).  And I know an emergency demolition permit was issued to demolish another unit, so it really doesn't look this way any more.  This row basically creates an instant village, so it's disappointing to see it deteriorating.

5344-5350 S. Wabash, 1914.

Here's a strong example a classical revival design unified by the decorative parapet.  I had to restore some altered porches and balconies and cornice sections.  I'm impressed by the use of bays to bring in more light, but I don't know if the porches were quite big enough to provide much benefit. 

Rowhouse Chicago: 1880s

Perhaps the golden age of the Chicago row house?                                                                                                           

3920-3924 S. Prairie, 1889

2829-2837 W. Warren, 1880s.

2320-2326 W. Warren, 1884.

2148-2158 W. Bowler, 1882.

615-623 E. 42nd, 1880s.

615-623 E. 42nd, 1880s.

4341-4349 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., 1889.

Rowhouse Chicago - Facade Rhythm

This blog entry looks at some typical façade organizations of the Chicago rowhouse and theorizes a bit about the intent of various approaches.  But mostly it's a visual essay.


3710-3722 W. Cermak, 1870s.

This Second Empire style rowhouse basically reads as a single structure. Sure the entrances allow you to visually separate the individual units, but the unifying treatment of the third floor ties it all together.  The constituent parts step forward and backward slightly to create an interlocking but symmetrical mass, with a varied roofline.  The ornamentation is limited to the carved stone lintels, pressed metal cornice and roof coping. I've never seen another building like this in Chicago, and it basically kicked off my interest in rowhouses.

2300-2310 W. Monroe, 1871.

These Joliet limestone rowhouses (Neo-Grec/Italianate Style) are comprised of six identical units.   Combined they create an undulating façade which can fill a few lots or an entire block, depending on the budget and available land.  The homes have individual as well as collective character.  But mostly collective. This is the type of rowhouse that most clearly says "Chicago" to me.  They once filled entire blocks on the near south and west sides, but only pockets remain.

1106-1114 E. 62nd, 1888.

This Classical Revival limestone rowhouse utilizes two alternating designs.  The "B" design is more elaborate, with a 5-sided bay, elaborate parapet, and stained-glass oval windows.  Even rowhouses in the same building with identical square footage allow for a bit of individuality and variety.  The A-B-A-B pattern seems to be the most common choice for historic Chicago rowhouses.

2814-2826 W. Warren Boulevard, 1896

This unusual design combines two façade treatments in a A-B-B-A pattern.  Combining modules in different ways allows rowhouses to approach a variety of architectural styles.  In this case a combination of Queen Ann and Classical detailing.

2415-2457 W. Jackson, 1890.

And finally, some buildings are so complex that no two units are designed in the same manner, even when the interior plans are nearly identical.  This is a combination of Classical and Romanesque styles.  A fifth row house was demolished here prior to the 1970s, and I have no clue what it might have looked like.