Rogers Park Roofscape

This is another view from the Rogers Park Metra platform looking to the northeast.  I posted another view to the southeast a few months back, which can be viewed here.

I'm becoming more interested in rooftops and alleys, maybe because they reveal design relationships which are more complex than what's viewed from the street, and allowing some investigation into the nuts and bolts that create a streetscape.   Views across the rooftops are like x-rays, revealing service spaces, private retreats, and structural detail all interlocking with each other.

For some reason I did a colorized version.  Which really doesn't add much information, but looks kinda cool.

Clark, Greenleaf, Ravenswood and Estes- Part 2

Anybody who studies American cities knows the value of the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.  These were created by the Sanborn Map Company to help insurance adjusters evaluate risk.  Copies of all maps were deposited with the Library of Congress, and were later microfilmed for distribution to local libraries.  An agreement with ProQuest put scanned versions of the microfilmed maps (660,000 of them) online for subscription access.

The Chicago Public Library makes these maps available, so at least access is broadening.  Many of the denser areas in Rogers Park were included in several editions.  When these are compiled it provide a portrait of development through time.  These maps are crammed with information, and the problem is often choosing which type of information is most useful to highlight. 

In this case the maps are focused on heights, with the light grey, dark grey and black showing 1, 2, and 3 stories respectively. It's also possible to focus on type of construction (frame, masonry veneer, steel reinforced concrete) or type of use.  Cross reference this with extensive title research, census records, and phone directories and you can build up a fairly precise history of a block.  In theory that block would reflect the larger trends of the neighborhood.  But I still have to manage a job, a family and a life, so the next step may just be a somewhat closer look at each of these dates.


Bird's Eye Aerial from Bing. Probably 2008.



4011 N. Ravenswood

This is an interesting stretch of Ravenswood.  Many of the industrial buildings have been converted into loft spaces, yoga studios, art centers, etc.  Chicago has lost quite a bit of its industry in this way, at least in the more popular neighborhoods. 

Anyway, I would see this strange quarter round greenhouse-like structure from the train and wonder what the heck it was.  Only recently did I discover that it's now part of the Ravenswood Event Center.  Need a dramatic wedding locale for 200 of your closest friends?  This would be pretty cool.  It also has a narrow outdoor area with a trellis, which extends for a good 30 feet (you can see part of it to the right of the roof).

Originally this building was owned by a printing company, and they used this space to make huge billboards, which were created by painters and artists who needed the 45' high ceiling and natural light.  With the improvement of printing technology it became obsolete.  According to the website all of the window frames are original.