Mid-Century Buildings on Peterson Avenue

Lately there's been interest in the extraordinary mid-century architecture on Peterson Avenue, from the Edgewater neighborhood west through West Ridge, North Park and Forest Glen.  This is a good time to take a closer look Peterson, since many of the most interesting buildings have been vacant for an uncomfortably long time...

Peterson is not an attractive street.  It basically functions as an urban speedway, with four lanes and enormous intersections.   If you're on Peterson you're probably in a car.  These buildings are designed to catch the eye of someone moving by quickly.  The office buildings (top two and bottom right) use a combination of textured materials, patterns, and colors to catch the eye, while the façades are designed to create a sense of enclosure and protection from the nearby speedway.  But they're still following an earlier pattern of commercial design, close to the street with parking in the back. Later development would often put the parking lot front and center, which solved some of the proximity problems, but created an auto-dominated environment.

In contrast, the building on the bottom left (a former furniture showroom) uses its enormous windows to create an immediate visual connection between the interior and exterior.  An undulating concrete canopy above the second floor adds interest.

All of these buildings, constructed in the 1960s, hold a significant place in the history of Peterson Avenue. The one on the upper right, which has unfortunately been recently demolished, was a part of this rich historical tapestry.

Rowhouse Chicago: 1970s

Row houses in the 1970s continued to be utilized as infill housing in established neighborhoods, often replacing older homes in areas undergoing redevelopment. But they also filled vacant lots in developing neighborhoods where single family homes were no longer viable due to the underlying cost of the land.


Some were strictly modernist in design, utilizing geometric arrangements of glass and masonry.  Others referred back to historic row house designs but simplified and reconfigured for contemporary needs.  Many utilized more advanced site planning, with groups of buildings arranged on single lot and accommodating shared and private spaces as well as car parking and storage.

424 W. Webster, 1970.  Booth & Nagle.

5523-5557 S. Harper, 1970. I.M. Pei and Harry Weese & Assoc.

3030-3036 W. Pratt, 1971.

1901-1909 W. Hood, 1973.

312-318 W. Willow, 1974. Harry Weese & Associates.



1320-1328 E. 48th, 1977. Harry Weese & Associates.

Rowhouse Chicago: 1960s

In the 1960s row houses made their way into many urban renewal projects, both government funded and privately developed.  A new generation of architects were evaluating established building types and coming up with new designs and approaches.

 

1400-1428 E. 54th, 1967. Harry Weese and Associates.

515 W. Belden, 1967. Anderson & Battles.

515-529 W. Dickens, 1964. Tigerman & Koglin.



6224-6230 N. Leavitt, 1968.

1210-1216 E. 48th, 1969.  Keck & Keck.

Rowhouse Chicago: 1950s

In the 1950s row houses came roaring back in Chicago.  The cost of land and the demand for moderate density housing again aligned.  New materials and construction technologies, many developed during the war, were now available for private development.  The simplified architectural designs dictated by strict federal requirements and wartime shortages still informed the design of this new generation of row houses, even as those designs were enlivened with new colors and textures.


6151-6159 N. Fairfield, 1957.

2901-2909 W. Granville, 1958.

3001-3007 W. Granville, 1956.

7202-7214 N. Hamilton, 1959.

3016-3024 W. Rosemont, 1957.

Rowhouse Chicago: 1930s and 1940s

In the 1930s and 40s the row house became an important form for government subsidized public housing.  This program was interrupted by WWII and resumed afterwards at a much larger scale. 

Some early examples utilized a simplified Classicism, or a Moderne design aesthetic.  But as the program continued ornamental details were stripped away.

I want to write more about these, but for now I'll settle for getting them on-screen.  If you're familiar with the topic you'll notice that the Lathrop Homes (recently redeveloped) are missing. Those will be included once I get some good reference photos.


Trumbull Homes (2454 E. 106th), 1938.

Frances Cabrini Green Rowhouses (902 N. Hudson), 1942.

Bridgeport Homes (31st and Lituanica), 1943.

Altgeld Gardens (13357 S. Langley), 1945.

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: 1890s

Hands down the 1890s were the decade of the most elaborate row houses, with the most astounding combination of styles.

2451-2451 W. Jackson, 1890s.

3910-3918 S. Prairie, 1893.

229-241 N. Sacramento, 1895.

2814-2826 W. Warren, 1896.

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.

View at Sheridan and Pratt

View from Sheridan looking Northeast towards Pratt.

Sometimes the spaces created between buildings are just as interesting as the buildings themselves.  I'm especially drawn to taller buildings with irregular footprints and deep courtyards.  The negative space creates  complex pinwheeling shapes that most people sense, but don't consciously appreciate.

I've written about both of these buildings before.  They represent the transition of Sheridan Road from a leisurely lane lined with mansions to a more dense and urban thoroughfare.

Here are the previous posts:

6801 N. Sheridan- Rogers Park Hotel, 1922

6757-6765 N. Sheridan, 1917

 

Pratt Lane Hotel, 1927

Detail of terra cotta brackets

This building was designed by Koenigsburg and Westfeld in the Gothic Renaissance Revival style and constructed in 1927.  The ornament has always fascinated me-- and in particular the lion brackets supporting the twin projecting bays.  The first drawing I did of the building was back in 2006, but apparently that graphic is trapped on a obsolete Photobucket server.  But here's a link to the previous post.

This was constructed as an apartment hotel, which was basically a month-to-month furnished apartment with communal dining and socializing areas.  Apartment hotels would typically include a regular cleaning service.  This is an urban type that hasn't survived in Chicago (as far as I know).  The closest  approximation I can think of is an extended-stay hotel, and those are now mostly found out by the highways.

1246 W. Pratt

This building dwarfs its neighbors, and would have been one of the few to approach the permitted height increase established by Chicago's first zoning code in 1923.  I think the entire lakefront may have followed suit if it hadn't been hit by the Great Depression.  So for now it remains a crazy outlier, catching the sun all day with it's amazing glazed white terra cotta.

Sign for the A&T Restaurant, 7030 N. Clark

7030 N. Clark, Detail from A&T Diner Sign

I've been doing some drawings of building details in the neighborhood, so I thought I would take another look at my favorite sign on Greenleaf and Clark.  I've been worried about the condition of this sign since I moved to the neighborhood more than 15 years ago.  Some of the bulbs still light, but the neon looks to be damaged beyond repair.  I really hope this will be fixed, but it's more likely to disappear along with so many others of the period.

I'm trying to visualize the cost of repair, which would include a crane for removal and reinstallation,  replacing rusted sheet metal, replicating the neon, rewiring and refinishing. Not cheap.  Probably above $50,000. On top of that there's a good possibility it doesn't meet current sign code.

These signs were really scaled to auto traffic more than the neighborhood pedestrian.  Which is odd, since Clark was (and is) better suited for walking.  And just attaching this massive sign to the delicate 1913 brick and terracotta building must have been an amazing effort.

I've drawn this building and sign a lot.  Here are few I've posted previously, from large to small:

Southwest Corner of Clark and Greenleaf.  Grey tone added with marker.

A&T Sign. Colored pencil over a xerox with a digital gradient background.

Detail in colored pencil.

6657-6707 N. Clark, c.1925

Still making my way through some Clark streetscapes.  Back in 2008 and 2009 I put together some information about corner buildings on Clark, between Howard and Devon.  The intent was to compile a booklet of drawings, site plans, and history.  That project never made it to publication, although I posted most of the drawings and maps that came out of it.  So it's satisfying to be able to cannibalize some of the research I did back then.

View looking Southeast

The two story red brick building doesn't have a construction date from the assessor, but based on its ornament I would say c. 1925.  The second floor windows have been changed to sliders, but the first floor retains a large open storefront, in contrast to many in the area which have been infilled or reduced in size.  Currently this is a tattoo parlor.

Site Map

The yellow brick  and stone building was designed by the firm of Loewenberg and Loewenberg, and built at a cost of $75,000 in 1926.  This is a bit grander than most of the mixed-use buildings on Clark, and has a nicely detailed broken pediment entry to the apartments above.  The facade is flanked by slender stone pilasters, and the rounded corner is emphasized with classical ornament. Loewenberg and Loewenburg designed many neighborhood buildings throughout Chicago, including several synagogues and Hebrew theological colleges in North Lawndale.  They also designed the Broadmoor Hotel in Rogers Park, at 1532 W. Howard.  Their successor firm is still active in the area.  This building is currently a liquor store, although when I moved to the neighborhood it was one of the last video arcades.

The red brick building on the opposite corner was designed by Benjamin Leo Steif and constructed in 1922 at a cost of $45,000.  It also keys to the classical style, but its primary ornament is a stone pediment and brick pilasters at the corner. Steif also designed neighborhood buildings throughout Chicago and the suburbs, but his practice shifted towards large apartment buildings.  The digital collection of the Art Institute of Chicago contains a large amount of his firm's work. There's a taqueria in this storefront at the moment.

Northeast and Southeast Corners of Clark and Northshore, 2009

6963-6969 N. Clark (1904-1908)

These buildings represent a burst of development along Clark Street between 1904 and 1908.  They're similar to those directly across the street, which were included in a previous illustration. All come right up to the sidewalk with retail space on the first floor and residential space above.  Two of them have projecting bays to draw in more light and provide views up and down the street.

The building on the left has the most elaborate facade, with brick arches defining the entrances and storefront. Stepped gables add some pizzazz to the side parapets.  The projecting bay has lost its pointed roof, which makes it look a bit unfinished.  And for some reason the brick on the second floor has been painted white. This might have happened when the bay was reclad with aluminum panels.

1958 Image from the UIC Images of Change

The middle building has a restrained classical ornamentation, with a decorative stone cornice, a pitched front parapet, and stone lintels above the windows and storefront. Brick piers with stone capitals and bases frame the first floor.

The red brick building on the right is the tallest on that block.  Amazingly it's managed to keep the pressed metal paneling on the projecting bay, although it's not a particularly decorative treatment.  An exposed steel lintel is above the first floor with cast iron rosettes and sunbursts. This is also the bakery where where stop for donuts on Saturday mornings.  If you arrive after 10:00 don't expect to find any churros.

Storefront at 6962 N. Clark, 2006

Many blogs post their most popular entries around the new year. Great idea! But instead, here's one of the least popular entries, originally posted on 9/5/06. According to the counter, this was viewed 11 times in the past 7 years! Still, I do like the image.

___________________________________________________________________________

With the days getting shorter my evening walks with Felix have gotten much darker. I find myself drawn to the strangely organized and uncomfortably configured storefronts on Clark. In this case I'm not sure exactly what they're selling. Pretty much everything? The confusion and disarray makes it a pretty good subject for a drawing.

So I've been taking photographs of these amazing storefronts. I'm not sure where it's leading, but it's a good opportunity to play around with color.  This is a combination of Prismacolor markers and color pencils.

___________________________________________
Note:  This storefront has been completely replaced with a modern aluminum system.  I miss it.

Devon Streetscape (1536-1556 W. Devon)

Below is another graphic developed for the storefront exhibit planned for installation at Clark Devon Hardware.  An interesting block, even with some odd changes over the years.  The third building from the right suffered a couple of big fires in the 1940s and had a architectural slipcover installed on the facade.  I'd give a lot to know if the original details are still under there.

Horizontally oriented images never lend themselves to the vertical blog format. I've been trying to find a viewer which allows an image to scroll past, but everything I find takes a bit more expertise than I'm willing to develop.

The above drawing was developed by stringing together a series of digital images in Photoshop, which was then used as a reference to develop a line drawing with Micron disposable technical pens.  This was colored with cool grey Prismacolor markers, and then with Prismacolor pencils. Before I began to use this technique all of my color images looked painfully cheerful.  But starting with grey is a good way to develop the earth tones commonly found on old buildings.

This image was developed from the birds-eye aerial photos accessible through the Bing search engine.  I didn't have the gumption to color this, but maybe I will at some point... The two work well together to give a quick sense of the block.

Just as a side note, the historical information was taken from the ancient building permit files on microfilm, available at the Harold Washington Library, the UIC Library, or the Chicago History Museum.  These only go up to 1954, so I estimated the date of the annex on the left.