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, I might just be missing them, but it seems to be more than that...

My guess is that urban land became expensive enough to support the construction of larger apartment buildings with greater amenities (ballrooms, swimming pools, balconies) while other affluent buyers disappeared into the suburbs, where they could have as much space and privacy as they wanted.

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

For the LeClaire building, I had to restore a demolished unit using old survey photographs.  And I believe another unit has been demolished since I finished this drawing. It's unfortunate, since the variety of materials, colors, and styles really gave it a unique appearance.  Kind of like an instant village. 

On the 5300 block of South Wabash is this restrained example of a classical revival.  I had to restore some altered porches, balconies, and cornice sections to recapture its original appearance. 

Garage Pass-Throughs in 1920s Apartment Buildings

I've previously written about the courtyard apartment buildings built in Rogers Park throughout the 1920s. During that same decade, smaller buildings were also constructed, similar in style but closer to single-family homes in size and amenities. Many of these buildings accommodated a family on each floor, including a live-in housekeeper.   But an increasingly important perk for middle-class urban dwellers was parking for the family car. 

A. 1518 W. Greenleaf (1930),  B.7058-60 N. Greenview (1927),  C. 1535 W. Estes (1927)

Rear garages with alley access have always been important in Chicago, but when an alley wasn't available, a driveway pass-through would allow residents to park their cars behind the building. These tunnels were especially common in dense areas where side yards had been eliminated to maximize value.  With tunnels running through the building, all floors could continue to benefit from windows facing the street, bringing light into the units. In the three examples here, all were constructed on a block that lacked an alley.

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These buildings use a Georgian Revival vocabulary, including quoins, cornices, ornamented pediments, balustrades, urns, and a strongly emphasized main entrance. A primary characteristic of the Georgian Revival is symmetry. But it's hard to maintain symmetry when you have one big opening for cars and a much smaller opening for people. The building on Greenview solves this problem by doubling the design and having two tunnels.  This wasn't possible for the smaller buildings. Instead, they use sidelights, windows, and door surrounds to try and balance out the size difference. It doesn't work entirely, but I can appreciate the effort.

I also like these buildings because they physically memorialize the size of cars in the 1920s, which were somewhat narrower than today's cars. I don't envy the drivers who have to squeeze through these garage pass-throughs today... on their way to vintage 1920s garages.