I found this building while tracking down sources for my project on courtyard apartment buildings. Thanks to various scanning projects you can suddenly find rare books and journals online that few people have the patience or leisure to track down at a conventional library. I was suprised to discover this illustration of a Rogers Park apartment hotel from 1917. And yes, it's still there at the northwest corner of Pratt and Sheridan...
At first glance apartment hotels have a lot in common with courtyard apartments, but there are some notable differences. Apartment hotels are generally taller and of fireproof construction (steel-reinforced concrete frame). Most of them make use of an interior corridor to access the units and therefore need fewer stairs (see plan below). They often have generous areas on the first floor which could be used for communal activities.
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| You can view the original 1917 publication here. |
I wanted to get the exact same angle, but I would have had to stand in the middle of Sheridan Road. I try not to risk death when taking photographs.
Not much has been written about the apartment hotel in Chicago. They were intended to function as a step between a full-service hotel and a long-term rental apartment. They came fully furnished complete with maid service. Most units had kitchenettes and shared facilities for dining and recreation. It's worth reading the description:
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| Click for a larger version. |
I like that they had a "special" wing for bachelors. Wouldn't want them mixing with the normal residents. These buildings required use of the Murphy bed, which folded up into a cabinet or closet when not in use. This idea still sounds brilliant, but perhaps reading about a Murphy bed and sleeping on one is an entirely different experience.
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| Stanleigh floor plan. Click for larger version. |
It seems to me these buildings were instantly converted into Single Room Occupancy apartments as soon as the rental market heated up after the second World War. Perhaps earlier. I once lived in one of these former apartment hotels in Edgewater for a year. It was my first apartment without a roommate, which nearly made up for being able to touch every wall from the center of the living room. And finally I understand why my closet was insanely enormous-- it was a dressing closet, as if that makes any sense.
The Stanleigh was designed by Chicago architect Ralph C. Harris. A quick search of the Chicago Tribune online archives shows that he was responsible for many buildings in the 20s and 30s, some of which are still around. He then became the Illinois highway architect for 10 years, returning to private practice in 1944. None of his buildings were highly rated in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey, but The Aquitania was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Most of the photos below are photos from the Cook County Assessor.
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1356 E. Madison Park, 1925 |
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| The Antone, 1926 7. E. Ohio |
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5819 W. Roosevelt, 1927 |
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1220 N. State, 1927 |
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60 homes at 5800-5900 N. Ottawa and N. Oriole, 1947 This is a representive example. |
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1350 N. Astor, 1949 |
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| The Aquitania 5000 N. Marine, 1923 Photo from Wikipedia |
It's worth mentioning that the building at 1350 N. Astor is smack in the middle of the Astor Street Historic District. I'm trying not to hold a grudge. After all, this building probably helped convince the neighborhood of the need for a district.
