Frame Homes at Ashland and Greenleaf, 1903

There are many examples in Rogers Park of nearly identical homes clustered together on the same block.  These small scale developments define the character of Chicago's neighborhoods but due to their modest appearance are often overlooked.  Developments like these were financed by local banks or investors and constructed by small builders.  Rather than depending on the services of an architect, these designs originated in popular pattern books or utilized vernacular styles of construction. Although they haven't attracted the same scholarly attention as more pedigreed styles, they continue to have a big impact on the architectural character of our community. And, once you start to pay attention to these small scale developments, you will see them everywhere.

Looking Northeast from Greenleaf.

Showing varying configurations.

These particular frame homes are on the Northeast corner of Greenleaf and Ashland.  When the original owner, William H. Matthews, contracted with A. Christiansen to construct these four homes they had a few options.  The easiest (and cheapest) was to build a series of identical homes.  They could have also chosen to vary the roofline and massing using a regular pattern (hip, gable, hip, gable, etc.).  This provides a bit more variety to the street and may support a higher asking price.  Builders may also draw upon an established a vocabulary of structural details, a design toolbox, if you will, and choose specific structural elements based on the size and configuration of the lot.  This seems to be how these four homes on Ashland were designed.  Each home was constructed at a cost of $2,500, according to the old permit ledgers.

Frame construction has an advantage over masonry when it comes to affordable modifications.  Need to bump out some space?  Add a bay.  Need another bedroom in the attic? Drop in a dormer.  Another window?  Knock open a hole and put it in. Want to use the big house on the corner as your impressive "model home?" Give it the works! Even though the basic structures are nearly identical, this customization gives each home its own style.

The design toolbox as an exploded diagram.

In this case the four lots have have some size variation.  The two central parcels have 42' in frontage while the north lot has 50' frontage.  But the corner lot has 50' of frontage on Ashland and 100' of frontage on Greenleaf.  It was common for corner lots to be larger than standard lots.  While these properties lack the same rear yard privacy found mid-block, the additional size allows more square footage and a more expansive exterior treatment.  All the homes have front porches, dormers and bays, but the corner home also has an engaged octagonal turret and a wrap-around porch.

The years between 1897 and 1907 were a period of economic growth between two downturns. (Does anyone remember the Panic of 1893 and the Knickerbocker Crisis of 1907?)  Rogers Park was an attractive area for middle-class families who wanted easy access to downtown as well as affordability. The 10 minute walk to the lake didn't hurt either.  Developers may have anticipated that the extension of the elevated train, which ran all the way from the Loop to Evanston Central Street by 1908, would spur even greater development.

Next time you're walking around the neighborhood, ruminating about the Panic of 1893, see if you can spot similar developments.

1762-1766 W. Morse, c. 1905

1762 and 1766 W. Morse

I'm beginning a project to document the current character of Morse Avenue in Rogers Park. For now I'm picking out some areas and buildings that appeal to me and seeing which direction I feel like heading.  The more I focus on specific buildings the more it seems like this is a project that could be done on any street in any neighborhood to reveal some of the same patterns.

After annexation of Rogers Park to Chicago in 1893 there was almost immediately an economic depression connected to the Panic of 1893.  The country didn't begin recover until 1897, at which time a 10 year period of growth occurred. These frame houses were built around 1905, in the middle of this boom period.   This was cut short by the Panic of 1907.  The next building boom wasn't until after WWI, and it lead to greater urbanization and denser development in the neighborhood.

Parking lots now bracket these buildings on the east and west, but originally the block consisted of modest single family homes with an easy downtown commute.  The Dutch Colonial-style building on the west retains many of its features, while the home on the east has enclosed the front porch and looks to be divided into several units.

Frame Houses on Estes, 1907

So I'm continuing to document some of the more common frame homes in an area of Rogers Park bounded by Touhy, Clark, Pratt and Ridge.  One of the best ways to do this is to spot a rows of homes clearly related in their massing, materials, characteristics, and then go draw them.

Gable front cottages are the classic workers' housing in Chicago.  You may have seen the gold-plated versions of these from the 1870s and 1880s in Old Town and Lincoln Park, where they've often been elaborately restored with eave brackets and complex window and door moldings. What you see above are simplified versions, with minimal ornamentation and generous front porches.  All four were permitted in 1907 for owner John M. Carlson.  The first two cost $2,500 each, but the next two cost only $2,000 each.  This is the advantage of building identical homes- each time you find ways to estimate the building materials more accurately and make the process more efficient.  And of course this translates into a greater profit.

Less than a block to the east there's another cluster of homes.  These were developed by Jacob Meirel, and four of the six were permitted in October of 1907.  Two alternating models were built.  The gable design provides for greater attic volume, while the hipped roof includes a front-facing dormer to introduce more light.  Both designs have partial-length front porches and projecting bays on the first floor.  These were built for $4,000 each, a substantial step-up from the basic cottages down the street, but still affordable to a middle-class household.

So there's nothing revolutionary going on here.  Developers are moving into a neighborhood and cautiously building a few homes.  If they sell and a profit is made they build a few more.  Variations in size and price occur to tailor the homes to different budgets, often on the same block.  This is the heyday for this type of frame construction in Rogers Park.  Lots which don't develop in this period will be developed later at a greater density due to the increases in the cost of land, labor, and materials. But for now let's enjoy Rogers Park in its suburban phase...

You can see previous postings about other frame houses in this area here and here.

Frame homes at Chase and Wolcott, 1905

Home with a sick 2-year old today, so maybe I can finally finish this entry while he naps.

There are thirteen frame houses on the south side of Chase, west of Wolcott in Rogers Park.  They're not remarkable but they're obviously related, with identical setbacks, massing and materials.  Some of them have been altered over time but you can't hide the family resemblance.

Early neighborhood developers often added value to their offering by modifying a basic design.   This would give the impression of variety while still taking advantage of the economy of scale.  They would vary the materials, the window styles or the roof shapes.  In this case the builder was working with three models, each with an identical layout but a different roof configuration.  These include a hipped roof modified with a deck (A), a standard hipped roof (B), and a hipped roof with the ridge extended forward to create a gable (C).  I wouldn't be surprised to find that the floor area of each house is essentially identical.

Developing the block with these homes is like putting together a kit. In this case the pattern is A-B-A-B, then switching to C-A-B-C-A-B.  Once sensitized to these types of development patterns you begin to notice them everywhere. 

The building at the corner of Wolcott and Chase was the first, and received a permit in the spring of 1905.  Perhaps this functioned as the model home for the development.  The remaining homes were permitted a couple of months later.

 And 108 years later here's the result.  One  of these homes was demolished for an apartment building in the 1920s,  but those that remain maintain the feel of a solid neighborhood block.

Developers are sometimes criticized for being motivated by profit and for not taking into account the impact of their projects on the surrounding area.  It's easy to forget that most of Chicago was built by developers.  They certainly made a profit, but they're also responsible for the look and feel of basically every neighborhood in the city.

Building permits for these homes were found in the Ancient Building Permit files of Chicago.  And no, it wasn't easy.  I hate microfilm.  The block plan was developed from the 1937 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps and online aerial photos from Google.  The streetscape image is developed from reference photos, drawn with Micron pens, and shaded with cool grey Prismacolor markers.  OK, too much information.

Carl and Pearl Peterson at 1905 W. Chase, c.1905. 
Carl not looking too excited about their new house. Is that his mother?
From the RPWRHS Collection (P001-30299)