Flickr-02348
Chicago, Illinois. N. Lincoln Park West. Five three-story townhouses Nos. 1915-1923 are on the left (only two shown). No. 1915 is about in the center of the image. These were built sometime between 1872 and the end of 1881*. The four-story single-family house** on the right has a Chicago Building Permit issued on November 1, 2012, but no owner is indicated. LG Group a design-build company posted advertising signs at the building site during construction. Exactly who the architect was is a mystery. LG Group doesn't seem to have a licensed architect on their staff. In the background is Hemingway House Condominium located at 1850 N. Clark Street. A Chicago Building Permit was issued for construction of this 30-story building on November 14, 1972. Again, no owner is listed, but from a current online real estate advertisement I found the architect was Solomon, Cordwell, Buenz and the building was completed in 1974. This company was founded in Chicago in 1931 and have designed many local and international projects up to the present time.
*I can't find a historic Permit Index Card for this address at my usual source researchguides.uic.edu/CBP/home. This means I will need to do a line-by-line search in the old building permit ledger books at this same source. Unfortunately, the image quality for some years makes reading them impossible and so it is for most of 1872-1881. Alternately I would have to do this research at the Chicago History Museum that has the same files with readable images. At the present time I don't have plans to go with this more time-consuming option.
Update January 13, 2025: Yesterday I found online a 1984 National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form for the Old Town Triangle Historic District. This row of townhouses is located in that district and noted in the nomination form as dating from 1880 and built by Adolph Olsen. Using this information, I was barely able to read the Chicago Building Permit Ledger book for 1880 and I found the building permit. It was dated July 7, 1880 and issued to "A. Olsen." Now it's clear to me why no Index Card existed - no address numbers were listed on the permit. Also, the street name was listed as "Franklin St." an older name for North Park Avenue that was yet another name for present day N. Lincoln Park West. However, I was able to confirm this entry as these five townhouses by the block number - 37 - and the lot numbers - 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 & 34 - yes six lots for five dwellings shown on Robinson's 1886 Atlas. The pre-1909 address numbers were oddly 741-745-747-749 & 757.
Update January 14, 2025: I found a building permit notice in local 1880 newspapers that state this row of townhouses contained nine separate dwelling units and the project cost was $27,000. It seems 741-745-747 & 749 contained two apartment-like dwellings each and 757 was an attached single-family house, so nine dwellings. A search for the architect hasn't been successful. I did find that Harald M. Hansen a young Chicago architect in the 1880's designed several projects in this same neighborhood for Adolph Olsen. However, I can't tie Mr. Hansen directly to this project.
**This single-family home is about 10,000 s.f. in size and I don't think that includes the basement which is probably finished as well. On Google Maps the lot measures about 45 feet wide street frontage. The row of flat slope-roofed dormers on the fourth-floor mansard roof seem to echo the roof and dormer design at No. 1915. The highly visible overhead power lines are most unfortunate. Ditto the prominent wood pole. Usually, power lines like this are buried under public streets and only go overhead when in alleys.
Update January 14, 2025: This house was built with a residential elevator that required a separate sub-permit and inspections.
Flickr-02348
Chicago, Illinois. N. Lincoln Park West. Five three-story townhouses Nos. 1915-1923 are on the left (only two shown). No. 1915 is about in the center of the image. These were built sometime between 1872 and the end of 1881*. The four-story single-family house** on the right has a Chicago Building Permit issued on November 1, 2012, but no owner is indicated. LG Group a design-build company posted advertising signs at the building site during construction. Exactly who the architect was is a mystery. LG Group doesn't seem to have a licensed architect on their staff. In the background is Hemingway House Condominium located at 1850 N. Clark Street. A Chicago Building Permit was issued for construction of this 30-story building on November 14, 1972. Again, no owner is listed, but from a current online real estate advertisement I found the architect was Solomon, Cordwell, Buenz and the building was completed in 1974. This company was founded in Chicago in 1931 and have designed many local and international projects up to the present time.
*I can't find a historic Permit Index Card for this address at my usual source researchguides.uic.edu/CBP/home. This means I will need to do a line-by-line search in the old building permit ledger books at this same source. Unfortunately, the image quality for some years makes reading them impossible and so it is for most of 1872-1881. Alternately I would have to do this research at the Chicago History Museum that has the same files with readable images. At the present time I don't have plans to go with this more time-consuming option.
Update January 13, 2025: Yesterday I found online a 1984 National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form for the Old Town Triangle Historic District. This row of townhouses is located in that district and noted in the nomination form as dating from 1880 and built by Adolph Olsen. Using this information, I was barely able to read the Chicago Building Permit Ledger book for 1880 and I found the building permit. It was dated July 7, 1880 and issued to "A. Olsen." Now it's clear to me why no Index Card existed - no address numbers were listed on the permit. Also, the street name was listed as "Franklin St." an older name for North Park Avenue that was yet another name for present day N. Lincoln Park West. However, I was able to confirm this entry as these five townhouses by the block number - 37 - and the lot numbers - 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 & 34 - yes six lots for five dwellings shown on Robinson's 1886 Atlas. The pre-1909 address numbers were oddly 741-745-747-749 & 757.
Update January 14, 2025: I found a building permit notice in local 1880 newspapers that state this row of townhouses contained nine separate dwelling units and the project cost was $27,000. It seems 741-745-747 & 749 contained two apartment-like dwellings each and 757 was an attached single-family house, so nine dwellings. A search for the architect hasn't been successful. I did find that Harald M. Hansen a young Chicago architect in the 1880's designed several projects in this same neighborhood for Adolph Olsen. However, I can't tie Mr. Hansen directly to this project.
**This single-family home is about 10,000 s.f. in size and I don't think that includes the basement which is probably finished as well. On Google Maps the lot measures about 45 feet wide street frontage. The row of flat slope-roofed dormers on the fourth-floor mansard roof seem to echo the roof and dormer design at No. 1915. The highly visible overhead power lines are most unfortunate. Ditto the prominent wood pole. Usually, power lines like this are buried under public streets and only go overhead when in alleys.
Update January 14, 2025: This house was built with a residential elevator that required a separate sub-permit and inspections.