Trip: 37
Landmarks Visited: 5
Landmarks To-Date: 70
Landmarks Remaining: 283
On Sunday I had big plans for a leisurely bike ride to see 10 to 15 north side landmarks. But nature didn't cooperate. The ride started out with sun glare making it difficult to get good photos, but quickly turned into cold rain. It was still worth it to see a couple buildings that I had never seen. This trip was all about buildings that you might not notice if you weren't looking for them specifically.
The Gauler Twin Houses are two side by side Prairie Style houses on a quiet residential street in Andersonville. I think the name is a little of a misnomer because they are really mirror image houses or right-handed and left-handed houses. It's nice that the owner or owners have kept them matching with even the same color exterior paint.
The Rosehill Cemetery Entrance is a Gothic castle looking gateway to the cemetery. Today there is a raised train track that runs in front of the entrance and blocks your view of the gateway until you pass through the underpass below the tracks. It makes the gateway kind of surprising when you first see it. On the other side of the tracks is a quiet neighborhood.
I visited this cemetery once before with Shawn, my brother Jeff and his wife Kathy on a Memorial Day. It was much wamer that day than the day I re-visited to take these photos.
The cemetery itself has some interesting grave makers, but is not as impressive as Graceland Cemetery. (That's a teaser to an upcoming trip to Graceland which is also on the landmarks list.)
The Carl Sandburg House was probably landmarked more for its historical significance (according to Wikipedia, Sandburg rented a room in the house for 3 years and wrote the poem "Chicago" there) than for its architectural significance. It's a relatively large, three story frame house. It appears to still be a private home.
The Dr. Wallace C. Abbott House is a larger, more luxurious home less than a block from the Sandburg house. I would say it's Victorian in design, and with the large porch makes me think of the houses on the shore in Cape May, New Jersey. The sign you see you in one of the photos is a for sale sign, so this home could be yours.
Kitty corner to the Abbott house on Hermitage Avenue is the All Saints Church and Rectory. The plaque says that the church is a rare local example of the Stick Style. It does look more like a country church than an urban church, but then it was built when the Ravenswood neighborhood was still a separate town from Chicago.
The church building needs work--from peeling paint and cracking plaster to missing boards. I don't know if the congregation is running short on funds or if they are just waiting for a major renovation effort at some point.
No comments:
Post a Comment