Trip 87: Another Four North Side Houses

Date: January 22, 2011
Trip: 87
Landmarks Visited: 4
Landmarks To-Date: 228
Landmarks Remaining: 125

On a very cold Saturday afternoon I drove to see four more houses on the north side. The biggest challenge of the day was very icy sidewalks. The streets were fine, but the sidewalks were dangerous.

1. Jackson-Thomas House

2. Charles N. Loucks House

This house is currently for sale. It would definitely make a unique home with a three story tower, a brick facade on the first floor with wood shingles above, and what looks to be the original garage.

3. John and Clara Merchant House

4. Dr. Philip Weintraub House

This house is definitely an example of the International Style. Given the lack of ornamentation and the flat roof, it's difficult to tell from the street whether it is a home or a commercial building. It also makes the building somewhat timeless--it's difficult to determine its age just from looking at the structure. (It was built in 1940-41.)

One feature that surprised me is the slightly whimsical porthole window near the main entrance.

Trip 86: Four North Side Houses

Date: January 15, 2011
Trip: 86
Landmarks Visited: 4
Landmarks To-Date: 224
Landmarks Remaining: 129

It was a cold and overcast Saturday afternoon so I decided to drive to a few scattered landmarked homes on the north side.

1. Race House

This Italianate style house originally belonged to the founding Race family of Irving Park, now a neighborhood of Chicago.

2. Wingert House

This house in the Norwood Park neighborhood is one of the oldest surviving farmhouses in Chicago. Having been built in 1854, it is also pre-dates the fire.

3. Turzak House

I could find little info about this house except that it was built in 1938-39. It's definitely a very modern design for its era.

4. Henry V Peters House

Similarly I could not find any info on this house.

Trip 85: Hazelton-Mikota House

Date: January 9, 2011
Trip: 85
Landmarks Visited: 1
Landmarks To-Date: 220
Landmarks Remaining: 133

On Sunday I put up with my continuing cold to visit the Forest Glen neighborhood. It's a quaint neighborhood of single-family homes adjacent to a forest preserve. The Hazelton-Mikota house is a wood frame, Queen Anne style farmhouse that is one of the oldest surviving homes in the neighborhood. It's currently painted plain white which makes me wonder what the original color palate might have been.

Trip 84: Engine Company 59, Truck 47

Date: January 8, 2011
Trip: 84
Landmarks Visited: 1
Landmarks To-Date: 219
Landmarks Remaining: 134

On Saturday morning I braved 16 degree temperatures and a stubborn cold to try-out my new GPS (a Christmas gift from my parents) and to visit my first landmark of 2011. Engine Company 59 is located in a neighborhood on the north side. For a neighborhood firehouse it is relatively ornate with a tile roof, bronze encased dormer windows, two bronze City of Chicago emblems and significant white terra cotta decoration, including Chicago Fire Department logos above each door.

It's also relatively large and has adjacent parking. The building looks vacant. I'm surprised that a developer hadn't converted it to condos prior to the 2008 real estate crash. The building looks to be in very good condition, so perhaps the city still makes use of the second floor for offices of some type.