Spray Paint, Not Bullets

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John Morris/Chicago Patterns

John Morris/Chicago Patterns

Garfield Boulevard, near Prairie.


The Wilbur and the 1879 “Philadelphia Plan” Street Renumbering

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John Morris/Chicago Patterns

John Morris/Chicago Patterns

A few months ago columnist Gabriel X. Michael surveyed West Side houses with inscribed numbers that didn’t align with the current address. This was the result of the 1909 adoption of Edward Brennan’s plan which standardized addresses across Chicago.

Though this change affected most of the city, there was a large swath that escaped the 1909 change, including the house above.

A pre-1909 inscription on the entryway with an accurate address was quite curious.

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Art Deco Treasure Chest: Daily News Building

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John Morris/Chicago Patterns

Between Washington and Madison Streets on the river is the Chicago Daily News building, a grand edifice constructed in 1929 at the height of Chicago’s boom era.

Much like the company that commissioned it, the building has oscillated between grandeur and peril a few times in its 85 years of existence.

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Square and Cirlcular Towers

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John Morris/Chicago Patterns

John Morris/Chicago Patterns

This greystone six-flat at Wabash and 37th in Bronzeville is square on the left, round on the right.