Near the corner of Huron and Throop is a lovely red brick, flat-fronted Italianate two-flat built in 1879. Vaulted sidewalks tell the story of an area developed before streets were raised.

Situated in an area near downtown with a mixture of new construction and 19th century homes, it’s easy to imagine this 138 year old two-flat being the first house on this plot, but surprisingly it’s not.

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Very few vintage row homes persist in the condo canyons of River North, but this holdout from 1888 at 154 W. Superior will get a new lease on life. A stubborn owner stood his ground while the world changed around him, but passed away in 2015. Despite being marketed as a redevelopment opportunity, the purchaser of the house will gut-rehab it for use as offices – preserving one of the neighborhood’s last links to its early history.

Not many houses were built in Chicago, or anywhere in the US, in the 1930s and 1940s. Between the Great Depression and the Second World War, resources were scarce and most families could not afford to build new. This house at 6025 N. Leader in the leafy South Edgebrook part of the Forest Glen community area, is a rare exception. Tax data puts the year of completion as 1942, but the City’s Historic Resources Survey indicates that it may have been constructed in the 1930s. It was designed by architect J.G. Steinbach, who also penned a number of Tudor Revival châteaux in the same area. But this house is unmistakably Art Deco, with clean lines and planes, minimal ornamentation, and some seriously sexy curves. Just check out the railings flanking the front door!

This photo was taken in April 2009.

This is 13301 S. Burley Ave., in Hegewisch. It was built in 1890, but the only evidence you can see of its advanced age is the deteriorating cornice – everything else is covered in an unfortunate coating of vinyl siding. Given the corner location it might have had a ground-floor store or tavern.

This photo was taken in September 2010 and posted as part of a previous “House of the Day” series.