As Spring is in full bloom, so too is the traditional hot season for real estate. Unfortunately this also means some of Chicago’s historic housing stock gives way to new construction, much of it concentrated in near North and Northwest Side neighborhoods that developed in the 1870s and 1880s.

Continue reading »

2017 brought the usual bag of heartbreaking losses in Chicago’s housing and building stock, but there are several notable wins too. In our annual retrospective of historic preservation, many themes of years past continue: 19th-century Italianate homes and flats in hot neighborhoods are replaced with new construction, one-of-a-kind landmarks in or near the city center are lost in the name of progress, and demolition by neglect continues.

As the race to capitalize on this current real estate cycle continues, landmark status is often the only effective tool to preserve historically important structures. Preservation-minded real estate buyers also continue to affect real change in preservation efforts.

Continue reading »

Last month we looked at the history of Italianate cottages and flats in the near West/Northwest Side neighborhoods, and how they are getting torn down to make way for larger residences. While that story is relatively new for those neighborhoods, it’s almost a tradition in near North Side areas like Lincoln Park.

Continue reading »

At 635 W. Belden near the alley behind Lincoln, a particularly quirky residential building sits on a triangular lot.

Continue reading »