Viewing all posts from the Oakland neighborhood

Lone Row House on Ellis Avenue

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[John Morris/Chicago Patterns]

[John Morris/Chicago Patterns]

A lone Queen Anne-styled row house built around 1895 at 3633 S. Ellis Avenue features a trait more commonly associated with the Second Empire style: a mansard roof.


Romanesque Rowhouses on 42nd

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Romanesque rowhouses on 42nd near Ellis dating to 1888 in Oakland.


Driveway, Drexel Boulevard (A Merry Xmas to You)

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This week in our long overdue Flashback Friday series, we look at a holiday greeting postmarked Dec. 23, 1908 on a picture postcard of Chicago’s famed Drexel Boulevard on the South Side.

Although most, if not all, of the homes pictured above have since been demolished, the boulevard still boasts some of the city’s grandest homes.

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Living Landmark: Grant Memorial AME Church, Formerly First Church of Christ, Scientist

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John Morris/Chicago Patterns

Along Drexel Boulevard on the South Side is Grant Memorial AME Church, which for more than 60 years has been a pillar of faith and giving back to the community. The church building is beautifully designed in the Neoclassical style, and is an important part of architectural and ecclesiastical history.

Designed by noted architect Solon Spencer Beman, this was the first Christian Science church built in the Greek Revival style, which would become the common building style of Christian Science and other churches for decades.

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