Prairie Styles of the 4900 block of Bernard St.

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4927 N Bernard [John Morris/Chicago Patterns]

The stretch of Bernard Street in Albany Park between Lawrence Avenue and the North Branch of the river is home to several Prairie-styled homes and flats. They range from initial settlement of the area (just after the turned of the century) to the boom days of the 1920s.

4927 Bernard (above) is a yellow-brick two-flat built around 1921.

[John Morris/Chicago Patterns]

Above left: 4855, a three-story yellow-brick residential building dating to around 1922.

Above center: 4851, a frame single-family dating to 1906. This frame house is somewhere between an American Four Square and Prairie Style.

Many of the American Four Square houses on this block were built right as the Ravenswood Branch (now Brown Line) opened for server in 1907.

4841-4855 N Bernard [John Morris/Chicago Patterns]

A home with Ionic columns (left) and another with a permastone front may seem unlikely candidates for Prairie School membership, but both are in it.

4841 (above left) features semi-hexagonal dormer cutting through the cornice.

4855 features a protruding lower front bay and permastone front (added later), both unusual features on an otherwise common looking American Four Square.



Neighborhood Views is a column featuring architecture, infrastructure, and hidden history photos. Submit yours to our flickr group or send to chicagopatterns@gmail.com.

One response to “Prairie Styles of the 4900 block of Bernard St.”

  1. Farokhmehr says:

    Prairie Style also incorporated the natural environment by providing easier access to porches and patios. The use of many windows allowed ample light and cross-ventilation, which were coming to be considered essential to health and well-being.

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