4200 W. Lake Street: formerly the Best Beer tied house/tavern circa 1883 (top image: p. 49, Lost German Chicago, Arcadia Publishing), currently a residential building. (bottom image by Gabriel X. Michael/Chicago Patterns)

Built in 1883, the two-story frame building at 4200 West Lake Street has undergone several transformations, just like the surrounding West Garfield Park community area. Pre-dating the Lake Street Elevated Railroad (now the CTA Green Line Lake Branch), it originally served as a “tied house” or tavern controlled by the Milwaukee-based Best Beer Brewing Company.

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When it comes to bars and saloons, nondescript is usually the architectural style. With a purpose requiring far less permanence than that of a bank, church, or government building, it makes sense that there are usually few exterior details that reveal the current tenants. Businesses in the hospitality industry come and go, and purposes shift over time.

In stark contrast to this norm are the Schlitz Brewery-tied houses across Chicago and the midwest. One of the finest preserved examples that still serves its original purpose is Schubas in Lake View.

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