Astor Street District

Astor Street District..
1200-1600 blocks of Astor Street (and cross streets)
Year Built: 1880-1940
Architect: Various
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: December 19, 1975..

The plaque reads..
" Astor Street District
Constructed over a period of more than 60 years, the buildings along Astor Street reflect the fashionable styles favored by their original residents. Nineteenth century houses, in their various historical revival styles, are interspersed with apartment buildings, forming a unique reminder of the city's history.

Designated a Chicago Landmark on Dec 19, 1975
by City Council of Chicago.
Richard J Daley, Mayor
Commission on Chicago Historical and Architectural Landmarks."

Some of the buildings that I found particularly interesting are:
# Archbishop's Residence
# Patterson McCormick Mansion
# Charney House
# William O. Goodman House
# William Wrigley residence
# John Wellborn Root's residence

Archbishop's Residence..
Address: 1555 N State Parkway
Completed: 1885 ..
Architect: Alfred F. Pashley ..
# For more images of Archbishop's Residence, click here..

Patterson McCormick Mansion..
Address: 20 E Burton Pl
Completed: 1892
Architect: Stanford White ...
# For more images of Patterson McCormick Mansion,click here..

James Charney House..
Address: 1365 N. Astor St.
Year Built: 1891
Architect: Adler & Sullivan, with Frank Lloyd Wright ..
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: August 20, 1972 ..
# For more images of Charney House, click here..

William O. Goodman House..
Address: 1355 N Astor Street
Architect: Howard Van Doren Shaw
Completed: 1913
William Owen Goodman made a fortune in the lumber business and he was the donor of the popular downtown theater that bears his name "Goodman Theater"...

Wrigley Offield residence..
Address: 1400 N Astor Street ..
Completed: 1885
# For more images of Wrigley House, click here

John Wellborn Root's residence..
Address: 1308-1312 North Astor ...
Competed 1888 ..

# For more on John Wellborn Root's residence, click here..

REF:
Chicago Landmarks: Astor Street District .. click here ..

Astor Street District [Archbishop's Residence]

Archbishop's Residence..
Address: 1555 N State Parkway
Completed: 1885
Architect: Alfred F. Pashley..

This mansion completed in 1885, with 19 chimneys, and spanning an entire block serves as Archbishop's Residence. Seven archbishops have lived here, and world leaders from Franklin D Roosevelt to Pope John Paul II have crashed at the residence while in town.

State Street entrance..

Side view from Astor Street..

Outhouse..

Just behind the Archbishop's residence is the wood block alley running east and west between State St. and Astor St.. The Wooden Alley is one of two remaining wood block alleys in the city; the other is on the 2100 block of North Hudson Avenue ...
For more on the Wooden Alley.. click here..

# For more on Astor Street district.. click here..
# For more on historic Gold Coast District.. click here ..

Astor Street District [Wood block alley: then and now]

Wood block alley ...
In the landmark Astor Street District in the Gold Coast area, directly behind Archbishop's Residence [at 1555 N State Parkway] ... is the wood block alley running east and west between State St. and Astor St ..

A reminder of the days when the streets of Chicago were paved with wood blocks and covered with tar ... which led to the fact that "streets were burning" during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The Gold Coast Wooden Alley is one of two remaining wood block alleys in the city; the other is on the 2100 block of North Hudson Avenue ...

POSTSCRIPT..
Woodblock Alley is now gone..

Image taken June 3, 2011..

Woodblock Alley now gone replaced with brick and concrete..
The woodbloack alley has been torn away.
It happened someday in the end of May 2011.

# For Archbishop's Residence.. click here..
# For more on Astor Street district.. click here..
# For more on historic Gold Coast District.. click here ..

Astor Street District [Patterson McCormick Mansion]

Patterson McCormick Mansion
Address: 20 E Burton Pl
Completed: 1892
Architect: Stanford White ...

RELATED LINKS..
# Astor Street district..
# Historic Gold Coast District..

Astor Street District [James Charnley House]

James Charney House..
Address: 1365 N. Astor St.
Year Built: 1891
Architect: Adler & Sullivan, with Frank Lloyd Wright ..
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: August 20, 1972 ..

This collaboration of two of the world's most-famous architects combines the geometry, massing, and detailing of a mature Louis Sullivan with the earliest hint of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie-style planning and design. A compact urban townhouse that takes maximum advantage of its small city lot, it was built for James Charnley, a Chicago lumber dealer.

Wright later proclaimed it as "the first modern house."

It is located in the Astor Street District.For more on Astor Street District, click here.
REF: Chicago Landmarks: Charney House..

" James Charney House
has been designated a
National Historic Landmark
This home, designed in 1891 by Louis Sullivan and Frank Llyod Wright, is an important work in the development of modern residential architecture and possess national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America.
1998
National Park Service
United States Department of the Interior."

" Charnley Persky House
1365 North Astor
Headquarters of the
Society of Architectural Historians"

# For more on Astor Street district.. click here..
# For more on historic Gold Coast District.. click here ..

Astor Street District [Wrigley Offield residence]

William Offield residence ..
Address: 1400 N Astor Street ..
Completed: 1885

# For more on Astor Street district, click here..
# For more on historic Gold Coast District, click here ..

Astor Street District [John Wellborn Root Residence]

John Wellborn Root's residence
Address: 1308-1312 North Astor..
Competed 1888..

About John Wellborn Root ... from the article: "John Wellborn Root – Astor Street Residence"..click here..
A founder of the “Chicago School” of architecture, Root is noted in history as one of the pioneering architects of modernism. Tragically, Root died an untimely death from pneumonia, in this residence, when he was just 41 years old. At the time, he was chief architect for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and a business partner with Daniel Burnham.
Root pioneered modern steel-frame construction. He is credited with developing the floating raft system of interlaced steel and concrete. His innovation of a reinforced concrete slab allowed a building of immense weight to rest on a solid foundation, even in uncertain soil conditions. His ground-breaking design allowed for the elimination of heavy foundation stones and the opening up of below grade elevations providing for unobstructed basements.

# For more on Astor Street district.. click here..
# For more on historic Gold Coast District.. click here ..