Halsted's Houses
Image & Artwork; designslinger]
In 1882 Ann Halsted's husband Henry died and she inherited property, bonds and the
responsibility of raising a handful of children as a single parent. So, she looked to the future and decided to build an investment property which would generate income for her family, which came to be known as the Ann Halsted Rowhouses.
designslinger]
At the time of Henry's death, the Halsted home was located on North Park Street with a
large, adjacent side yard. Ann contacted the architectural firm of Adler & Sullivan and had Louis Sullivan design a new house for her on a piece of property on Belden Street, a mile north. She had decided to use her North Park property as an income producing venture.
While the architects were working on the house, they began designing the 3 townhouses
which would occupy the vacant side yard property on North Park. When the new house on Belden was finished the old Halsted home was torn down, and in 1886 the remaining 2 townhouses were completed.
So where's all Louis Sullivan's extravagant ornament? That came later in his career. These
houses are very good examples of the type of ornamental, decorative work the architectural team was doing at the time.
The row houses must have been a good investment for Ann Halsted. She collected rents
on all the properties until 1921 when she sold 1834 N. Lincoln Park West. She sold a house about every other year thereafter, having dispensed of the entire group when she sold #1828 in 1927.
Surprising at it may seem, these structures are some of the few remaining buildings
designed by Adler & Sullivan in Chicago. Hundreds of the firm's buildings have been destroyed in the city they called home, with no regard to their history or significance in the architectural firmament. But, the Halsted group has survived, and thrived, in an often hostile urban environment.
Posted by designslinger at 12/15/2009 2:10 AM 
Categories: Architecture,History,Preservation
Tags: row houses Louis Sullivan Adler and Sullivan
Categories: Architecture,History,Preservation
Tags: row houses Louis Sullivan Adler and Sullivan
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