This Old Chicago House
For a brief moment in time this path-lined park was filled with some of city's largest
mansions. They were demolished decades ago, and the rubble strewn vacant lots were transformed into the Chicago Women's Park and Gardens.
This urban oasis is also the current location of the Widow Clarke House, which holds the
title of the oldest surviving house built within the city limits. Constructed in 1836, the building has moved around a lot. It originally stood a block north of its current site, was moved several miles south in 1870, and relocated to this address in the late 1970s. There are some amazing images of its final move in the winter of 1977 here.
The house put on its Greek Revival porch and cupola after Mr. Clarke died in 1849, when
the Widow Clarke made some cash by selling several acres of land that surrounded her much simpler 1830s-era home.
After extensive research, replication of moldings, and many paint samples later, the house
has been restored back to its 1850s origins. The porch no longer has an unobstruced view of Lake Michigan, which it did 150 years ago, but the Widow Clarke would probably recognize the old place just the same.
Posted by designslinger at 12/17/2009 2:39 AM 
Categories: Architecture,History,Preservation
Tags: Greek Revival Henry B. Clarke Widow Clarke House
Categories: Architecture,History,Preservation
Tags: Greek Revival Henry B. Clarke Widow Clarke House
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