Flat Living at Hotel St. Benedict
While the building hasn't changed much since it was built in 1882, the surrounding
neighborhood would be unrecognizable to the first tenants who moved into the Hotel St. Benedict Flats.
Designed by architect James Egan, the building was constructed on the site of a former
church operated by the Benedictine order, hence the inspiration for the name.
It's hard to imagine today, but back then apartment/flat living was not considered
respectable by the upper middle classes, and developer Patrick Sexton was interested in catering to that social and economic group.This may have been a reason for Egan choosing to break the facade into alternating set-backs with multiple porticoed entrances. It made the St. Benedict appear as though it could be a series of large, individual single-family townhouse/row houses.
Originally there was one apartment per floor, per bay. Eventually the large floor plans
were divided into smaller units and first floor apartments were converted into retail spaces. So although a lot has changed, the exterior has miraculously survived virtually intact for 128 years, and would still be recognizable to those first, pioneering tenants.
Posted by designslinger at 2/1/2010 1:26 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Chicago James E. Egan apartment houses Hotel St. Benedict Flats
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Chicago James E. Egan apartment houses Hotel St. Benedict Flats
Thanks for doing all this research about this building, it's fascinating.
You're very welcome. It's amazing what stories buildings have to tell.