An Old Concept with a Twist
[404-422 W. Wellington Avenue (1939) Chicago; Loebl & Schlossman, architects /Image & Artwork: designslinger]
Every city has an architectural style that seems to become its own. Chicago has several,
and one is unique in the world of apartment living, the courtyard building. The protoype design consisted of a 3-story, U-shaped buidling, with a central public courtyard of green space. There are thousands of them across town, built primarily built between 1915 and the 1920s.
[Details, July 13, 2009 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
The Great Depression of the 1930s brought construction to a standstill, but as the country
was emerging from that cataclysmic event two young architects designed a courtyard building in 1939 with a modern twist. Sleek lines, horizontal Lannon stone instead of brick, and 10 individual townhouses with 3 levels of living space per unit rather than the old 3 stories of several apartments per floor.
[Wellington Avenue facades /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
The two Jerry's, Loebl and Schlossman, met while attending architecture school in the
mid-1920s. They started their own office soon after graduation and landed a big commission in 1928 when they were asked to design the new home of Temple Sholom on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive with an older, more established architectural firm. It was a prestigious launch and they were on their way. Unfortunatley the stock market crashed in 1929, and during the Great Depression architectural work dried up. While this group of homes may have been less glamorous and financially less rewarding than the Temple, it paid the bills. Plus the architects had an opportunity to reconceptualize the old Chicago courtyard design program, the kind of challenge most of us creative-types love to get our hands on. The duo went on to bigger and much more profitable work, and although the Jerrys died several years ago, the firm is still in operation under the Loebl Schlossman & Hackl banner.
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Posted by designslinger at 4/15/2010 3:16 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History, Architects, Preservation
Tags: townhouses courtyard building Loebl and Schlossman
Categories: Architecture, History, Architects, Preservation
Tags: townhouses courtyard building Loebl and Schlossman
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