Socials, Sororities & Consuls
[50-54 East Cedar Street, Chicago (1892) L. Gustav Hallberg, architect /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
We began a tour of Cedar Street yesterday (click here if you missed it) with a group of row
houses from 1896 and this row predates its neighbors by 4 years. Designed by L. Gustav Hallberg, the rusticated stone facades are quite a contrast to the sleek, flat limestone finishes next door.
[50-54 East Cedar Street details /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
The group sits on property once owned by the Dougall family. Thomas Dougall came to
Chicago in 1848, became a prominent soap manufacturer and used some of his money to buy several pieces of property along the street. When he died in his Cedar Street home at the age of 92 in 1903, he left his property interests on Cedar to his widow and 7 children. In 1905, John T. Dougall partitioned a portion of his piece of the street to Robert P. Dougall. When Robert died at age 87 in 1907, his death warranted a full-length article in the newspaper. He collapsed while particiapting in his favorite physical activity at his favorite venue, roller skating in the Riverview Park roller rink. As other Dougall's died over the next 4 years their obituaries listed their home addresses in a cluster of numbers on Cedar.
[54 East Cedar detail; 54 & 60 East Cedar Street /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Several of the row houses on the Dougall property and the Potter Palmer development
next door, were eventually converted from single family dwellings into apartments, while four of them became sorority and fraternity chapter houses. When Otto Kapp bought 50-54 East Cedar in 1927, two of the townhouses were occupied by the Swedish and Danish consuls. By the 1930s, Delta Sigma Pi a professional commerce fraternity was located at number 42, and Theta Sigma Phi a sorority for women in journalism, was at number 50.
Today some of the houses are single family occupied, while the remainder have been
converted into large condominiums. Unfortunately many of the interiors have been gutted and retain none of their original features, but the exteriors of this charming group are still intact, beautifully restored and meticulously maintained.
Tomorrow we come to the end of the row.
See another Hallberg design at: Four Grand Mansions
Posted by designslinger at 6/22/2010 2:35 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Chicago East Cedar Street row houses L. Gustav Hallberg
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Chicago East Cedar Street row houses L. Gustav Hallberg
You mention that two of the row houses had once been a fraternity house and a sorority house. I'm not a native Chicagoan, and would like to know which university are the houses located near?
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By the 1930s two universities had established satellite "downtown" campuses near Cedar Street, Northwestern University and Loyola. They're each about a mile from our row of townhouses. Didn't find any mention of a university affiliation in archival research except for the fraternity with Northwestern.
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Thank you for the information .As I said I'm not a native Chicagoan, but from my rather limited knowledge of the city I suspected that Northwestern might be located nearby. Again, great job with the blog -- your photography is stunning.
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Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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