The Final Four
[Rudolph Brand House (1890) C.H. Gottig, architect /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
While the facade of 60 East Cedar looks a lot like it's rusticated stone neighbors, the
building is unique in that it is the only free standing, single-family dwelling surrounded by clusters of row houses.
[60 East Cedar Street, Chicago /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Architect C.H. Gottig advertised bids for this two-story residence in 1890, making it the
oldest structure in our Cedar Street row. Gottig must have set the standard for the use of rough stone on the exterior because the row houses on either side of 60 East, which were constructed soon afterward, followed suit. The house was designed for Rudolph Brand, a wealthy Chicago brewer. I knew Chicago was a big beer producing town, often rivalling Milwaukee, and as we delve further and further into the history of some of the city's' great residential architecture, brewer/builders show up more and more. It makes me feel like Chicago was once the beer producing capital of America - sorry Milwaukee. Guess it makes sense, the city did have one of the largest German immigrant communities in the nation.
Brand's choice of address was not unfamiliar to him since the Michael Brand Brewery had
once occupied the far western end of Cedar at Rush Street. Brand sold his interest in his name brand brewery in a controversial Chicago beer manufacturers consolidation, becoming president of the combined United States Brewing Company in 1891.
[64 & 66 East Cedar Street, Chicago (1895) /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Numbers 64 & 66 East follow in Gottig's choice for a rough exterior surface. The details
are quite striking, vine covered and all. We end at Number 68 which was once part of a group of 5 townhouse/rowhouses. Today its east wall butts up against, and is overshadowed by, a 15-story apartment building built in 1926. The rowhouse is the only one along the street which is open to the public. Well, sort of. It has been converted into a bed and breakfast, Flemish House of Chicago, so you can see the interior if you book a room, or you might sneak-a-peek if you step inside and inquire about the accomodations.
Tomorrow finishes up this tour of Cedar, when we move into a new century and a new,
modern way of living.
There's another beer baron's palace at: Built on Beer
Posted by designslinger at 6/23/2010 2:50 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Chicago East Cedar Street Rudolph Brand C.H. Gottig
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Chicago East Cedar Street Rudolph Brand C.H. Gottig
You peeked my interest with the Cord Gottig building. He also built the 1325 N Dearborn house & 532 W Wrightwood, which was his home and is now my home. I have done many searches, but I find very little information on Gottig. Should you like a photo of 532 Wrightwood I would be glad to send it.
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First of all thanks for writing. It's responses like yours that make doing this day after day worth the effort. Finding out about Gottig was tough. One thing we did come across though was an old Chicago Blue Book listing with Gottig's home address at 1820 Wrightwood which was your address under the city's old numbering system (which you probably already know!). The house was there in a Sanborn Fire Map from 1894 with the 1820 designation and a single family dwelling on each side to the east and west. We did find a an Appellate Court case about a building Gottig designed in 1877, but it didn't give an address in the court documents which was weird. Thanks for the offer of the photo but please don't go to any extra trouble. And thanks again for taking the time to write. It was great to make the connection from our posting to you and back to Gottig and his Wrightwood house. This is exactly the kind of convergence between architecture, history and the individuals involved that we love to explore.
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Thanks for responding to me. I, too, did research on Gottig and the house. At the Chicago Historical Soc., I looked at the old land plats for the suburb of Lakeview, which is where the house was prior to the 1889 annexation. There were no houses around 532. I believe there was a barn to the northeast, but nothing else. When we redid some old brickwork, we discovered a second roof, not just another layer of shingles, but an entire roof with wood shingles. A second roof was about 12 inches above the first. From the plat of the area, which was Wright's wood for picnics, no structures were built from Clark St. to the lake.
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Finding that second roof, how cool is that?! Sounds like you've put some work into the old Gottig place. Know it takes a lot, financially/emotionally, to take care of an old house, and hope it's been worth the effort. They're a lot of work, but for those of us who care about things like this, it's nice to have people like you and your husband willing to make the commitment. Thanks!
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