Fred A. Cary Houses
[Fred A. Cary Houses (1892) Treat & Foltz, architects /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
In August 1891, Fred A. Cary paid $13,000 for a city lot 40 feet wide by 125 feet deep and built two houses. Well, one 3-story single family house and one 4-story apartment building, to be exact.
[Fred A. Cary Houses, 1353 N. State Parkway, Chicago /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Architects Treat & Foltz designed almost identical facades, save the fact that one building was taller than the other. Like many of his wealthy neighbors, Cary was involved in the real estate business and while providing a large home for him and his family, he built the apartment building next door for a better return on his $13,000 investment. And since there was only one large apartment per floor, Cary could rent to a more elite clientele willing to pay a premium price to live in a nice, upscale neighborhood.
[1353 N. State Parkway Apartments /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Although the area retained its sheen and social cache through the ensuing decades, even Chicago's famed Gold Coast saw its social cache decline somewhat with the onset of the Great Depression in 1930. Many of the old mansions were converted into apartments, some into officially designated "rooming houses." I can remember in the mid-1970s when you could stroll through the neighborhood and see once grand houses looking a little worse for wear with a slew of mailboxes lining the walls of a front entry hall. As for Fred's properties, in the early 50s Cary's former house and 9-room, floor-through apartments were combined into one apartment complex and divided into 2 1/2 to 4 room apartments. The original entry of the apartment building was sealed-up and a brick box was erected in a newly created below-grade entryway, wrapped by a matching brick wall. The stairs of the former residence were removed and the porch was sealed-off to become a small private balcony.
What makes this little group kind of unique in today's Gold Coast, is that it is one of the few remaining remnants of a not-so-glamorous era in the neighborhood's history. So many of the mansions turned rooming/apartment houses have been converted back into large, single family homes that the Cary group stands virtually alone among its, once again, upscale neighbors.
Posted by designslinger at 6/16/2011 4:07 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History
Tags: Treat and Foltz Gold Coast Gold Coast mansions
Categories: Architecture, History
Tags: Treat and Foltz Gold Coast Gold Coast mansions
Interesting article. I have to give you credit, you come up with some really interesting angles for covering a topic that is typically fairly dull to those outside its main niche.
Your photos are exceptional, and your research impeccable.
I've been enjoying your material for some time now, and just thought I'd pop in and say so.
Glad you decided to take the time to pop-in! Thanks so much for the very generous compliments. We try to make the stories interesting for those on the inside, and keep things especially engaging for those on the outside. It's comments like yours that keeps us going. Thanks again!