Your Old House Has a History

Do you live in an historic home, landmark district, or one of Chicago’s architecturally  iconic buildings?   Researching the history of the homes I sell is a topic that frequently comes up in the search and ultimate purchase of historic Chicago homes.

In putting together resources to aid the process, I came across “Your Home Has a History,” a research document & process on the Chicago Landmark Commission’s website at www.cityofchicago.org/Landmarks. For anyone that wants to do the legwork to research the history of their home, this document provides a step by step process.

No surprise that permit and record keeping was not formally put in place (in Chicago) until after 1871. Fresh start, I guess – right?  If your home was built before that, there is another bevy of challenges in digging through archives.

Below, I have paraphrased some of the Chicago Landmark pamphlet to whet the appetite of true history nerds. Step one is pretty straightforward.  Beyond that, it gets more detailed as you move from step to step.

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You own a lovely home that you’re proud to call your own. But someone owned it before you. Someone built it, cared for it, and made changes through the years to it. And now you’re interested in finding out the “who, when and what” of your property.

Researching your house can be fun, fascinating and completely engrossing

However, beware! Research can become addictive. It can also be frustrating. You may exhaust every source possible and still not find the answers to your questions. But no matter how many questions remain unanswered, you will have unearthed some interesting information, learned a little more about your community, and become familiar with some important public institutions in the city.

So, have fun, and good luck.

Before you launch your research, it would be good to have a general idea of your house’s style and the approximate date of its construction.

If your house is newly purchased, the real estate listing undoubtedly had a date typed into the appropriate box. While you shouldn’t assume that this date is correct, it may help get you started.  The architectural style of your house can also provide you with clues to its approximate age so you know where to begin your research.

Some common styles in Chicago and their most distinctive features

• Front Gable or Worker’s Cottage (beginning 1870s) – narrow house, steep roof, off-center front door
• Romanesque Revival (1880-1900)- large arched openings, masonry walls, towers with conical roofs, asymmetrical façade
• Italianate (1860-1900) – widely overhanging eaves, decorative brackets, tall, narrow arched windows
• Queen Anne (1880s-1990) – steep roof usually with a prominent gable, porches, variety of building materials
• Prairie (early 1900s)- low pitched hipped roof, wide overhanging eaves, horizontal detailing
• Bungalow (early 1900s)-low pitched roof, wide eaves, brick walls, and bay window with art glass
• American Four-Square (1900- 1930)- cube shape, hipped roof, broad front porch, little ornament
• Colonial Revival (1880-1955)- cube shape, gabled roof, symmetrical, prominent front door

Step One

Checking the Chicago Historic Resources Survey

The very first place to look for information on your house is in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey. A copy of this book is in every branch of the Chicago Public Library and can also be viewed at the Commission on Chicago Landmarks office. An electronic version of the survey is available on the City of Chicago’s website at: www.cityofchicago.org/Landmarks/CHRS.  If the survey lists the date and architect for your building, you’re in luck. That means a permit was found by Commission researchers and additional information may be on file in the Commission Offices….

A Good Mystery

Historical research is often compared to reading a good mystery. By now you should know who did it, where, with what, and maybe why. But your search may have just begun. Our city, and its world renowned architecture, have a rich and engrossing history. The people and institutions you’ve used to do your research are ready to help you continue. Make good use of our public libraries, our museums, our government agencies and our universities. They are a wealth of information preserved for us and our children.

 Source:

“YOUR HOUSE HAS A HISTORY

A Step-by-Step Guide to Researching Your Property”

COMMISSION ON CHICAGO LANDMARKS

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Again, this is just a tease to illustrate that researching your home, who built it and who lived there over the years is not as daunting as it may seem.   There are six steps that end with researching the history of your neighborhood, which can provide a terrific snapshot of the years that have rolled over the economic and demographic changes that shape the varied neighborhoods of Chicago.

Soldier on and see what you find.  If you have specify questions, let me know.  Good luck!

Victorian Color Therapy

 

As a long-suffering chromatophobist, I have always steered clear of vibrant, saturated colors, both inside and out.  Neutral shades of grey, beige, and  taupe, with risky splashes of “wheat” or “sage” have been my safety zone. In my house and on my back.  Time to come out of the neutral-zone closet.  As it turns out, maintaining all things old house is pretty good therapy.

A little antecedent information first. Larger homes built between 1850 and 1915, were probably, in one form or another, influenced by Victorian architecture designs. Detailed gingerbread woodwork, bold brackets and enormous shutters beg for a color scheme that will complement their detail.  In putting together a post on Victorian home colors, I discovered that natural earth-tone colors were favored, as a result of Victorian homeowners’ fascination with nature. White was rarely used and shades of green, brown, red, and mustard were the norm.

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.”
Georgia O’Keeffe

So how, exactly did we get to the riot of circus colors that frequently and proudly animate Victorian era homes today?  Post Civil War homeowners started the transition to bolder color.  Embracing color has long been a trend in post war eras and downturns in economies. Any fashion catalog you pick up today is testament to that.  While embracing color, I cannot cross the line to coral “manpris.” It’s just not right.   The “Painted Ladies” (tarts, as my mother would say) of San Francisco were transformed into vibrant tones of purple, pink, blue and red in the mid sixties after two world wars and drab makeovers in surplus battleship grey. The true Victorian-era homes were originally painted in much more natural tones. The San Fran tarts stand as international models of out-of-the-box palettes and celebrations of color and creativity.

I have read that color affects moods and emotions.  Why did it take me 48 years to pick up on that newsworthy tidbit?  Some therapists believe that each organ and body system has vibrational energy sensitive to corresponding vibrational energies from color. Huh?  Chromotherapy  is a pseudoscience with no basis in academia, but I  sure sound smart talking about it, don’t I?   This is not a scholarly missive or architectural critique of historical homes.  It’s not even my opinion, really.  Simply an observation of coming full circle, finding our color inspiration in nature.  If we garner some additional benefits and “energy” from the colors of our homes, all the better!

Hope you enjoy the spectrum of houses I found.  Perhaps we have not veered too far from the original intent of Victorian homeowners.