Monday, November 22, 2010

Adopt an Orange: $1

The latest newsletter from Preservation Chicago brings us the tale of this 1870's wood-frame Italianate cottage in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.  It's owner, the Illinois College of Optometry, apparently can't see much in it, because they're going to tear it down if someone doesn't come forward to acquire and move it.  However, the house is rated "Orange" in Chicago's Historic Resources Survey, classifying it as having features that could qualify it as historically significant.
This house is distinguished due to its age, and that the basic form and decorative elements such as window hoods and bracketed gable still exist. There is a two-story brick addition at the rear that was constructed in 1902.

Interested parties may request access to the house through Historic Preservation staff at the City of Chicago, who will coordinate entry with the Illinois College of Optometry. Please contact Eleanor Gorski at  312-744-9143 or via email.
The demolition delay that's protecting the house expires in December, so if you have a yen for historic houses and a dollar burning a hole in your pocket - plus a few more to move it and bring it up to snuff - this is your big chance to correct an optometrist's vision.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Looks like something you'd see in a Cushman photo. Which is why it's depressing that we still haven't learned any lessons regarding demolition and historic preservation.