A Bit of London in Chicago
In the 1890s, a Chicago developer by the name of Gross
visited London and took a shine to Mayfair. From 1900 to 1904, he built
a replica of its houses in Chicago. He set aside one short block, made
the street narrow -- just like the original -- and constructed four bedroom
row houses of great charm. The result is Alta Vista Terrace and by luck,
it is just five blocks from where I live. I walk by it every chance I
get.
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The buildings have a lively variety of styles
and yet have much in common. Each townhouse has a bay window but
the kind of bay changes as you walk down the street: some bays are
two stories, some one, some square, some round, some curved. The
variation is pleasing to the eye while the mind enjoys the general
similarity. |
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The neighbors
are proud to live on such an interesting, indeed, unique block.
They plant in the narrow spaces in front of their houses, put out
interesting bits of concrete objets d'art and generally improve
the view. |
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This bit of London
in Chicago has a secret, a secret free for all to view and to notice
and not to notice. Apparently, there weren't enough nice bow fronts
in Mayfair so Mr. Gross decided to double up on the ones he had.
But having identical houses face each other would be too obvious
so he repeated the house designs diagonally on opposite ends of
the block. Even then, variations in brick color, paint, plantings,
etc. hide the identity of the "twin." Here are two matching
doorways. |
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Here is another
pair of "twins". |
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One short block
with a very human scale, Ala Vista Terrace has a unity and harmony
unique in my part of Chicago. |
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