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Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
tom12ga
(---.chi.clearwire-wmx.net)
Date: April 16, 2013 03:49AM
I'd like to see if we can compile a list of buildings that are surrounded by alleys.
The most impressive structures located south of Wrightwood Ave @ about 1700 West.
There is a much smaller structure around Wellington and Clybourn.
Both are viewable with Google Maps.
These insular buildings are usually only found very near to diagonal streets.
The most impressive structures located south of Wrightwood Ave @ about 1700 West.
There is a much smaller structure around Wellington and Clybourn.
Both are viewable with Google Maps.
These insular buildings are usually only found very near to diagonal streets.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Mr Downtown
(---.c3-0.drb-ubr1.chi-drb.il.cable.rcn.com)
Date: April 19, 2013 01:27PM
That one house near Wrightwood and Altgeld is shown in city address records as 1724 W. Altgeld, which would be the vacant lot in front. I don't know if the same person owns both the house and the vacant lot, or if it's a mistake.
I don't see anything but garages on the alleys around Wellington and Clybourn. Which building were you thinking of?
I don't see anything but garages on the alleys around Wellington and Clybourn. Which building were you thinking of?
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Mornac
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: April 19, 2013 11:24PM
I used to own a 4 flat on the 1600 block of Thome in Edgewater. There was 12 flat across the alley from us that had a large yard with several garages and a big house that the landlord lived in. The house was at the corner of two alleys:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=1649+West+Highland+Avenue,+Chicago,+IL&hl=en&ll=41.996548,-87.670719&spn=0.001531,0.002642&sll=39.739318,-89.266507&sspn=9.170202,21.643066&oq=1649+W+Highland+Chicago&t=h&hnear=1649+W+Highland+Ave,+Chicago,+Illinois+60660&z=19
Equally interesting is a two flat exactly one block north of that place which faces Devon Ave. It is surrounded on the east, west, and south sides by alleys. One of my friends lived there when I was growing up and we always gave him grief about it, claiming that there wasn't a family in the city that would accept him as a neighbor so he had to live in a place surrounded by alleys.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2013 01:25AM by Mornac.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=1649+West+Highland+Avenue,+Chicago,+IL&hl=en&ll=41.996548,-87.670719&spn=0.001531,0.002642&sll=39.739318,-89.266507&sspn=9.170202,21.643066&oq=1649+W+Highland+Chicago&t=h&hnear=1649+W+Highland+Ave,+Chicago,+Illinois+60660&z=19
Equally interesting is a two flat exactly one block north of that place which faces Devon Ave. It is surrounded on the east, west, and south sides by alleys. One of my friends lived there when I was growing up and we always gave him grief about it, claiming that there wasn't a family in the city that would accept him as a neighbor so he had to live in a place surrounded by alleys.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2013 01:25AM by Mornac.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Cragin Spring
(---.dhcp.ftbg.wi.charter.com)
Date: February 25, 2015 03:34PM
I have come across houses in older neighborhoods usually 2 flats in Chicago that are in alleys. They sit behind the house that faces the street. Almost like a garage would in a alley but its actually a full size 2 flat. I came across one at 2315 West 47th Street. I really can't figure out? The only thing I could think of is back when it was built there were no codes and it was allowed. Maybe a family had their relatives living in the house in the alley. The house can be clearly seen on 47th street on Google Street view sitting behind the house on the street.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
PKDickman
(---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: February 25, 2015 04:22PM
Cragin Spring Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have come across houses in older neighborhoods
> usually 2 flats in Chicago that are in alleys.
> They sit behind the house that faces the street.
> Almost like a garage would in a alley but its
> actually a full size 2 flat. I came across one at
> 2315 West 47th Street. I really can't figure out?
> The only thing I could think of is back when it
> was built there were no codes and it was allowed.
> Maybe a family had their relatives living in the
> house in the alley. The house can be clearly seen
> on 47th street on Google Street view sitting
> behind the house on the street.
These rear buildings are common and during the late 1800 early 1900 when house moving was a growth industry, it was common to buy a house from some other parcel and move it to your back yard.
Mostly they were just for rental income.
They are a nightmare for the fire dept.
Modern zoning only allows one principal building (one with housing) per zoning lot. Grandfathered ones are allowed to be used for housing, but if they go vacant for 1 year they lose their nonconforming status and can no longer be used as dwelling units.
Except in landmark districts where existing vacant ones can be put back to use.
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have come across houses in older neighborhoods
> usually 2 flats in Chicago that are in alleys.
> They sit behind the house that faces the street.
> Almost like a garage would in a alley but its
> actually a full size 2 flat. I came across one at
> 2315 West 47th Street. I really can't figure out?
> The only thing I could think of is back when it
> was built there were no codes and it was allowed.
> Maybe a family had their relatives living in the
> house in the alley. The house can be clearly seen
> on 47th street on Google Street view sitting
> behind the house on the street.
These rear buildings are common and during the late 1800 early 1900 when house moving was a growth industry, it was common to buy a house from some other parcel and move it to your back yard.
Mostly they were just for rental income.
They are a nightmare for the fire dept.
Modern zoning only allows one principal building (one with housing) per zoning lot. Grandfathered ones are allowed to be used for housing, but if they go vacant for 1 year they lose their nonconforming status and can no longer be used as dwelling units.
Except in landmark districts where existing vacant ones can be put back to use.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: February 25, 2015 11:34PM
[b]I lived in a house on the back at 4630 s francisco in brighton park for35 years.[/b]
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Cragin Spring
(---.dhcp.ftbg.wi.charter.com)
Date: February 25, 2015 11:50PM
Thank you both for the information.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: February 26, 2015 11:47PM
[b]It was built in 1905 a 4 room frame house. It was called a worker's cottage when it was built,[/b]Richard Stachowski Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I lived in a house on the back at 4630 s francisco
> in brighton park for35 years.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2015 11:50PM by Richard Stachowski.
-------------------------------------------------------
> I lived in a house on the back at 4630 s francisco
> in brighton park for35 years.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2015 11:50PM by Richard Stachowski.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
222psm
(---.br.br.cox.net)
Date: February 28, 2015 11:08AM
There are several on the north side of the 1300 block of W 19th st. My uncle lived across the street, and a good friend of my uncle and dad lived in one of these alley buildings with his family. I got to sleep in it, one day when my dad had a few too many drinks to drive all the way back to the north side, and my dad's friend and his wife convinced him to stay in their spare bed room. to get to the front door you had to use the front building's gangway.
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m12!1m3!1d335.48442771178674!2d-87.65961289598265!3d41.85632897148067!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1425132030724" width="600" height="450" frameborder="0" style="border:0"></iframe>
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2015 11:11AM by 222psm.
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m12!1m3!1d335.48442771178674!2d-87.65961289598265!3d41.85632897148067!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1425132030724" width="600" height="450" frameborder="0" style="border:0"></iframe>
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2015 11:11AM by 222psm.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Mr Downtown
(---.c3-0.drb-ubr1.chi-drb.il.cable.rcn.com)
Date: March 03, 2015 12:22PM
^Those are just "rear houses," very common in Old Town and Pilsen. They have regular street access and addresses via the gangway.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
nordsider
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: March 03, 2015 03:34PM
Comments about house moving in this interesting book:
Challenging Chicago: Coping with Everyday Life, 1837-1920 by Perry Duis
https://books.google.com/books?id=ED2VkjX_0qkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Perry+R+Duis&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Nvz1VIuiJsWOyAT-zoGQBg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Inherited%20City&f=false
Challenging Chicago: Coping with Everyday Life, 1837-1920 by Perry Duis
https://books.google.com/books?id=ED2VkjX_0qkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Perry+R+Duis&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Nvz1VIuiJsWOyAT-zoGQBg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Inherited%20City&f=false
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Dunning1
(---.dhs.gov)
Date: March 03, 2015 04:39PM
On the 6800 block of Addison Street, between Oak Park Avenue and Newcastle, there is a yellow brick three store front building, now in disrepair, that originally housed a dentist, Renee's Salon of Beauty, and Elvis Press. Elvis Press is the only current occupant, and the other stores appear to be vacant as some rebuilding of the façade was started, then abruptly stopped as no building permit was issued. Behind this storefront building, there is a free standing house, with absolutely no access to Addison Street. The only access is through the alley. This would be behind approximately 6821 W. Addison St.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
WayOutWardell
(199.101.76.---)
Date: March 03, 2015 05:13PM
Holy cow, if you do a Street View of that address, you can see inside Elvis Press.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
PKDickman
(---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 03, 2015 06:04PM
Dunning1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On the 6800 block of Addison Street, between Oak
> Park Avenue and Newcastle, there is a yellow brick
> three store front building, now in disrepair, that
> originally housed a dentist, Renee's Salon of
> Beauty, and Elvis Press. Elvis Press is the only
> current occupant, and the other stores appear to
> be vacant as some rebuilding of the façade was
> started, then abruptly stopped as no building
> permit was issued. Behind this storefront
> building, there is a free standing house, with
> absolutely no access to Addison Street. The only
> access is through the alley. This would be behind
> approximately 6821 W. Addison St.
That one is fairly late.
By the Sanborn maps it appears between 1941 and 1950.
Probably built to take advantage of the war era's need for housing.
-------------------------------------------------------
> On the 6800 block of Addison Street, between Oak
> Park Avenue and Newcastle, there is a yellow brick
> three store front building, now in disrepair, that
> originally housed a dentist, Renee's Salon of
> Beauty, and Elvis Press. Elvis Press is the only
> current occupant, and the other stores appear to
> be vacant as some rebuilding of the façade was
> started, then abruptly stopped as no building
> permit was issued. Behind this storefront
> building, there is a free standing house, with
> absolutely no access to Addison Street. The only
> access is through the alley. This would be behind
> approximately 6821 W. Addison St.
That one is fairly late.
By the Sanborn maps it appears between 1941 and 1950.
Probably built to take advantage of the war era's need for housing.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Dunning1
(216.81.94.---)
Date: March 04, 2015 12:41PM
Kinda doubt if that was built due to wartime housing shortages. There were all kinds of vacant lots in the neighborhood still back in the 1960's, and as a matter of fact four houses were built just next to that building on what were empty lots back in the mid 1960's. A lot of people grew vegetables on a lot next to their house until property taxes forced them to sell off the additional lot. There was a big greenhouse complex on Natoma south of Cornelia that lasted until the mid 1960's also.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
PKDickman
(---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 04, 2015 02:43PM
Dunning1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Kinda doubt if that was built due to wartime
> housing shortages. There were all kinds of vacant
> lots in the neighborhood still back in the 1960's,
> and as a matter of fact four houses were built
> just next to that building on what were empty lots
> back in the mid 1960's. A lot of people grew
> vegetables on a lot next to their house until
> property taxes forced them to sell off the
> additional lot. There was a big greenhouse
> complex on Natoma south of Cornelia that lasted
> until the mid 1960's also.
Certainly, that is conjecture on my part, but look at it this way.
Someone who owns a building with three storefronts doesn't do so because he has three businesses. He does it for rental income.
He looks at his lot and sees a bunch of unused space in the back and sez, "I can get another $40 bucks a month by sticking a house in the back yard."
Wartime demand may have made his decision seem more feasible, but not necessarily colored the development of the rest of the area.
Of course, he might have just needed someplace to stick his parents.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Kinda doubt if that was built due to wartime
> housing shortages. There were all kinds of vacant
> lots in the neighborhood still back in the 1960's,
> and as a matter of fact four houses were built
> just next to that building on what were empty lots
> back in the mid 1960's. A lot of people grew
> vegetables on a lot next to their house until
> property taxes forced them to sell off the
> additional lot. There was a big greenhouse
> complex on Natoma south of Cornelia that lasted
> until the mid 1960's also.
Certainly, that is conjecture on my part, but look at it this way.
Someone who owns a building with three storefronts doesn't do so because he has three businesses. He does it for rental income.
He looks at his lot and sees a bunch of unused space in the back and sez, "I can get another $40 bucks a month by sticking a house in the back yard."
Wartime demand may have made his decision seem more feasible, but not necessarily colored the development of the rest of the area.
Of course, he might have just needed someplace to stick his parents.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: March 10, 2015 05:52PM
There wasn't much private construction during the war, it was mostly big war worker projects. Right after the war construction took a bit to truly get going (not helped by the returning gi's and already extent lack of construction for the previous 15 years, which exacerbated the housing shortage) - especially since materials weren't readily available until a few years after the war (we forgot that, while not as bad or as rationed as in the UK, we had some shortages and supply issues and restrictions, partially from no stockpiles, some from war contracts [I suspect] and some from retooling from military to civilian products).
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
shekaago
(---.hfc.comcastbusiness.net)
Date: March 26, 2015 09:08PM
Interesting topic. I was especially intrigued by the 6821 W. Addison property... Thanks Dunning1! The number on that alley-facing house is 6821. I dug around and found two Tribune articles, one from September 16, 1957 and one from March 26, 1961. A Joseph Latino is mentioned in one article as living at 6821 Addison. He developed a hybrid grape variety that he was growing on his property. The other article mentioned approval of a request by Mr. Latino for rezoning of the south side of Addison between Oak Park and Newcastle so that a self-service laundry would be permitted to operate. I am thinking that the house was there before the storefront building and perhaps the back door is now the front door facing the alley.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Dunning1
(---.dhs.gov)
Date: March 27, 2015 12:40PM
I know that the property is now owned by the DiCristofano family. Nick used to own Red Star Electronics over on Belmont Avenue, and lived in the third of the four new houses just east of that building (the one with the white brick facade). His wife ran the beauty salon that was located in the building until recently, and his son had a pizzeria in the storefront that is now the Elvis Press. The beauty salon was called "Renee's Salon of Beauty," and I remember it being remodeled and opened back around 1961. The date stuck in my head as the then owner had a flamboyant 1961 Eldorado convertible. I believe he sold the business to the DiCristofanos sometime after that. The storefront building is in such bad repair that the façade was falling down, and the showcase windows were cracking due to the front façade collapsing. They tried to repair it without a permit, but the city shut them down, and since then the only operating business has been the printing shop. A dentist used to rent the office on the east end, but about three or four years ago he moved out and further east down on Addison, near Menard.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: March 27, 2015 09:33PM
[b]Are you all talking about houses built on the back of the lot? There are houses all over like that so it's not odd to see it. I lived in one myself.[/b]
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
dkennycpd
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: September 05, 2015 07:38AM
As a police officer I went on calls to quite a few of those "mothers-in-law houses" was what I've heard them called. I specifically remember a few on the 8700 block of south Escanaba on the west side of the street.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Deejo
(108.246.120.---)
Date: September 12, 2015 03:45AM
No, not simply houses that are at the back of the lot. There are hundreds of those. As the first post stated, these are houses with no street frontage, that are surrounded by alleys.
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: September 12, 2015 08:12PM
[b]I still can't see it on google . Give me an address.[/b]
Re: Houses/Buildings that are surrounded by alleys (no street frontage)
Posted by:
Mornac
(---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: September 19, 2015 02:22AM
Richard Stachowski Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are you all talking about houses built on the back
> of the lot? There are houses all over like that so
> it's not odd to see it. I lived in one myself.
--Prof. Perry Duis at UIC once explained to me that the phenomenon was not a matter of houses being built on the back of those lots, but rather houses originally built on the front of the lot were moved to the back in order to make way for an "upgrade" and preserve the original structure as an investment rental property (or a place house the in-laws).
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are you all talking about houses built on the back
> of the lot? There are houses all over like that so
> it's not odd to see it. I lived in one myself.
--Prof. Perry Duis at UIC once explained to me that the phenomenon was not a matter of houses being built on the back of those lots, but rather houses originally built on the front of the lot were moved to the back in order to make way for an "upgrade" and preserve the original structure as an investment rental property (or a place house the in-laws).
