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Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
Deejo
(---.pools.spcsdns.net)
Date: May 25, 2012 04:04AM
Was recently on the east side of the Robert A. Black Golf Course (formerly Edgewater Country Club as chronicled here) and found that Seeley Avenue is discontinuous as it borders the course on the east. It runs north to about three houses south of Albion avenue. North of these three houses, Seeley intersects with Albion (which dead-ends into the golf course) and then continues north. But these three houses sit with the golf course as their front yard, with no street going through in front of them.
Two questions (at least): (1) Did the street ever go through? It does not look as if it clearly did, unlike some places where you can obviously tell a right-of-way was vacated. It could have, but it is unclear; (2) Whether it once ran through or not, why does it not now? It is also not clear why this would be the case. Were the houses somehow associated with the golf course at one point?
At least one of the houses looks to be in significant disrepair.
(Incidentally, there are some other oddities on that east side of the golf course - very narrow alleys in places, two alleys at different grade running parallel in places, weird dead-ends, etc. Plus, some of the architecture is interesting due to the ridge. In particular, there is a very interesting bungalow on Arthur that is sandwiched between two apartment buildings that is kind of elevated, almost as if it is a regular bungalow sitting on top of an additional story of living quarters).
I'd be interested if anyone knows why Seeley doesn't go through past those three houses.
Two questions (at least): (1) Did the street ever go through? It does not look as if it clearly did, unlike some places where you can obviously tell a right-of-way was vacated. It could have, but it is unclear; (2) Whether it once ran through or not, why does it not now? It is also not clear why this would be the case. Were the houses somehow associated with the golf course at one point?
At least one of the houses looks to be in significant disrepair.
(Incidentally, there are some other oddities on that east side of the golf course - very narrow alleys in places, two alleys at different grade running parallel in places, weird dead-ends, etc. Plus, some of the architecture is interesting due to the ridge. In particular, there is a very interesting bungalow on Arthur that is sandwiched between two apartment buildings that is kind of elevated, almost as if it is a regular bungalow sitting on top of an additional story of living quarters).
I'd be interested if anyone knows why Seeley doesn't go through past those three houses.
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
JimCina
(---.hsd1.in.comcast.net)
Date: May 25, 2012 05:57PM
http://www.historicaerials.com/ sheds a little light on this.
Seeley north of where Loyola would intersect it didn't exist in 1938 or 1952, but those 3 houses did. In 1962 Seeley and all the apartments are present.
I have related questions for anyone.
On the north side, south of Devon, adjacent to the west side of Edgebrook Golf Course, there are houses with no street frontage where Melvina Ave. would go through. When we moved into the area around 1960, there was actually a street sign for Melvina on the south side of Devon even though there was no street. I always wondered why. historicaerials.com shows some kind of road there in 1938 with a loop at the south end. Was that the only reason for the street sign?
Seeley north of where Loyola would intersect it didn't exist in 1938 or 1952, but those 3 houses did. In 1962 Seeley and all the apartments are present.
I have related questions for anyone.
On the north side, south of Devon, adjacent to the west side of Edgebrook Golf Course, there are houses with no street frontage where Melvina Ave. would go through. When we moved into the area around 1960, there was actually a street sign for Melvina on the south side of Devon even though there was no street. I always wondered why. historicaerials.com shows some kind of road there in 1938 with a loop at the south end. Was that the only reason for the street sign?
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
Deejo
(---.pools.spcsdns.net)
Date: May 26, 2012 04:02AM
Thanks for the info, JimCina, and thanks for pointing out the Melvina situation. I never knew about those houses before. I wonder if people on Melvina objected to having traffic come right off Devon onto their block, and got the street vacated or never built.
With regard to the Seeley houses, I'd be interested if anyone had any information as to what those houses were/who lived there/were they associated with the golf course. From the early aerials it looks like they may have even originally been out-buildings for the buildings further east.
With regard to the Seeley houses, I'd be interested if anyone had any information as to what those houses were/who lived there/were they associated with the golf course. From the early aerials it looks like they may have even originally been out-buildings for the buildings further east.
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
Deejo
(---.pools.spcsdns.net)
Date: June 01, 2012 04:21AM
JimCina - I was near the area the other day and checked out Melvina, and noticed that a two-block or so stretch of Indian Road along the golf course is also vacated and grassed in. Was it like that when you lived there? Or was Melvina the only "street" with no vehicle access?
Along both Melvina and especially along Indian Road, there are still City streetlights, even though there is no actual street.
Along portions of the Bloomingdale line, there are portions of Bloomingdale that are just sidewalk, with no street right-of-way, and there are houses along these sidewalks. Other than the three areas mentioned here, does anyone know of any other places in the city where there are houses with no street frontage?
Along both Melvina and especially along Indian Road, there are still City streetlights, even though there is no actual street.
Along portions of the Bloomingdale line, there are portions of Bloomingdale that are just sidewalk, with no street right-of-way, and there are houses along these sidewalks. Other than the three areas mentioned here, does anyone know of any other places in the city where there are houses with no street frontage?
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
JimCina
(---.hsd1.in.comcast.net)
Date: June 01, 2012 05:15AM
www.historicaerials.com shows Melvina and Indian Rd. have been the way they are now at least since 1951.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2012 10:18PM by JimCina.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2012 10:18PM by JimCina.
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
Vern H
(---.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: June 13, 2012 02:48AM
Isn't there something similar a block north of Albion av between Milwaukee and Newcastle?
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
celticjunker1
(---.hfc.comcastbusiness.net)
Date: December 16, 2012 10:21PM
I always found it interesting that on the east side of Chgo there are many homes with another full size home right behind it on the same lot. On the 8700 block of Avalon, Houston, and many others right in the same area.
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
Deejo
(---.public.wayport.net)
Date: December 17, 2012 01:52AM
Celticjunker, yes, that was a phenomenon in a lot of late 19th-century immigrant neighborhoods that were tremendously populated and they needed every inch of space. You can see that two-houses-per-lot construction a lot in Pilsen and in Wicker Park/Bucktown too. Also in some places in Lincoln Park. These are not "coach houses" but full-size houses (sometime even three-story buildings) on the back of lots. You can see a good example on the west side of Damen south of 18th. Also, there is a good fictional discussion of this phenomenon in Saul Bellow's great short story, "Looking for Mr. Green" and it figures into the plot, where the protagonist who knows about this phenomenon, looks for the REAR house on the lot at the address he was sent to.
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
jsalsa740
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: December 30, 2012 07:01AM
There's a house in Lincoln Square I've always been curious about, on an irregularly shaped block bounded by Leavitt, Wilson, Lincoln, and Sunnyside. The triangle-ish shaped block is abnormally deep and in the center of the block is a triangle shaped lot with a house surrounded by alleys on all sides, with no formal street frontage. I believe the official address is on Sunnyside, although access to Sunnyside is through about 100' of alley.
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
Lance Grey
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: December 30, 2012 11:39AM
I was always intrigued by a house & yard trapped in a triangle of alleys on the North side:
Bounded by; Wrightwood-Altgelt, and Marshfield-Terra Cotta Place.
Incidently, theres a long, brick, Horse-Stable building that once served the Terra Cotta factory nearby, on the South side of the East-West Alley behind Wrightwood.
Bounded by; Wrightwood-Altgelt, and Marshfield-Terra Cotta Place.
Incidently, theres a long, brick, Horse-Stable building that once served the Terra Cotta factory nearby, on the South side of the East-West Alley behind Wrightwood.
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
rockislandfan
(---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: February 14, 2013 04:13PM
The block on Bloomingdale (north side of viaduct) between Marshfield and Paulina.
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
the_mogra
(---.hfc.comcastbusiness.net)
Date: April 30, 2015 05:24PM
an insurance agent once gave me his office address as 7148 w. fletcher (chicago) which was perplexing to find at the time because although I knew the street Fletcher it really doesn't exist per se in that block number, but somehow there was just such a number if one walks around and looks for it
Re: Houses with no street frontage
Posted by:
woodman88
(---.dynamic.fuse.net)
Date: May 01, 2015 06:48AM
My friend Mickey lived in one of the houses on Bloomingdale before we were drafted and went to Nam. After we came back he moved to West Virginia. I always wonder what happened to him. W.T.
