Questions and Answers (Q&A) Forgotten Chicago Forum
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pre-fire buildings
Posted by:
Mercer52
()
Date: March 12, 2015 07:30PM
Does anyone know where I can find a list of extant pre-fire buildings?
Re: pre-fire buildings
Posted by:
PKDickman
()
Date: March 12, 2015 08:07PM
Mercer52 Wrote:
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> Does anyone know where I can find a list of extant
> pre-fire buildings?
Try the Historic Resources Survey.
It by no means every one and the list includes sites and monuments, and many may have been demolished since the survey's completion in the 90s.
but it's a good start.
[url=http://webapps1.cityofchicago.org/landmarksweb/search/home.htm]Chgo Historic Resources Survey[/url]
Pull down the year constructed list and select pre 1870.
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> Does anyone know where I can find a list of extant
> pre-fire buildings?
Try the Historic Resources Survey.
It by no means every one and the list includes sites and monuments, and many may have been demolished since the survey's completion in the 90s.
but it's a good start.
[url=http://webapps1.cityofchicago.org/landmarksweb/search/home.htm]Chgo Historic Resources Survey[/url]
Pull down the year constructed list and select pre 1870.
Re: pre-fire buildings
Posted by:
Mercer52
()
Date: March 12, 2015 09:16PM
Thanks--I actually started there, but when I tried to confirm some of the dates on the buildings on the CityNews Chicago website, they didn't match. CityNews had some of them from the 1880s.
Re: pre-fire buildings
Posted by:
PKDickman
()
Date: March 12, 2015 10:12PM
Mercer52 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks--I actually started there, but when I tried
> to confirm some of the dates on the buildings on
> the CityNews Chicago website, they didn't match.
> CityNews had some of them from the 1880s.
Citynews is just the information from the assesssors office. It is not particularly accurate
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks--I actually started there, but when I tried
> to confirm some of the dates on the buildings on
> the CityNews Chicago website, they didn't match.
> CityNews had some of them from the 1880s.
Citynews is just the information from the assesssors office. It is not particularly accurate
Re: pre-fire buildings
Posted by:
Mercer52
()
Date: March 13, 2015 09:03AM
That's good to know. One would think the assessor's office would be the most accurate, but this is Chicago!
Re: pre-fire buildings
Posted by:
PKDickman
()
Date: March 13, 2015 04:57PM
Mercer52 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's good to know. One would think the
> assessor's office would be the most accurate, but
> this is Chicago!
For their own uses, the assessor only needs to know whether a building is over 62 years old.
Combined with the fact that it was a State of IL function until the 30s, a lot of inaccurate dates are on the files. They are reasonably close from the 30's on.
As a NIMBY for the Wicker Pk landmark district I have seen dozens of wrong dates (including my own building), in some cases I have seen the original building permits. There is no rhyme or reason, but the year 1891 seems to show up more often than one would guess.
The same dates are on the Dept of Buildings database as well, so who know whose fault it is.
I suspect that sometime after they were built someone thought it would be a good idea to keep track of how old they were.
But it was easier to guess than dig through all the paperwork. It was close enough for their purposes.
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's good to know. One would think the
> assessor's office would be the most accurate, but
> this is Chicago!
For their own uses, the assessor only needs to know whether a building is over 62 years old.
Combined with the fact that it was a State of IL function until the 30s, a lot of inaccurate dates are on the files. They are reasonably close from the 30's on.
As a NIMBY for the Wicker Pk landmark district I have seen dozens of wrong dates (including my own building), in some cases I have seen the original building permits. There is no rhyme or reason, but the year 1891 seems to show up more often than one would guess.
The same dates are on the Dept of Buildings database as well, so who know whose fault it is.
I suspect that sometime after they were built someone thought it would be a good idea to keep track of how old they were.
But it was easier to guess than dig through all the paperwork. It was close enough for their purposes.
Re: pre-fire buildings
Posted by:
daveg
()
Date: March 13, 2015 08:13PM
You might want to try the research library at the Chicago History Museum and/or the Newberry and/or the CPL.
Re: pre-fire buildings
Posted by:
nordsider
()
Date: March 19, 2015 10:00AM
There is a pre-fire building in my old childhood neighborhood in Lincoln Park. Its original purpose was to be a "German School" built by a society of German immigrants in 1857. My grandmother may have attended the school, later church related, as a young immigrant girl. The building is located at 737 West Willow.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=737+West+Willow+Street,+Chicago,+IL&hl=en&ll=41.913839,-87.647338&spn=0.009038,0.021393&sll=39.739318,-89.266507&sspn=9.559517,21.906738&oq=737+west+willow&t=h&hnear=737+W+Willow+St,+Chicago,+Illinois+60614-5150&z=16&layer=c&cbll=41.913831,-87.647504&panoid=TQEGWuzKDkpR7U8NnVfUzg&cbp=12,135,,0,0
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2015 12:11PM by nordsider.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=737+West+Willow+Street,+Chicago,+IL&hl=en&ll=41.913839,-87.647338&spn=0.009038,0.021393&sll=39.739318,-89.266507&sspn=9.559517,21.906738&oq=737+west+willow&t=h&hnear=737+W+Willow+St,+Chicago,+Illinois+60614-5150&z=16&layer=c&cbll=41.913831,-87.647504&panoid=TQEGWuzKDkpR7U8NnVfUzg&cbp=12,135,,0,0
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2015 12:11PM by nordsider.
Re: pre-fire buildings
Posted by:
davey7
()
Date: March 19, 2015 03:42PM
One thing to keep in mind when doing research is that the Department of Buildings microfilm records were destroyed in a fire in like '59 (could have been a bit earlier or later) so many records are gone or incomplete.
The Art Institute also has a lot of useful and interesting documentation, though sometimes only accessible by visiting the library itself.
The Art Institute also has a lot of useful and interesting documentation, though sometimes only accessible by visiting the library itself.
