Established in 2003, West Ridge Bungalow Neighbors is a voluntary group of neighbors in Chicago who desire to assist each other in preserving and appreciating the homes in our neighborhood; educating each other and the broader public in the value and the story of our neighborhood; and providing resources to each other to improve the quality of our homes, enrich our lives and assure our neighborhood's future.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Words to live by

Today I received a mailing from the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. In reading through it, I came across a quote that seemed like a good summary of why we're passionate about preservation:
When you strip away the rhetoric, preservation is simply having the good
sense to hold on to things that are well designed, that link us with our
past in a meaningful way, and that have plenty of good use left in them.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Help preserve our neighborhood history


The Rogers Park / West Ridge Historical Society is in a year of transition, and needs your help.

Society founder Mary Jo Doyle passed away in December and during the past 7 months the new board has been busy working to ensure the longevity of the Society. One of the most daunting tasks is the organization and preservation of the archives. When I joined the board in January, I learned that the existing archives were in dire need of attention. Little did I know of the 3 truckloads lying in wait at Mary Jo's house, or of the mountains of cartons and artifacts in storage at another off-site location.
The good news is that we have a wealth of documents and photos that tell the story of our local history. The bad news is that they're all jumbled together and need to be sorted and cataloged.

Please consider volunteering at the RP/WRHS to help with archive sorting. It's fun to see all of the old documents and photos, you'll feel good knowing that you're preserving them for future generations to enjoy.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

2226 W. Pratt


Not the best photo, but this neighborhood house was open for an estate sale this weekend. It's huge, 15 rooms and 3.5 baths. The listing sheet says it was built in 1914. It has incredible wood details and built-ins, but needs some work. (Where are those Flipping Out boys when you need them?)
In doing some quick research on ProQuest (thank you, Chicago Public Library) I came up with this string of owners:
1919 Eugene R. Hutchins (owner of Hutchins Lumber and Storage), 1925 Frank E. Scholl (nope, sorry, not the famous Dr. Scholl) 1950s Dr. William Brams, a noted heart specialist and in the 1960s an artist by the name of Hertha Furth.
Developers with tear-down dollar signs in their eyes should just keep on driving west to Schaumburg.