Teco or no?

This week I had the pleasure of meeting with Silvia, the daughter of architect Edward P. Steinberg. Mr. Steinberg designed one of my favorite buildings on Devon Avenue shown in the photo above. This structure was built in 1929-30 for a man by the name of Tilensky and features some wonderful terra cotta details including charming owls perched over the entrance. Check it out next time you're on Devon, it's at the corner of Claremont.

The Steinberg family lived in this building that Edward designed and built on Winchester in Rogers Park. It's currently on the market, you can see a virtual tour here. That's Larry in the photo, he's another Steinberg relative that I met in the fall. Larry & Silvia are both so nice and each told me some great stories about growing up in Rogers Park.

So, what about the Teco, you ask? Well, when I met with Silvia, she had this big urn in her front hallway serving as an umbrella stand. When we were talking about the old place in Rogers Park, Silvia told us that this piece, along with its mate in storage in her basement were originally at the entrance of the family home. Look at the photo of the building and you can just imagine them there.

Silvia has always wondered if these are Teco pottery. We managed roll this one over to look at the bottom, no easy feat as it weighs about 50 lbs. There are no marks on the bottom, just a drainage hole. So, you Teco experts out there, what do you think?

How we became West Ridge

From the October 17, 1963 Chicago Tribune

Residents of the Far North Side neighborhood of West Ridge are more likely to tell you they live in North Town or West Rogers Park.

The official name of the community of 61,129 is nearly as old, though, as the hill that marks its eastern border at Ridge Avenue. The neighborhood is bounded on the north by Howard Street , on the west by the North Shore Channel and Kedzie Avenue and on the south by Peterson and Bryn Mawr Avenues.

Though originally settled in the 1830s by Phillip Rogers, West Ridge was never really part of Rogers Park. Clashes with its eastern neighbor and nearby Evanston led to West Ridge's incorporation as a village in 1890, accoring to yellowed Tribune clippings tracing development of the Far North Side.

The independence was short-lived however. West Ridge was incorporated into the City of Chicago three years later.