Edgewater Teaser

Where was the first home of the Edgewater Dairy? Answer: The first home of the Edgewater Dairy was 1414-1416 W. Highland. The building, which still exists, has been converted into a single family residence. Recently, the façade was re-surfaced and, presumably, additional work done on the interior. The original building permit was issued to an E.P. Golderyahm in August 1906; the Doerr brothers were the architects. Unfortunately, we don’t know too much about the Edgewater Dairy. Only one display ad was found in the Chicago Tribune, and it was in 1914. We do know that it lasted until at least 1940. In that year, its location is shown as 1811 Balmoral, just west of Edgewater’s western boundary. Earlier, in 1933, it was at 5348 N. Ravenswood. It was in that year that it had the dubious distinction of having a bomb thrown through one of its windows. Fortunately the bomb did not explode. The photo below is of one of the bottles from Edgewater’s own dairy.

Although it was only a neighborhood dairy in a large city, it achieved a footnote in history, and that footnote had nothing to do with the quality of its product or its relationship to Edgewater. In 1934 the Edgewater Dairy filed suit in Federal Court against a New Deal statute regulating the price and quantity of milk. The court ruled in favor of the dairy in Edgewater Dairy vs. Wallace but the victory would be short lived.

New Teaser:

How many “greystone” buildings does Edgewater have; what type of apartment building is most represented in the greystone category; and which Edgewater neighborhood has the most greystones? Look forward to an article on greystones in a subsequent issue.