1440

This home was built in Kransz’s First Addition to Edgewater by B. F Weber and Company. The permit date is April 9, 1907 and the contractor was A. P. Carlson. There is no architect of record on the permit. Two other homes were listed on the same permit, 1514 and 1428 Glenlake.

The placement of this home on the 45 foot wide lot is unusual. Rather than a front gable, it has a side gable with a prominent triangular dormer facing front. That dormer has a replacement window. At the first floor level there is a full width porch with unusual baluster in an upside down U shape. This design is original and it is repeated in the panels at the base of the porch.

Because the front façade is so wide there is room for a bay window, the front door and a large beveled glass window to the right of the door. The original porch stairs extended column to column and will eventually be reproduced. Many homes in Chicago have these elements on the façade, however this home is wider than most.

The entrance hall includes the base of the staircase, a wraparound bench below the single beveled glass window and a bay window with three beveled glass windows. This bench is positioned on a platform that is at the base of the staircase. These elements and the straight balusters on the staircase indicate the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement in Chicago. All the wood at the entry is the original oak. The current owners had the paint removed from all trim and doors in the home. In the process they discovered that many different woods were used during construction.The living room and dining room are spacious. At the end of the living room is a brick fireplace that is original. The home was gutted and new walls and systems installed and the original wood work reinstalled where it could be. Some crown moldings above doors are original and some are replicas. Most of the windows are replacements. The owners discovered a roll of original plans for the house in the basement above the furnace during the remodeling. They are not the final plans but give an indication of what was in the home in 1907.

All the windows had divided lights above a single large pane of glass. The beamed ceiling in the dining room is original, as is the built-in buffet and china cabinet. Note the column details which are Corinthian. The mirrors at the back of the unit make the glass sparkle. At north wall of the dining room was a rectangular window bay that was removed when the addition was built in 2009. This great room is a space filled with light from the windows across the back. It includes the new kitchen, an eating area and a living area. The kitchen connects to the back hallway with a back door, a bathroom, closet and storage area. That small area was the original kitchen. The staircase to the second floor leads to a central hallway and three bedrooms on three corners of the house. One bedroom has an ensuite bathroom. The fourth corner was a large bathroom with a claw footed tub. It has been redesigned to accommodate a bathroom, a hall to the back deck and a washer/dryer.

The staircase is to the third floor which may have once had a maid’s room. The owners are in the process of turning this into a master suite. This will not be open.