1350

This brick three-unit apartment building was designed by architect Melvin Nelson and built in 1914 by C.E. Ross at a cost of $12,000. It is a prairie style building with a classical horizontal brick revealed base with a limestone sill band or water table. The front windows are composed of vertical divided light upper sashes with limestone “keystoned” lintels. The main body of the building is capped with a limestone gabled parapet with two carved medallions at the top. The dominant prairie influence on the building may well be the unique front sunroom projection with its corner brick columns extending a full three floors without interruption. The large overhang and tiled roof is a typical cap to this prairie style expression. On the sunrooms, note the unique multi-pane French casement and transom windows. There are 196 individual panes in each sunroom.

The first floor apartment is an Architectural/Interior-Design firm office. The second and third floor apartments are the homes of two of the firm’s partners.

The unique aspect to these apartments is the decorative plaster work on the arched doorways and the barrel vaulted hall on each floor. The kitchens on the second and third floors were remodeled within the past year. The most recent addition is the rear stairs and deck. It was specially designed with a Key West flair to provoke a resort atmosphere. The yard, with garden flowers and decorative trellises, also adds to this feeling of being “away.”

The building was purchased in 1987. The restoration has already come a long way, but they still have many plans for the future.