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This greystone three unit building was built in 1908 by Oscar Stuberg, a masonry contractor. He and his wife Sophia lived in the building. Oscar emigrated from Sweden in 1888. The architect was Nils Hallstrom who was born 1844 in Sweden and emigrated to the US in 1892 at the age of 48. He was a busy architect who worked mostly on the north side and mostly doing small apartment buildings and flats. He died in 1908 at the height of his productivity.

The façade shows the attention to detail with the rusticated limestone and bands of smooth stone at each level. At the top the cornice has a raised molding with a dentil detail below all in limestone. The current owner has lived here for 17 years and one of the first major jobs was replacing the front porch that was in severe disrepair. In keeping with the original design the spindles are straight and the eave is detailed with a band of dentils.

The original front door is oak with beveled glass on the side lights. The foyer has new doors and mailboxes and flooring. As you enter the first floor unit step into a reception hall which opens into the original living room that now functions as the dining room. This room opens into the current living room through a wide opening which replaced a smaller arched passage.

This new living room extends across the width of the building with two angled windows to capture more light along one wall. On the back wall an arched area once held the built-in china hutch which was removed years ago by the previous owner and replaced with a book shelf. At the other end of the room a small bedroom was made part of the living room by removing the wall and adding two decorative columns. This makes the whole room much larger and more open. All the oak floors are original and many moldings are original or replicas of the originals.

The hallway to the back has maple flooring. There are two bedrooms off this hallway and two bathrooms, one is a powder room that was changed from a kitchen pantry. Along this hallway is a space that once held a small china hutch. It has been replaced with cabinets and Corian counter top and a cabinet with leaded glass doors.

If you can imagine the original kitchen, the sink was on the wall facing the pantry with no cabinets above, a small pull chain light, and metal lower cabinets. A kitchen in 1908 had few amenities and little storage because of the pantry. The refrigerator and stove were along the outside wall. Now the kitchen has a corner sink and beautiful maple cabinets arranged along these two walls. In the center is a butcher block island with storage below. The room has been expanded to include the back porch by the addition of insulation and the removal of the old back door and window. This brings more light into the kitchen and creates a feeling of spaciousness.

The kitchen leads to the back staircase and to the garden and terrace. In this hallway are paintings that are based on photographs of gardens in Italy, a favorite vacation spot for the current owner. The artist was Betty Sitbon who also did the paintings on the façade of Andies Restaurant on Clark Street. The garden is the design of the owner who has a small business, City Spaces, specializing in landscape design.

Please join us for refreshments in this urban oasis garden of the backyard!