LANDMARK DESIGNATION REPORT Bryn Mawr - Belle Shore Apart01ent Hotels At 5550 N. Kenmore Avenue and 1062 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue Preliminary Landmark recommendation approved by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, July 11, 2002 CITY OF CHICAGO Richard M. Daley, Mayor Department of Planning and Development Alicia Mazur Berg, Commissioner J GARAGE PARK lN-G ot 07 1101 >­ <{ 3: 0 <{ 0 a: C Bryn Mawr m •t-------1• z t::::=J II I n Above: Located caticomered from each other in the 1000 block of west Bryn Mawr Avenue, are the Bryu Mawr and the Belle Shore Apartment Hotels. Cover: Bottom, looking east, the Bryn Mawr Hotel (upper right) at 5550 N. Kenmore Avenue and the Belle Shore Hotel (upper left) at 1062 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue as seen from the El station to the west, c. 1930s. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks, whose nine members are appointed by the Mayor, was established in 1968 by city ordinance. It is responsible for recommending to the City Council that individual buildings, sites, objects, or entire districts be designated as Chicago Landmarks, which protects them by law. The Commission is staffed by the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, 33 N. LaSalle St., Room 1600, Chicago, IL 60602; (312-744-3200) phone; (312- 744-2958) TTY; (312-744-9140) fax; web site, http://www.cityofchicago.org/landmarks. This Preliminary Summary of Information is subject to possible revision and amendment during the designation proceedings. Only language contained within the designation ordinance adopted by the City Council should be regarded as final. PRELIMINARY SUMMARY OF INFORMATION SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSION ON CHICAGO LANDMARKS IN JULY 2002 BRYN MAWR-BELLE SHORE APARTMENT HOTELS Bryn Mawr 5550 N. Kenmore Avenue ARCHITECTS: Alexander L. Levy (1872-19?) & William}. Klein, built 1927-28 Belle Shore 1062 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue ARCHITECTS: Nathaniel Koenigsberg & Leon H. Weisfeld (1889-1940), built 1928-29 The stately 12-story Bryn Mawr Apartment Hotel and the slightly younger 8-story Belle Shore Apartment Hotel stand caticornered across the 1000 block of West Bryn Mawr A venue, like two sisters clad in elaborate terra cotta dresses. Their stylized facades and high-rise scale epitomize the rapid growth and expansion of Chicago in the 1920s and the commercial development of Bryn Mawr A venue and the Edgewater community. The Bryn Mawr, built from 1927 to 1928 in a Late Gothic Revival style using gleaming white terra cotta, brick, and reinforced concrete, was designed by the architectural firm of Levy & Klein. The Belle Shore, built from 1928 to 1929 in an Art Deco style using rich green and cream terra cotta and brick, was designed by the firm of Koenigsberg & Weisfeld. Both were built for the growing population of single working men and women and young couples in Chicago, and both were considered "modern" in their use of space, where smaller floor plans emphasized efficiency and featured "k.1tc h enettes " an d ".m-t h e-d oor " or "Murp h y "be d s. A rc h.1tectura 1" sisters,. " t h e Bryn Mawr and Belle Shore have remained apartment hotels since their construction and their style still evokes the era's enthusiasm for elaborate terra cotta designs. -1- The Bryn Mawr and the Belle Shore Apartment Hotels are located on the 1000 .... ., , . '" block of Bryn Mawr Avenue where they • • anchor the commercial district. Left, historic "" t, !! • photograph taken from the el tracks to the west, c. 1930. Below, 2002. The stylized facades and high-rise scale epitomize the rapid growth of Chicago in the 1920s and the commercial development of Bryn Mawr Avenue and the Edgewater community. Below, a map showing the location of the Bryn Mawr and the Belle Shore Apartment Hotels. ___. 0 3rO \· : ::E 0 z < 1&.1 J 0 GARAGE ¥ : a: CD P·ARI< UHi i r [ . :z a -~ North r Q -L • .... I •~ >- "1---r---1 ct 'I;;;::;;;;;;;;;:;<..L----1 ~ ~ L.---1 rnJ ~ a: . C Bryn Mawr !D z t=:=:J Ill n -2- HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF BRYN MAWR A VENUE The Edgewater community is located along Lake Michigan on Chicago's far North Side, approximately seven miles from the Loop. It was founded in 1884 when John Lewis Cochran, a tobacco salesman from Philadelphia, purchased 200 acres of land in the area. He subdivided it in 1885 and built the first homes and commercial buildings in 1886. The 76-acre parcel between Bryn Mawr and Foster was aimed at residential development, with Bryn Mawr A venue as the commercial center. The Bryn Mawr Apartment Hotel is on land that is part of this original subdivision; the Belle Shore Apartment Hotel is on land that Cochran added to his subdivision in 1887. In large part, Cochran was successful in promoting his community because he was able to get transit lines to it after Edgewater was annexed to Chicago in 1889. In 1892, he incorporated a transportation company that had electric trolleys running from Edgewater to Diversey A venue, at which point one could change to a streetcar to downtown. At the same time, Cochran worked with the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway (CM&SP), a ground level steam train, to open stations at Bryn Mawr, Berwyn, and Grand (Granville) avenues. As the population of Edgewater grew, Cochran expanded his development north of Bryn Mawr to Thorndale, then north to Devon, and then west to Glenwood in 1890. In 1893, he became involved in the organization of the Northwestern Elevated railroad, which eventually replaced the ground level trains with the "el" when the link from Wilson to Howard was completed. In 1908 the el ran along the old right-of-way used earlier by the CM&SP, stopping at Bryn Mawr A venue. This rail service provided easy access to the Loop, and Edgewater changed from a community of single-family homes into a neighborhood with apartments and hotels. First, the luxurious Manor House Apartments (1908) were built at 1025 W. Bryn Mawr. Later, other luxury apartments were built along the north-south streets of Sheridan, Kenmore, and Winthrop. In 1915, the lavish Edgewater Beach Hotel (demolished) was built on Sheridan Road, with an annex added in 1923. In 1927, the 307-unit Edgewater Beach Apartment building was constructed to accommodate the same wealthy clientele as the adjacent hotel. Changes in Chicago's zoning ordinance in 1923 influenced the character of Bryn Mawr A venue by designating much of the surrounding residential area as an apartment district and Bryn Mawr A venue itself a commercial corridor. The result was to reinforce the existing mix of residence and commercial space and, in the building boom of the 1920s, introduce the high-rise (seven stories and higher) apartment hotel. -3- The 8-story Belle Shore Oeft) was built from 1928 to 1929 in an Art Deco style by the firm of Koenigsberg & Weisfeld. Clad in rich green and cream terra cotta and brick, the building features Egyptian-like Art Deco designs. Products of the 1920s building boom in Chicago, the two buildings were designed for single working men and women and young couples, a function they still serve today. The 12-story Bryn Mawr Oeft) was built from 1927 to 1928, designed in a Late Gothic Revival style by the architectural firm of Levy & Klein. The building is dressed in white terra cotta with pointed-arch Gothic designs, giving it a regal appearance. -4- In 1927, developers Vincent Marzano and Alexander L. Levy began construction of the 12-story Bryn Mawr Apartment Hotel at the southwest corner of Bryn Mawr and Kenmore avenues, at a cost of $1,675,000. Located just west of the Manor House Apartments, the building's main entrance and lobby is located on Kenmore, which permitted the builders to maximize commercial space on the Bryn Mawr side. This placement also engaged building residents in the more exclusively residential landscape of Kenmore A venue. Shortly after the Bryn Mawr Apartment Hotel opened, construction began on the 8- story Belle Shore Apartment Hotel across the street. Erected on a site occupied since 1905 by a three-story six-flat building, the Belle Shore was developed by Austrian-born Max Malter, who had previously operated a laundry cleaning company and also ran a furrier business. He named the striking Art Deco building after his spouse, Belle, who worked as vice-president of Malter Brothers, Inc., furriers located at 4751 Sheridan. Unlike the previous luxury apartments, the Bryn Mawr and the Belle Shore Apartment Hotels were built for the growing population of single working men and women and young couples in Chicago. Both were considered "modern" in their use of space, where smaller floor plans emphasized efficiency, sparking innovations in hotel design. The dining room became an alcove connected to a "kitchenette," generally built in another alcove. The dining alcove itself may have had a folding wall table to allow it to be used for other purposes. The standard bedroom was replaced by an "in­ the-door" or "Murphy" bed, designed to fold up into a closet to allow other uses for the space during the day. In juxtaposition to the interior economies of compressed floor plans and kitchenette space, the exteriors of the apartment hotels of the 1920s presented an elaborate and sometimes flamboyant facade. Polychromatic brick and terra cotta ornamentation allowed architects to design elaborate quoins, cornices, entablatures, pilasters, and columns. Architectural historian Daniel Bluestone describes the boom in apartment hotels in the context of Chicago's urban growth: Rather than aiming to simply fit their buildings into older neighborhoods, the apartment hotel architects of the 1920s designed compelling monuments to modern living.