Newsletters 1980
Volume 2, Number 1 February, 1980
POWHATAN, RANNEY, GERICK GET CORNELL AWARDS
For the Society's annual meeting and dinner on January 19, Thelma Dahlberg and Betty Davey created some entertaining, amusing (and humbling) historical quizzes, members were brought up to date on the status of the headquarters building renovation project, the new officers and committee chairmen were introduced,'and--highlight of the evening!--this year's Paul Cornell Awards were announced. Here they are:
e TO THE POWHATAN COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION, "for the sensitive return to the spirit of Art Deco in the renovation of this classic apartment build ing [4950 Chicago Beach Drive], re-using old fixtures and restoring old features wherever possible."
Meet our new officers: President--Clyde Watkins
A native Hyde Parker, he was one of the founders of the Hyde Park Historical Society. Until recently director of development for the University, he is now with the public relations firm of Charles Feldstein and Co.
Vice-President--John McDermott. He has lived here for 20 years, is editor and publisher of the Chicago Reporter, heads the National Catholic Council for Interracial Justice
Secretary--Margaret (Mrs. Lloyd) Fallers. A faculty child, she grew up in Hyde Park, later became a fac ulty wife, Lab School teacher, U High Principal. She now heads the University's affirmative action program.
Treasurer--Gary Husted. A com munity resident for 3 1/2 yrs., he owns the elegant old Roberts house in Kenwood. He is an accountant
e TO VICTORIA POST RANNEY, "for
organizing and directing the Com mittee to Save the Rosenwald House, thereby contributing significantly to community awareness of the con tinuing importance of the historic preservation effort."
e TO JOSHUA GERICK, "for construc ting a scale model of the Rosenwald House which received commendation in a city-wide competition of high
school history projects and was dis played at the Ancona School Kenwood House Tour and the 57th St. Art Fair." Joshua has just left Kenwood Academy for the Parsons School of Design in New York.
(Categories and rules for the Paul Cornell Awards were printed in our last Newsletter.)□
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!
IT'S TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBER
SHIP in the HPHS--still only $5.00 per family per year. Send your check, drawn to the Hyde Park Historical Society, to Gerhardt Laves 5553
Kenwood Ave., Chicago, IL 60637.
Early Days at the Lab School and U High
"W.e
She sits relaxed in a living room chair--relaxed Carroll Russell style, that is, which means that her back is straight and her feet are on the floor; dancers don't slump. A trim, small woman with fluffy short hair that is still more blonde than gray, her eyes sparkle as we talk about the Hyde Park she knew as a child.
Born Carroll Adelaide Mason, she lived in the house at 5715 Woodlawn (now Hillel House) which Howard Van Doren Shaw built for her tamily, and kept her pony in a barn at the south east corner of 57th and Woodlawn, (now the site of Meadville-Lombard Theological Seminary).
She had entered kindergarten at the University of Chicago Elementary School in 1904, the year that pioneer of progressive education opened. "I get very excited when I remember it," she says. "We had no strict rules and were as free as birds, yet we were self-disciplined and orderly... We didn't study much spelling or much history but we studied electricity and made a dy namo... There were always chairs in the back of the room for parents
or visiting pedagogues."
In attendance at U High after its merger with the Chicago Manual Training School, she remembers how "we sewed and we cooked--boys and girls both--and hammered and sawed things to give to our mamas for Christmas. I still have some of them."
Next: enrollment in the University of Chicago College and in due course a love affair. Paul (Pete) Russell was a Big Man on Campus--
a star athlete (captain of the foot ball team in 1916), and a Deke. After graduation, he went to work for the Harris Bank and Carroll got a clerical job until "my Peter" saved enough for them to marry.
Harold Swift [see item on p. 7], a fellow Deke but seven years Pete's senior, was already a University trustee. "I remember Harold urging Pete to join the Baptist Church so that he too could be a trustee," Carroll says. "By the 1930's, though, when Pete did become a trustee, one didn't have to be a Baptist."
Harold was Chairman of the Board when Robert M. Hutchins became President of the University. Like William Rainey Harper, Hutchins (in Car roll's opinion) was "a daring, in dependent and creative thinker, especially good at cutting red tape
A very warm friendship developed be tween him and the Russells, and both joined the first Great Books group Hutchins and Mortimer Adler led.
Until Pete's death in the early 1950's, the Russells lived at 49th and Greenwood. Their children went to the Lab School and some attended
S.P.I.A. RECORDS FOUND
In the last issue of the News letter we asked help in locating the records of the South Park Improve ment Association. Thanks to Margaret Walters we now have two photographs
c. 1905, a copy of the 1909 amended by-laws and a number of record books. Alan Barlow also contributed a 1951
list of members and their addresses.□
OUR RESTORATION FUND CONTINUES TO GROW
The goal, remember, was $45,000. We recently received $10,000 from the Field Foundation; earlier, $2500 from the Joyce Founda tion and $250 from Draper and Kramer. Generous individuals con tributed $4625 more. But the largest single arnount--$10,500--came from the Charter Members, each of whom gave $100, (in their own names or to memorialize loved ones); we list them below. We also say a warm "thank you" to all and happily announce that we are within $17,125 of reaching our goal. Renovation of our building at 5529 Lake Park Avenue should be underway by Spring.
Beatrice R. Adams Horace J. Adams Polly Adams
Mr. Adrian Alexander
Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Anderson Anderson Ace Hardware
The Douglas Anderson Family Robert Ashenhurst
W. James Atkins
Roland and Helen Bailey Muriel Beadle
Linda Diann Beeler
Mr. and Mrs. John A. Benade
Mr. and Mrs. Don Topkin Blackiston Robert J. and Alta Blakely
Jean Block
Walter and Natalie Blum
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Boodell, Jr. Mrs. Devereux Bowly
Devereux Bowly, Jr. Jesse and Carol Bradford
Congregation Isaiah Israel Mr. and Mrs. Arthur L. Conn Michael and Kathleen Conzen Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Cornell
Mr. and Mrs. William F. Crawford Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Custer Albert and Thelma Dahlberg Kenneth and Marcia Dam
John and Betty Davey Josephine H. Davis Leon and Marian Despres Erl and Mildred Dordal
Anne C. and Allison Dunham Bernard E. Epton
Dr. and Mrs. A. Faller Martha and Stanton Friedberg William Gastineau
Mr. and Mrs. Paul G. Gebhard Louis and Julius Gerstein Ethel and Julian Goldsmith Mrs. Howard Goodman
Harry and Jean Gottlieb
Mr. and Mrs. Chauncy D. Harris Nadine Hild and Richard Hild Mrs. Ruth Horwich
Lester C. and Jean S. Hunt Gary E. Husted
The Hyde Park Cooperative Society The Hyde Park Herald
The Hyde Park Kiwanis Club The Hyde Park YMCA Center Mrs. Ralph C. James
Mr. and Mrs. D. Gale Johnson Mrs. Coleman J. Kelly Winston and Margaret Kennedy Kennedy, Ryan, Monigal and
Associates, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Maynard C. Krueger William and Norma Kruskal
Ross Lathrop
Mr. and Mrs. Gerhardt Laves Noble Wishard Lee
Kate and Edward Levi Mrs. Rose Chin Lipson
Philip R. and Dianne C. Luhmann Janet and David Midgley
Mrs. C. Phillip Miller Hans W. Morsbach
Mr. and Mrs. Victor Obenhaus Mr. and Mrs. Richard Orlikoff Dr. and Mrs. Walter L. Palmer Clarence Edward Parmenter and
Jane Parmenter Wilson
Thomas, Georgene and Gigi Pavelec Mrs. Howard R. Peterson
Robert, Rita and Kathleen Picken Louis B. Potter
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Ratcliffe George Edwin Richards and
Grace Buckle Richards
Dr. and Mrs. Henry T. Ricketts Dorothy Ringer
Jack L. Ringer
Mr. and Mrs. C. Roothaan Harriet W. Rylaarsdam
MORE CHARTER MEMBERS
Alice K. Schneider
Frank and Karen Schneider Elena Gould Schorr
Dr. and Mrs. J. Shanley-Brown Mr. and Mrs. Roger D. Shaw Richardson Spofford
Francis and Lorna Straus Mr. and Mrs. H. Strauss
Frances T. and King C. Stutzman Mrs. Gustavus F. Swift
Stephen and Marieanne Thomas William A. Thomas
L. Kristofer Thomsen Richard B. Truitt Patricia D. Walsh Marjorie Wasserman
Clyde and Cheryl Watkins George and Catherine Watkins Marvin H. Watkins
Mary-Ann Wayne
Mr. and Mrs. Warner Wick Milton W. Wright
Times Art Column, Nov. 15, 1979:
Chicago's latest National Histor ic Landmark is St. Thomas the Apostle Church and Convent, 5472 Kimbark Ave. When it was completed in 1925, it was the first American modern-style Cath olic structure.
Its architect, Francis Barry Byrne, was the only apprentice mentioned by name in Frank Lloyd Wright's An Auto biography. "This boy stayed four years and turned out better than many who had many years the start of him in ev ery way."....
Alfonso Ianelli, who designed ab stract sculpture for Wright's Midway Gardens, worked closely with Byrne on terracotta decorations for the building. Inside, Alfeo Faggi created distinguished Stations of the Cross and a Pieta. D
In archival materials from one of the United Church of Hyde Park's predecessor churches, Carol Bradford found these minutes of the Friday Evening Club (men's literary society), February 18, 1895:
The literary program consisted solely of a debate on the ques tion "Resolved that the extension of the right of suffrage to wo men would be advantageous and expedient." Mr. Rugg opened on the affirmative and the secretary in the negative. Miss Helen Russ followed on the affirmative, but the secretary had been unable
to find any lady to assist him on the negative. A pathetic appeal to the ladies present failed to touch their sympathies and the discussion was thrown open to the house. The members of the club rallied nobly to the support of the secretary. Some of their re marks stirred the righteous indignation of the ladies and from that time on the discussion was quite animated. The President was unable to decide the question and had sufficient gallantry to re frain from putting it to a vote.
The club then adjourned and the members and guests remained to indulge in social intercourse and crown the animosities of debate in some of Mrs. Bender's hot chocolate.
J.C. Russ, Secretary
Historic Sites Council Meets in Hyde Park
By Lesley Bloch
The gracious old Windermere was the perfect spot for December's pub lic meeting of the Illinois Histor ic Sites Advisory Council.
There, for two days and a night, members of the Council listened to presentations, viewed carefully cho sen slides and discussed the merits nets and transports money to its balcony cashiers in baskets swung on pulleys. It is hoped that Na tional Landmark designation will prevent demolition of the building and its replacement by the State
Office Building proposed for the North Loop Redevelopment Project.□
of 43 properties in Chicago and elsewhere in the State. While own
ers, lawyers and interested others awaited the final vote, specialists in the history of nails, woods, saws and Illinois testified as expert witnesses to the worthiness of the nominations.
At the morning session I attend ed, there were about 20 people in the audience. Heated discussion centered on the nomination to the National Register by Devereux Bowly (wearing his Landmarks Preservation Council hat) of the Brooks Building at Jackson and Franklin.
The presence of a court reporter and a request by the building's law yer that action be deferred predict ed a continued fight for the life of the Brooks Building. Since National Landmark status means that proposed changes in the property are subject to Federal review--a situation which may work to the disadvantage of the owner--the owner of the Brooks Build ing wanted time to find an architectural historian who would dis credit the building. But the re quest for a delay was denied and the nomination was approved.
So too was the nomination of the Clark and Barlow Hardware Store, which has been located at 123 w.
Lake St. for the past 85 years. In days gone by, it was famous for its showcase windows on the second floor, their displays directed to the passing parade of El riders.Clark and Barlow still dispenses its wares from grand old wood cabinets
NEW OFFICERS
with the legal firm of Hubachek, Kelly, Rauch & Kirby.
Of new chairmen of standing committees, two in particular should be mentioned:
Membership--Gerhardt Laves. It is his home address--5553 Kenwood- that now appears as the return ad dress on this Newsletter and it is to him that your dues should be sent. Born and raised in Hyde Park, he was a civilian employee of the police department until retirement.
Program--Tom Pavelec. A Continental Can Co. research technician specializing in plastics, he has lived in East Hyde Park for 3 1/2 yrs. and is active in St. Thomas parish.
Their outgoing counterparts- Jean Block, Devereux Bowly, Jr., Christine O'Neill, Richardson Spof ford, Betty Davey and Thelma Dahl berg deserve sustained applause
for their performance in office.□
IN 1905, THE S.P.C.A. MUST HAVE COMMENDED THE S.P.I.A.
By Devereux Bowly, Jr.
The Society has installed a gran ite horse trough, dating from about 1905, on the parkway at 1301 E. 57th St. {near Kimbark).
The trough, which has the letters
Still the best buy in town: Membership in the Hyde Park Historical Society--only $5.00 er year, which covers all members o a household.
Send your $5.00 check NOW, drawn to the Hyde Park Historical Society, to Gerhardt Laves, 5553 Kenwood Ave., Chicago 60637.o
SPIA carved in it, was originally in stalled on 57th St. a little east of its present location by the South Park Improvement Association, to serve the many horses in the area.
Last fall, Mrs. E. Hector Coates
The renovation of the Blackstone Branch Library proceeds more or less on schedule.
spotted the t ough_b hin a building The repairs and additions that n 57th St., ide tified it, and brought will make it function better--the i to he atte tion of the Hyde Park tuckpointing, the re-set masonry,
Historical Society. the new furnace, the air-condition-
The owners of the building, long time neighborhood realtors Margaret and Winston Kennedy, donated it to us. We cleaned it and installed it on a new concrete base in front of Staver Booksellers, itself a Hyde Park insti
tution.□
... from p.2 CARROLL RUSSELL
U High and the University. Carroll herself, now a North Sider, has wide interests and many talents. A dancer and actress of near-professional caliber, she was an enthusiastic participant in the Revels and the Faculty Wives shows. She has been a member of University visiting com mittees and many off-campus cultural and civic organizations.
When she had to give up dancing a couple of years ago and sought another mode of personal expression, she decided to attempt a biographi cal account of Harper and Hutchins. Friends urged her to make it a mem
oir of her own long association with the University and its people. She has found it difficult to write in the first person, however, and she still wants to talk with anyone who has anecdotes of Harper or Hutchins to share. Call her at MO 4-6271.D
ing throughout, the new fire alarm and smoke detector system, the new stage lights and other equipment in the auditorium--are in place or soon will be.
Now the focus has shifted to the ornamental details--to restoring the original beauty of the fabric. Items:
► The Tiffany glass dome {the on ly one in the library system outside the downtown Cultural Center) has been cleaned and backlighted.
► A professional marble cutter has been hired to clean all the in terior marble.
► An expert wood refinisher is undertaking the restoration and re waxing or varnishing of the mahog any wainscoting and library stacks.
► In the Circulation room, the handsome old drinking fountain has been reactivated. The solid mahog any Circulation desk has been dis mantled and the wood saved to use in repairing the wainscoting in the Periodical room.
► The mezzanine, believe it or not, is almost all bronze. {Go see
... to p.8
FROM THE WORLD"S FAIR TO URBAN
RENEWAL: what a nostalgia trip!
By Gladys Finn
"Hyde Park History on Show," held at Hyde Park Federal Savings on Sunday Nov. 11, brought such an outpouring of memorabilia that 3 to
5 p.m. was long enough only to glimpse the collection and leave a longing to see or read more. A sampling:
♦ A copy of the Nov. 1, 1893, Daily Inter-Ocean, headlining "The Story of The Midway Plaisance"; tinted lithographs of the World's Colwnbian Exposition; a colored photo of the 57th St. Art Colony and paintings of the same by Emil Armin and Marcella Lewin.
♦ A collection of photographs of the first-generation Swift family, recording reunions, graduations, an niversary parties, and such, which were collected by the youngest of Gustavus Swift's sons, Harold. In an 1899 family group, Harold him self is seen as an adolescent.
♦ A large and fascinating display of 19th and 20th century postcards of the community and the city; the Lab School Correlator of 1928 (when Janet Bowly and Edward Levi were in the graduating class); the Harvard School Review of May 1906 and an alumni re cord of 1880-1905; a handsome photo of the old, and now vanished, Winder mere West Hotel (first in the United States to have telephones in every room) alongside a photo of the Win dermere East ground-breaking.
♦ Exhibits by St. Thomas the A postle Church, by St. Paul and the Re· deemer and by the United Church of Hyde Park. The latter showed regis ters from the Hyde Park Presbyteri- an Church (founded 1860), the Hyde Park Congregational (1885) and the Hyde Park Methodist (1889), all now merged into the United Church.
An old Methodist ledger record ing a survey of neighborhood church preferences put the Presbyterians in the lead. One family responded to the poll, however, by saying that their preference was "nobody's bus iness," and the pollster dutifully reported the comment verbatim.
♦ A scrapbook documenting Hyde Park-Kenwood urban renewal from its inception; the Feb.25,1959,Hyde Park Herald headlining "Clearance Sched ule Imminent" and in lesser type, "750 Families Hit"; a collection of color slides recording decline and fall and rebuilding; sketches by Vi Fogle Uretz and Muriel Van Sweringin of the rows of doors that became the fencing for demolition areas.
For long-time community residents, the afternoon was an emotional as well as an historical event. One vet eran urban renewal activist was over heard to say, "This stuff makes me absolutely teary-eyed."
Among the exhibitors were these donors of historic materials: the Albert Dahlbergs, Alan and Jane Bar low, Bob and Molly Hauck, Eleanor Swift, Ted Anderson, Clyde Watkins, Alta Blakely, the Charles Borsts, Mrs. Lee B. Carrel, Howard Jackson, Herbert Ehrfurth, John McReynolds, Elizabeth Woellner, Anna Gwin Pick ens, Rosalia Isaacs, and Joe Marlin.
Eventually, these donations will be kept at our headquarters build ing. For now, they are stored else where. Thanks to all! D
Mrs. Miller Honored
Florence (Mrs. C. Phillip) Miller has received one of only 24 awards given nationally by the Interior Department's Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, this for her work on behalf of restoration efforts in Historic Pullman. Mrs. Miller, a long-time Hyde Parker, is a grand
daughter of George M. Pullman.□
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BLACKSTONE LIBRARY IS REGAINING ITS ORIGINAL BEAUTY
from p.6
for yourself.) It was cleaned by hand, a job that took over three weeks. Now, in the words of Librar ian Emma Kemp, "It looks gorgeous."
► Above the mezzanine, extensive water damage to the plaster (from a formerly leaking roof) has been re paired and awaits the delivery of a casting from a section of the orig inal ceiling molding.
The Oliver D. Grover murals in the Rotunda may be restored later. The mosaic floor below them has been well looked after and is in fine condition. When the renovation is complete, this floor will be the only uncarpeted area in the library, so users will continue to enjoy its beauty.
Mrs. Timothy Blackstone, who gave the building to the city's library system in 1904, would be pleased by the loving care that is being given
to the renewal of this memorial to her husband.□
NEXT ISSUE: A report on the ren ovation of the Children's Wing.
--from notes by Irma Strauss
This Newsletter is published quarterly by the Hyde Park Histor ical Society.
Muriel Beadle, Editor Corinne Seither, Typing
Michael Conzen, Graphics
Volume 2, Number 2 May, 1980
We Publicized Hyde Park and Made Money, Too
By Carol Bradford
The Hyde Park Historical Society was one of over 35 community groups represented at the CITY HOUSE Home Improvement Fair at Navy Pier on March 21, 22, and 23. Our booth featured photographs of historic Hyde Park homes and a grid map of the neighborhood. A variety of merchandise was on sale, including several books on Hyde Park and Chicago houses and architecture, note cards, T-shirts, and buttons. A flyer describing the Society and its
activities was available, and new members were solicited. Gross sales
Art Fair Founder Will
Speak at May Meeting
It's been 32 years since Mary Louise Womer organized the first 57th St. Art Fair, which returns again this year on June 7-8.
Mrs. Womer, now a resident of Valparaiso, Ind., is returning to Hyde Park, too--on Sunday, May 11, when she will share her recollec tions of Art Fair beginnings with members and friends of the Hyde Park Historical Society.
Did you know, for example, that the first 57th St. Art Fair (1948)
--which was also the first outdoor art fair in Chicago--occurred in Oc tober? That 50 artists exhibited?
That, as a group, they sold $500 worth of art and were astonished and thrilled to have done so well?
Since May 11 is Mother's Day and many of you will be dining out at noon, we've scheduled our meeting and program for 3 PM. The place, most appropriately, is the Hyde Park Art Center, 5236 s. Blackstone.
COME! Bring friends!
at the booth for the three days ex ceeded $375.
The purpose of CITY HOUSE, now in its second year, is to stimulate interest in and encourage the main tenance and restoration of the older homes (pre-1940) which make up the majority of Chicago's housing stock. The commercial exhibits at the Fair as well as the programs concentra ted on these purposes.
CITY HOUSE 1980 was a huge suc cess; about 40,000 people attended. Two Hyde Parkers were among those who spoke on relevant topics in the auditorium. Eliza Davey read Jean Block's paper on how to research the history of your home, and Alma Lach spoke on planning a workable kitchen in any kind of space.
* * *
As chairman of the CITY HOUSE Booth Committee for the HPHS, I want to thank all the Society members who worked to make our participa tion enjoyable and successful. Other
committee members were Emma Kemp, who set up the display; Lesley
... to page 2
Headquarters Renovation May Be Done by Fall
NOTE: May 11-18 is National Histor ic Preservation Week. This article is therefore especially apropos.
By Devereux Bowly, Jr.
This spring will see the start of renovation of the 1893 cable car station at 5529 Lake Park Ave., our future headquarters. We purchased the building in 1978 but postponed renovation until funds were raised to do most of the work.
The Hyde Park Historical Society will act as its own general contrac tor. We have engaged the Roy Ander son Company to clean and tuckpoint the exterior, repair interior and exterior foundation walls, and build a new chimney at the location of
the original one.
Robert Wolfe has been chosen to do the carpentry work, which is at least half the total job. A plumber has also been se ected and other tradesmen are being contacted. The major sequences of the work will be:
1) demolition of unusable interior components; 2) masonry repair; 3) rough carpentry;4)plurnbing;5)heat ing; 6) finished carpentry; and 7) furnishing.
Work is expected to be done by October, if our continuing fund raising efforts are successful. We are already gathering furnishings.
IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO DONATE a
rolltop desk, wooden file cabinet, or old office chairs, call Dev Bow ly at 667-2244.
HYDE PARK HOUSE TOUR
The Ancona Montessori School sponsors its second annual house tour on Sunday, May 18. Ten Hyde Park houses will be open to vis itors. Costs: $10. ($5 to senior citizens, students with ID, and children over eight. No children under eight will be admitted un less carried.) Get tickets in advance at the school, or at the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club on May 18 between 1 and 5 PM.
This is one of many programs, tours, lectures, seminars and ex hibits scheduled between May 11 and May 18. For a complete list, call or write Greater Chicago Preservation Week Committee, 407
s. Dearborn, Suite 1705, Chicago
60607. Phone: 922-1742.
CITY HOUSE ... from page 1
Bloch, who assembled the photos; Phyllis Levin, in charge of the merchandising; and Jo Davis, who contacted volunteer workers. My special thanks to all of them.
In addition, the following mem bers of the Society worked at our booth: Gary Husted, Clyde Watkins,
CITY HOUSE was also of special val ue to this Newsletter. In addition to this article, you will find oth ers from the same source on pages 4, 5, 6 and 8.
Troy Baresel, Alta Blakely, John McDermott, Berenece Boehm, Paul and Dorothy Johnson, Marie Anne Thomas, Ann Boldenweck, Jesse Brad ford, Sue Davis, Michael and Kath leen Conzen, Bertha Kokurna, Dev Bowly, Betty Davey, Carol and Bert Benade, Ann Stevens, Adrian Alex ander, and Ken Levin.
Growing Up in Hyde Park Before World War I
"The Lake Was Our Constant Companion"
NOTE: Relative newcomers to Hyde Park may find it hard to believe that our popular former alderman wasn't always as awesomely erudite and politically sophisticated as he is today. But in fact, and as this memoir attests, Len Despres was once a child.
By Leon Despres
We were the first tenants in the beautiful new apartment build ing at 5488 Everett Avenue, built in 1911. When my parents took me at age 3 to inspect our new home,
I was disturbed at the prospect
of living in bare rooms with noth ing but carpenters' sawhorses in them. Somehow, though, while I was stowed with my Aunt Jennie, the familiar furniture was moved
from 4127 Michigan, and my parents, sister and I began four glorious years on Everett Avenue.
The shores of the Lake, which had not yet been filled in, reached as far as the present-day alley be tween Everett and South Shore Dr.
East of our home was open space with a few cottonwoods and, near 55th, the fisherman's shack where Captain Stephenson and his family lived. Captain Stephenson made his living from fish, which were still in good supply. In winter, he let his fellow captains beach their commercial fishing boats on the east side of Everett Avenue. The Lake was our constant companion.
All during the shipping season we heard the ore boats' ever-sounding fog horns, now replaced by radar.
For most of the day, the alley back of our building teemed with the movement and sounds of scissor grinders, umbrella menders, hurdy gurdies, German bands, peddlers, and horse-drawn wagons delivering groceries, milk, ice, coal, and de partment store purchases. The mail
came two or three times a day, de livered by Mr. Alexander Kemp.
A year or so after we moved in, East View Park opened, with only the apartment buildings on its west side. It was so attractive that on summer Sundays there was a guard at each sidewalk gate to block stran gers who wanted to use the East View Park beach. Proudly, I had the right to pass through because my aunt and uncle lived there and took me to their beach, where I learned to swim. They kept a canoe in the basement, which was portaged to
the beach.
Soon my parents enrolled me in Miss Thirza Riggs's kindergarten, and each morning a carriage driven by Mr. Brown came by, picking up children and transporting us to the Chicago Beach Hotel, at about 5050 East End Avenue. I have one of Miss Riggs's bills to my parents, which reads: "Kindergarten tuition (with carriage) for Sept. 24 to Oct. 18, 1912--$8.00."
In the fall of 1913, I entered the primer class of Elmwood School, a private enterprise operated by Miss Annie Fellows. Elmwood School boarders lived in an enormous white house at 5491 Cornell. But the day school was on the second floor at 1643 E. 53rd (where the IVI-IPO re cently concluded a successful elec toral campaign? I was taught to
... to page 5
THE HPHS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
thanks Michael Conzen for his contributions to the appearance of the Newsletter, and welcomes Cameron Poulter, who has taken over the setting of headlines and paste-up. Muriel Beadle continues as editor and Corinne Seither as typist. The Newslet ter is published quarterly.
Absent-Minded Dr. Egan Muddles a Prescription
PANES AND PLEASURES
From the 1916 Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Soci ety and via Jean Block, here's an anecdote about Dr. William B. Egan, the first great Kenwood landowner:
"Although by profession a phy sician, he was more given to real estate than to pills and potions. Once when prescribing for an old lady she asked him, 'How often am I to take this, Doctor?' The doc tor, who at the moment was think ing of his real estate, absently replied, 'Oh, a quarter dpwn. The balance canal time, one, two and three years'--the terms then much in vogue for land deals."
By Paul Johnson
Glass--bevelled, leaded, etched, in medieval rose and in late-Victor ian yellow--illuminated the darkened auditorium at Navy Pier and enchant ed hundreds of viewers at the CITY HOUSE exposition in March.
Displaying dozens of remarkable doors and windows, H. Weber Wilson drew on a lifetime of work in Arch itectural Ecology, leaving minds a glow with images--from the Middle
... to page 6
Sorry It Took So Long, Mrs. Dickey
NOTE: When Hyde Park celebrated its 50th Jubilee, a historical exhibit was created by Alice Manning Dickey. She also wrote the following editorial, which was published in the Hyde Park Herald. The date? September 14, 1939.
"Celebrating a community Jubilee turns one's thoughts back ward, and out of Hyde Park's intensive celebration has been born a vivid interest in our beginnings. Our Historical Exhibit ... is being displayed, through the fine and public-spirited cooper ation of the University of Chicago, in the Reynolds Club, Uni versity Avenue and 57th Street ... People have come forward with
... pictures of the first homes, the first church, the first bank, the first post office, the first school, the first store, with furniture of the period, music books, china, costumes, por traits, all of which should bring us a better understanding of the kind of people who were Hyde Park's ancestors, of the fine neighborly responsible life that was lived here and which be queathed to us a progressive growing community ....
"The spirit which has been aroused during this week of cel ebration and reminiscence we hope may result in the formation of a permanent Hyde Park Historical Society in which.......................................... our
knowledge of ... the first residents of Hyde Park, and of all who have come after to work for fuller opportunities and advantages for all its citizens, may be available to the generations which shall follow us. A Historical Society can take and preserve the picture of each phase of a community's life, commemorating its notable citizens and events ... building up a strong civic in terest and a relationship which should be like that of a big but close-knit family. May it come into permanent being."
Dick and Jane Will Like New Children's Wing
By Lesley Bloch Blackstone Library Renovation Nearing Completion Come summer, a spacious, shelf-lined, yellow-walled, air-conditioned
environment will greet the children of our community when they enter the newly refurbished Blackstone Branch Library.
Although only the deacon benches, display cases and the fine oak paneled ceiling remain from the Children's Wing as we have known it, the renovation has retained a feeling of respect for the architects and their conception of a public building.
AT CITY HOUSE, awards were given for noteworthy restoration or adap tive re-use. In the multi-unit build ing category, The Powhatan (4950 Chicago Beach Dr.) received a Merit Award. The HPHS made the nomination, having already given its Paul Cor nell Award to the same project.
The Children's Collection began in 1904 as a non-circulating one. It was located in what later be came the Periodicals Room. Within its first four years, however, a circulating collection and a read ing club came into being.
In 1939, the Children's Wing was added--thanks to the Public Works
DEPRES ... from page 3 Administration and Charles Hodgdon and Sons, architects. Until 1959,
read there, where others have just been taught to vote for Braun, Cur rie, Dobry and Washington.) Grades from primer to third were in the south room under Miss Ryan, while grades four to eight were in the north room under Miss Fellows.
In February, 1914, I transferred to the "Little Ray" school at 56th and Stony Island, a branch of Ray School now supplanted by Bret Harte. It was a four-room school, built for exhibition at the 1893 World's Fair. Since it was not equipped with buz zers, it gave me my first experi ence with the peals of a school bell. How I wished I might be allowed to ring the recess bell, but that nev er happened. The Little Ray gave
me something far more valuable--my first contact with black children as peers. The 1917 residential seg
regation pattern had not yet been im posed on Chicago, and black families who had settled on Lake Park Avenue sent children to public school.
In 1915 we moved to 5509 Hyde Park Boulevard. I missed Everett Avenue, especially the beautiful winter sun rises that streamed into our sunpar lor from the unobstructed horizon over my Lake.
this existed as a separate facil ity for children, with its own en trance, circulation system and li brary cards.
When the current renovation is finished, old programs such as the Buddy to Buddy Reading Program, Sto ry Hour and Children's Films will
be reactivated. Sharon Gunn, the new Children's Librarian, is in the process of rebuilding the collec tion for pre-schoolers, replacing well-worn favorites and stocking new titles.
Armed with books, plans for community outreach, a variety of pro grams and a modernized facility, Emma Kemp and her staff expect to revitalize the community's faith in the Blackstone Branch and make reading a habit for everyone.
FINALISTS in the Chicago Metro History Fair--a program encouraging high schoolers to do research on fam ily or community history--will be on display at the Public Library Cultural Center from May 14 to 18.
A HARD WAY TO MAKE $100
Betty Davey has been reading
T.W. Goodspeed's History of the Hyde Park Baptist Church.(1924) Here's how they raised some mon ey in 1882:
"Someone suggested we open an ice cream parlor on the lot [northeast corner of Lake Park and 53rd]... A large tent was leased for a month and Mrs.R.R. Donnelley, a member of this church and well known in Baptist circles, agreed to take charge of the enterprise. Every afternoon, excepting 'sun days, for a month, she, with the help of other ladies of the church, attended to this business. Some of the men looked after it evenings. Mrs. Donnelley turned over $100...as the net profits of this business."
Ages to Frank Lloyd Wright's "Mission Modern."
For some, the program was a trip in fantasy to what their own house could become. For others, it was a primary education, as Wilson noted that "jewels" are small circles of intense color; distinguished the rectangular "nee-classical" from the flowing and leafy Art Nouveau; differentiated between true stained glass and "silver-stained" glass; and explained the acid-etching pro cess.
For many, it was a first encoun ter with the neglected history of native American residential glass, from 1860 to 1930. Weber is an au thority on that topic and has writ ten Your Residential Stained Glass, A Practical Guide to Repair and Maintenance. For information about its cost and availability, write Mr. Wilson at 447 E. Catherine St., Chambersburg, PA 17201, or call Chicago's Landmarks Preservation Council at 744-3200.
Beware Synthetic Siding Materials on Old Frame Houses
By Bert Benade
Inasmuch as appreciation of old er styles of architecture is more and more reflected in higher real estate appraisals, it pays to know the effects of using modern syn thetic materials on outside walls.
The following notes are from in formation garnered at CITY HOUSE- much of it from a talk by John My ers of the U.S.Interior Dept., an architect with the Technical Pre servation Services.
Siding or sheathing has been a round a long time. Frame buildings normally used only wood covering and in only two ways: long narrow boards mounted either horizontally or vertically, or shingles over lapped in rows. The shapes of the boards and sringles were chosen to complement the architectural fea tures of Lhe building.
When considering what to do with a frame building more than 30 years old, there are two choices: restor ation or rehabilitation. Restora tion means replacing with exact du plication and no compromise; it is the difficult and expensive way to go. Rehabilitation means fixing up as best you can, keeping your aes thetic sensitivity alert. Without sensitivity you will likely lose some economic value. You will also sense the imbalances introduced by ill-considered changes, even if you can't pinpoint them.
Aluminum, vinyl or other syn thetic materials are often used as siding. These come in many differ ent forms, some trying to copy the
THE CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE FOUNDA
TION (phone 782-1776) offers occa sional Loop tours for children 6 to
12. The inspired title: "Put Your Arms Around a Building."
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE ...
NOTE: Robert Todd Lincoln was the eldest and only son of Abraham Lincoln who lived to adulthood. He was an important man in his own right: a successful Chicago lawyer (he was the "Lincoln" of Isham, Lincoln and Beale) and public servant (U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James) and a millionaire.
Even so, he watched his expenditures carefully--as the letter below makes clear. For permission to quote it, we are indebted to James T. Hickey of the Illinois State Historical Library in Springfield. The letter was dated Nov. 28, 1899, and was writ ten to H.O. Nourse, Superintendent of Chicago's Water Department.
*
My Dear Sir:
I think you know that I have been much annoyed by what I think is a great over-rating of the consumption of water at my house, No. 60 Lake Shore Drive. I have had the matter most care fully gone over. In August last, a leak in the supply pipe be tween the meter and the house was discovered and closed. Since then, although my house until recently has not been occupied, ex cept by a care-taker, my monthly bills indicate a consumption of
... about 100 barrels a day at 50 gallons a barrel. This, of course, is impossible.
This morning I had the plumber come again. He carefully saw that all the faucets in the house were closed and ... observed
the meter for fifteen or twenty minutes, during which time it reg istered no flow. He then, under my supervision, filled a bath tub with water. During this operation, the meter was going vigorously. When the tub was filled and the faucet closed, the meter stopped working. It had registered 47 cubic feet, or 352 1/2 gallons. I then measured the bath tub with a foot rule, and calculated that it contained 6 1/2 cubic feet, or 48 3/4 gallons of water. I then
had the water dipped out ... and it measured in this way 48 gallons. This seems to show clearly that the meter is registering about seven times the amount of water passing through it, and its record cer tainly shows that it has been doing the same good work, at least since August.
I will be obliged if you will send an expert to my house, say tomorrow morning at half past eight, ... to repeat the same ex periment I had made this morning. If a similar result is reached,
I suppose that a new meter should be put in, and that I should be given a rebate on my recent bills....
Yours very truly, ROBERT T. LINCOLN
SYNTHETIC SIDINGS MERELY POSTPONE FINAL DAY OF RECKONING
look of wood. They all have draw backs when applied to frame houses. None should be used to cover weak nesses and bad spots in an existing wall, because the basic problems- though temporarily hidden--remain.
Vinyl sidings get very brittle in cold weather and break easily. Aluminum sidings dent easily and soon look banged up. None of the synthetics are cost-effective in insulation value. If you use a va por barrier just inside the new covering, humidity will wreck the interior walls and allow fungus to grow and rot to develop. The much touted new venting techniques are not effective, especially during the winter.
Guarantees should be gone over with a fine-tooth comb. Who honors them, the dealer or the maker?
Volume 2, Number 3 August, 1980
New Publication Debuts
By Lee H. Morgan
Hyde Park History No. 1, an 84- age paperb und volume of essays and excerpts·from primary source materials, made its_debut at he_57th St. Art Fair in June. It is the work of a HPHS committee consisting of Michael Conzen (chairman), Kathleen Conzen, Rory Shan ey- rown, and Albert Tannler. Its objective--and that of other public ti ns planned for the future--is "to further understanding and appreciation of our community's historical development and present character."
In "Electric Commuting and a Cleaner Hyde Park," Paul Stanford notes that the 1926 electrification of the IC (which eliminated from the air the smoke and cinders belched out by steam engines) in creased real estate values in East Hyde Park as much as 500 percent. By 1928 the average rental was more than $50 per month (as opposed
to the citywide average of $17 per month).
*
In "Hyde Park Versus the Tavern," Damon Darlin introduces the reader to the Hyde Park Protective Association, founded in 1893, its purpose being to get rid of the tav erns that were proliferating in
the community.
The Protective Assn. was canny; it appealed to self-interest rather than morality. It said, "The saloon in residence streets cuts down the market value of our homes [and] en dangers their security. [It] fur nis4e nine-te,pths of the work of our police and justice courts, increases our taxes, is and always has been the center of official corruption."
"HYDE PARK HISTORY NO. l" TELLS OF FIGHT AGAINST TAVERNS; ALSO VOTE ON 1899 ANNEXATION TO CHICAGO
This watchdog group didn't accomplish much more than to contain the taverns within the area on Lake Park between 54th and 56th Streets. There, in the 1920's, a thirsty man could choose among 15 to 20 bars in each block.
Does this have a faintly famil iar ring? It should have, for the South East Chicago Commission [see story elsewhere in this Newsletter]
also took a dim view of taverns. In from Clara Louise Burnham's Sweet Clover: A Romance of the White City (1894). It is part of a long r excerpt, one of several from different sources. Tucked between the essays by Stanford, Darlin, and Markun (all of them recent graduates of the University of Chicago College) these inserts leaven the scholarly prose of the essays.
To order Hyde Park History N
1 by mail, send i:.:1e coupon below, with your check, to our treasurer. If you don't want to cut into the Newsletter, make a facsimile.
To Gary Husted, 4900 Ellis, Chicago, IL 60615
I am enclosing a check for
due course it rid the community of ,drawn to Hyde Park 46 bars.
Historical Society. Please send me copies of Paul Markun's "Village Problems and City Solutions" analyzes the forces at work in 1889, when Hyde Park voted 5-3 for annexation to the city of Chicago.
"Hyde Park" was then composed of 20-odd hamlets under one governmental umbrella. Its area stretched from 39th St. on the north to 138th St. on the south, from State St. on the west to Lake Michiqan on the east. Present-day Hyde Park-Kenwood, then called the Village Center, was a rich suburban enclave, and its res idents voted against annexation.
At opposite social and economic poles were the industrial towns of South Chicago and Grand Crossing, and the agricultural towns of Rose land and Kensington. Hoping they'd get better municipal services if they were part of Chicago, they vo ted overwhelmingly for annexation.
--thereby "placing [the Village Center's] reluctant hand in that of mother city."
*
The phrase in quotes above is
Hyde Park History No. 1 (at
$3.85 to members of the So city, $4.85 to others).
eral Chicago foundations: a $10,000 challenge grant from the Field Foundation of Illinois (payable when we reach our goal), $5,000 from the Joseph and Helen Regenstein Foundation; and $2,500,from the Joyce Foundation.
We are grateful to all supporters of the Hyde Park Historical Society and look forward to celebrating the successful completion of both the fund drive and the renovation project in October. In the meantime, keep an eye on work in progress at 5529 Lake Park Ave.
By Muriel Beadle
"In 1905, all four of us Lowden children had the measles, and I had pneumonia as well. The doctor urged Mother to take us to Lakewood [New Jersey] to recuperate. Lakewood was part resort and part spa; it was fa mous for its pure air. That's where I first saw Dr. Harper. I remember him sitting in a rocking chair on the veranda of a Lakewood hotel, con valescing from his first cancer operation."
The speaker is Florence Lowden Miller {Mrs. C. Phillip Miller), grand daughter of industrialist George M. Pullman, daughter of a Governor of Illinois, wife of a distinguished scientist and physician, and in her own right one of Hyde Park's {and Chicago's) great movers and doers.
Harper
HEADQUARTERS PROGRESS REPORT
Devereux Bowly, Jr. advises: Don't just drive past our head
quarters building at 5529 Lake Park. Walk there, so you can stop and look and appreciate the restoration of the brickwork to its original color, a lovely coppery rose.
When the building was a hash house, its owners painted the exterior fire-engine red, several thick coats of it. To strip the stuff off required 64 man-hours of hand labor. That job was completed in June, as was the tuckpointing and the replacing of several courses of brick.
By the time this Newsletter is printed and delivered, the back and side windows and the new floor will be in place. When the project is completed, the handsome arched win dow frames will still be there, but the sash will be new and the doors will have been rebuilt.
We're anticipating an· official opening in October and.hope that members and friends will help us furnish the place. We'd like to have, as of the 1890's or early 1900's:
. A roll-top desk
. Wooden office files
. Wooden office chairs
. Wood-burning stove
. Drinking fountain
Her reference above to "Dr. Harper" is, of course, to William Rainey Harper, the Univesity's first President, who died in 1906. Now 82, Mrs. Miller has first-hand recollections of all but one of the University's chief executives. Below, from a recent interview, are more memories:
Judson
Eight or nine years after the Lakewood visit, Florence met Harr·y Pratt Judson, Harper's successor and that meeting wasn't in Chica- go either. It occurred at Pullman Island, in the St. Lawrence River, where the Lowdens were vacation ing. {Their home, earlier.on Prai rie Ave. in Chicago, was by 1913 at Sinissippi Farm on the Rock River.)
Bear in mind that Florence's father, Frank 0. Lowden, was about to run for the governorship, and that Judson was a political scien tist. His wife did not accompany him to Pullman Island, which sug gests that Judson's visit was es sentially a "working" holiday.
But there was time for relaxation too. Judson went fishing one day, and Florence kept him company. Their conversation, as was appropriate for a schoolgirl and a professor, centered on geometry. She remembers Judson as a medium-sized man whose sparse hair was almost
MASON WAS "CHARMING," HUTCHINS "INTIMIDATING," KIMPTON "WARM AND KIND"
white and whose mustache drooped over his upper lip "and sometimes had to be puffed out of the way."
The period just before World War I was quite an era. If, like the Lowdens and the Pullmans, one belonged to Mid-America's aristo cracy, life could be sweet. That
summer, the Lowdens rented a house boat which their yacht (manned by a crew of seven) towed on a cruise
around the Rideau Lakes in Ontario. The children lived on the house
rolled in 1929 as a special stu dent. "I found the collegiate life very exciting," she says, remem bering with pleasure the football luncheons that the Hutchinses host ed before the Maroons' home games. (President Hutchins' antipathy to football developed later.)
The Millers were married in 1931 and became Hyde Park householders in 1937. They dined occasionally at the President's House, but Mrs.
Miller was.not as .comfortable in
boat: the adults, including Pres ident Judson, on the yacht.
Burton
Judson served from 1907 to 1923, the second-longest tenure of any of the University's presidents. His successor, Ernest D. Burton, had
one of the shortest terms (1923 to 1925). He was the only president whom Florence never met. That's odd, for her father was a Trustee and she had wide acquaintance in University circles. One of her best friends was Elizabeth Wallace1 who taught French literature.
Mason
Max Mason also had a short term (1925 to 1928). Mrs. Miller remembers him well, for she "fell vic tim to his charm." He was a dynamic man, "alive-looking" and personable; "he made you feel that University life was fun." He charmed the fac ulty too, by approaching any table at the Quadrangle Club with an emp ty place, saying, "I'm Mason. May
I sit here?"
Hutchins
The president with the longest tenure--22 years--was Robert May nard Hutchins, who was 29 when he took office in '29. Florence Low den was not only his contemporary in age but in formal affiliation with the University, for she en-
4
Hutchins' company as she might have wished. "He was an intimidating man," she says. "Always ten jumps ahead of you. He made so many quips you felt you had to keep up with him and you tried to be equally clever
yourself. But no one could match him."
Kimpton
Then, in 1951, Hutchins resigned and Lawrence Kimpton became presi dent. As with Judson and Burton be fore him, Kimpton was a member of the faculty and a sometime adminis trator--and this may be why he did not stir people up as Harper and Hutchins had done. Mrs. Miller was fond of him ("He was a warm person, and kind.") and is one of those who feels that local lore doesn't give Kimpton as much credit as ·is due to him for his role in stabilizing the College and safeguarding the Univer sity and the community through the· urban renewal·project.
*
The presidents who served from 1961 onward are all alive, so this account of Mrs. Miller's recollec tions will end with Kimpton
THIS NEWSLETTER appears quarter ly. We have lost Cameron Poulter1s help with the graphics, but have ac quired the services of Ruth Grodzins. Muriel Beadle continues to edit it and Corinne Seither to type it.
Community Marks End
of Eta as Julian
Levi Leaves SECC
Since 1952, Julian Levi ha been the executive director of the South East Chicago Commission, founded in that year by Hyde Parkers concerned about the deterioration of the neigh borhood. He was a designer of the subsequent urban renewal project and the person most responsible for its success.
Now he has retired from his law professorship at the University (to accept a similar appointment at the Hastings Law School in San Francis co) and from the SECC. His departure is more than Hyde Park's loss. To quote a Hyde Park Herald editorial:
"Levi, one of the most colorful and controversial figures on the public scene, will be sorely missed. He may be one of a dying breed: a man who put his formidable talents and his larger than life personality at the service of the community,
the university and the city without thought of profit."
To pay him homage was the reason for the huge turnout at the SECC's annual dinner on June 9. It would have been impossible to have crammed one more person into Hutchinson Com mons. Among them were city officials, judges, aldermen, leading businessmen
--a significant sampling of Who's Who in Chicago.
A representative of Gov. James Thompson announced that the Governor had proclaimed June 9 "Julian Levi Day" in Illinois. A representative of the Richard J. Daley family read a letter of tribute from the late Mayor's widow. SECC Board member Norman Mac Lean reminisced wittily about the Levi years. Lewis HilL now head of the RTA, claimed Hyde Park as his Second home because of
his former chairmanship of the De partment of Urban Renewal.
The Rev. Arthur Brazier of The Woodlawn Organization, co-recipient with Julian Levi of the 1977 Rockefeller Public Service Award but his bitter foe at one time, spoke
movingly of the growth of their mutual respect and friendship. Bruce Sagan, whose Hyde Park Herald often "fought pitched battles" with Levi, quoted some of his harsher words and symbolically ate them.
In responding to all this, Jul ian Levi charmed the audience with family anecdotes. For example:
"I will never forget Mayor Daley's smile when he recalled that he had learned to swim at old Sinai Community House at 46th and (then) Grand Blvd., when Emil Hirsch [Julian Le vi's grandfather] was the Rabbi. And I was surprised at his knowing that the same Emil Hirsch, as President
of the Chicago Public Library Board, had placed the corner3tone of the building at Randolph and Michigan .'1
Finally, the guest of honor told the crowd that in the late summer of 1952 he and his wife had bought a large trunk in anticipation of
their moving to San Francisco. "That trunk has sat empty for 28 years in a closet on the third floor of our house," he said. "But now t e time has come for it to fulfill its des tiny."
'Twas a grand farewell.
-- Muriel Beadle COMINGS AND GOINGS
After Tom Pavelec resigned as Program Chairman, Thelma Dahlberg and Betty Davey stepped into the breach. Now a new Program Chair man has taken over: Berenece Boehm, known to many of you for her long devotion to the Hyde Park Neigh borhood Club through its Business and Professional Women's Auxili ary. At her office, she1s the Administrative Assistant to the president of Northwest Industries.
5
October showing planned
United Church Finds 1910 Lantern Slides
By Carol Bradford
In early May 1910, the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church observed its 50th anniversary. Numerous special events were planned, among them several his toric addresses which were illustrated with specially-prepared lantern slides. These slides were recently rediscovered in the archives-of the United Church of Hyde Park.
The church is again planning commemorative activities, this time to celebrate its formation in 1930 as a merger of the Presbyterian Church and the University Congregational Church and the 10th anniversary of its merger with the Hyde Park Methodist Church. The 1910 slides will be shown at the church on Saturday, Oct.4, at 10:30 AM and 2:00 PM,along with highlights of the historic ad dresses they originally accompanied.
Both the slides and the talks include valuable information about ev eryday life in early Hyde Park. In the 19th century, churches were centers of village social activities and the Presbyterian Church and St.Paul's Episcopal were the first churches organized here. They shared a s all
wooden chapel located in a grove of oak trees near what is now 53rd and Lake Park.
DO YOU HAVE a friend or neighbor who might like to join the Hyde Park Historical Society and support our activities?
Membership forms are available at the Blackstone Branch Library or from our Membership Chairman, Ger hardt Laves, 5553 Kenwood Avenue, Chicago 60637.
And if you haven't yet sent him your $5.00 dues for 1980, DO IT NOW. Make checks payable to the Hyde Park Historical Society.
6
The Presbyterians met on Sunday mornings for worship service, the Episcopalians in the afternoon. In the winter, each group provided its own supply of wood for the stove.
Legend has it that one cold Sunday the Episcopalians were forced to cancel their service because the Presbyterians had burned all their wood. A mock trial was held later, with a prisoner brought in dragging a log to which he was chained.
Every year on the Fourth of Ju ly, there was a picnic·at the foot of 53rd St., at which the Presbyterian Ladies Aid sold lemonade. Once, when the weather was very hot and the supply of ice ran short, the women took some of the ice used to make ice cream to cool the lemonade. Though they washed the salt off as best they could, the lemonade was salty enough to make every one thirsty. So they sold more lemonade than ever before.
Perhaps it was a twinge of con science that motivated the women to alternate the lemonade sale with the Episcopal ladies in following
years.
*
If you make entries ·on your social calendar two months in advance, jot down Oct. 4, for the historic slide show at the United Church.
Good Show: ''Old House Works''
By Lesley Bloch
To accompany your lunch of a Saturday, there is a half-hour program on Channel 11 at 12:30 called "Old Houseworks" that people interested in do-it-yourself rehabbing might enjoy. The series is produced by the Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting and will be on the air through mid-October.
The host, Bob Callahan--appropriately dressed in work clothes and placed in a dusty "projects to be finished" environment--is very effec tive. He mixes feigned ignorance of remodeling techniques with the knack of asking just the right questions. Here's a summary of one prog am, No.
11 in the series: It began with the questions: Are
there waterproof wood fillers?" and "How do Georgian and Federal archi
A Sharp Man,
Mr. Gray!
Editor's note: Anna (Mrs. Howard) Goodman, when recently sorting fam ily papers, found a manuscript copy of a business history by Bernard Drill. Dated 1939, it is entitled "Herbert Goodman and the Goodman Manufacturing Company." She en joyed this excerpt and so should other HPHS members.
Bear in mind that Herbert Good man was Howard's father; that the "vacant lot" mentioned below is the site of the Robie House; and that Herbert Goodman's house was one of two on the land where McGiffert Hall now stands.
*
"In the autumn and winter of 1906, Herbert Goodman endured an experi ence that demonstrated the extent
of his community spirit.
"The house which he had recent ly purchased from Charles L. Hunter stood adjacent to a vacant lot on the northeast corner of 58th and Woodlawn Ave. In order to protect his purchase, Mr. Goodman had se cured from Mr. Hunter a pledge that no apartment building would ever be erected on the vacant corner lot.
... to page 8
tecture differ?" These inquirles were thoroughly answered, using demonstrations for the first and photo graphs for the second.
Then Bob Calahan was joined by Gil Brooks, a master carpenter, who knocked out a wall in an older home. If this is something you have been thinking about doing and have put off because it is just too much, be reassured. The job is manageable
if done thoughtfully with the right tools, time and patience in your pockets, and an eye out for salvage able remains.
The concluding minutes of the half hour were given over to a discussion of the dangers of lead poi oning. Lead is found in·90 percent of houses built before 1950. Lodged in paint, varnish and putty, it ap pears in the dust surrounding the exterior of a painted house and can fill the air of a room in the pro cess of being sanded.
Symptoms of lead poisoning can be mistaken for the flu or exhaus tion from a job finally done. A test for lead in the blood is the only way of really knowing. So the best approach is to wear a mask, remove all furniture from the room, ven tilate it well, keep pregnant women and young children away, and never eat on the job.
DID GRAY SERIOUSLY INTEND TO BUILD THOSE SHOPS, OR WAS MONEY HIS GOAL?
"Hunter subsequently sold this land to Mr. John M. Gray, of Chi cago, subject to this restriction. Abiding only by the letter of the proscription, Gray decided to build seven small shops on the property. For this purpose the material was delivered and work on foundations was begun.
"Thereupon the whole neighbor hood became aroused, and Gray, if that had not been his original purpose, sensed the opportunity to make a good thing out of his ven ture. To thwart the consummation
of these plans, Herbert Goodman and one of his neighbors, Mr. Charles Mason, finally bought up the property, though at a price consider ably in excess of its real worth.
"He wished that he could take permanent title to the entire vac ant tract next to his own house but, as he wrote to his brother in-law, 'I am hardly yet able to cultivate a neighborhood park for the benefit of myself and the ad jacent property holders.'"
URBS IN HORTO AS OF 1899
In their 1899 Annual Report, the South Parks Commissioners included these notes: "Owing to the increasing demand for great er lawn area for visitors to Washington Park, the territory on which hay is made is reduced somewhat each year, so that this year the crop yielded only 46 tons of hay.
Volume 2, Number 4 November, 1980
WHAT A PARADE! WHAT A DEDICATION!
By Lesley Bloch
The Hyde Park Historical Society/Community Halloween Parade pulled itself together on the chilly afternoon of Oc tober 26, in the vacant lot adjacent to the Mu'rray School, and marched off in more than 30 groups of participants. Cub Scout den flags fluttering, Children's Choir conductor arms flapping, cold coming through the soles of our shoes, and all
a bit out of step, we paraded behind a fine pair of Police De partment horses and officers.
The Spiritual Reader/Advisor on 53rd near Dorchester looked down from her second floor window to see:
oAn elegant lady of yesteryear in a robin's egg blue chif fon gown, white fur cape, sequined and feathered hat, fan dangling;
oThe familiar meat department man from the Coop in real moustache, white hard hat and apron, accompanied by a little girl in face paint and Halloween costume;
oAn assortment of clowns miming, unicycle riding, waving; and a double-decker bus from McCormick Inn;
oThe School of Hard Knocks in academic robes;
oLoose balloons soaring high, others still attached to wrists; oThe UNICEF man clothed in a violet Moroccan caftan,
capped by Uzbekistan, pursed by Greece, beaded by India and an undefined nation;
oDogs-dogs riding backwards on a three-wheeled bike, sauntering along, waiting on a corner to join up with small sheeted ghosts and black plastic caped and masked witches;
oTwo somber antique automobiles, and a marching band; oThe hardiest majorettes ever, in abbreviated white sleeve
less tops and short red-spangled skirts, twirling, stepping high; oAnother lovely lady all in black and beads;
oThe Gilbert and Sullivan Players regal in stature, yet ever so neighborly in reality;
oAII the rest of us bringing up the rear.
Dedication Ceremonies
When the patriotically crepe-papered and ribbon-barred front door of the HPHS Headquarters came in view, the parade made an easy turn at 56th and Lake Park, protected , from auto traffic by three Kenwood Academy Porn Porn girls at the barricade. The crowd soon grew to 400 cold but cheer ful people, moving closer to that proud little building, once again in good shape.
Speeches by Clyde Watkins (in an impressive derby), by Jean Block and by Leon Despres placed this event in the history of the community. Thanks were given to John Vinci, the restoration architect; to Jane Hood of the Illinois Human ities Council, which financed the current exhibit, and to the people who researched it, assembled the material and mounted it [see story p.3] . Greetings were offered to Larry Bloom,
Carol Moseley Braun, Barbara Currie and Alan Dobry-all present and wearing smiles.
A University of Chicago student purposefully wandered through the crowd selecting persons to be part of a class pro ject in-family history, slipping index cards with a phone num ber and "Please call tonight" into chilly hands on their way to the pockets. The popcorn wagon stoked up its fire. The cider was poured. The sales table (mostly HPHS publications) was set up. People said, "Greetings! greetings! ", "Isn't this ex citing?" and "Let's see what they have with the popcorn."
"Much Good Humor"
The ribbon across the building's door was cut. A group photo of the Society's Board of Directors, and whoever else wanted to be included, was taken. Mrs. C. Phillip Miller, in pink, joined the line to view the building and the exhibit. Bill Veeck dropped by. In the sun-filled main room, the paneling looked splendid. The windows sparkled. The ticket seller's cage appeared to be authentic. And the 36-star Ameri can flag looked just right on the south wall.
Authenticity the Keynote
Headquarters Carefully and Lovingly Renovated
By Muriel Beadle
"It's a little jewel", said one participant in the October 26 dedication of our headquarters at 5529 Lake Park Avenue. Indeed it is-and the credit goes primarily to HPHS President Clyde Watkins, who "found" the place, secured it, and headed the fund-raising campaign; and to Board member Devereux Bowly Jr., who acted as general contractor. His insistence upon authenticity of design and excellence of craftsmanship
is everywhere apparent.
An earlier Newsletter reported on the cleaning of the ex terior brickwork. Here now are some notes on the interior of our renovated 1893 cable car station:
About 10,000 linear feet of 4-inch tongue and groove paneling was used on the walls. Because the or.iginal paneling was fir, seldom used now, ours had to be specially ordered. However, pine was used for the trim. It wasn't easy to blend maple and walnut stains so the two woods would match; in fact, Dev says, it took 12 tries. The effort was more than successfu I.
HEAR YE!
Here are announcements of particular importance to Hyde Park Historical Society members:
DUES ARE NOW PAYABLE. The Board of Directors re grets the necessity but must now ask $10 per year. (The rise in cost of mailings and of Newsletter production is primarily responsible.) Your HPHS membership is still a good buy, how ever, since it includes everyone in your family. Send your check, drawn to the Hyde Park Historical Society, to our membership chairman, Gerhardt Laves, 5553 Kenwood Ave., Chicago 60637. And why not give a membership to a friend?
Incidentally, we have used Gerhardt's address rather than that of our headquarters as this Newsletter's return address. Since the headquarters building is staffed only on weekends, there are bound to be delays on forwarded mail.
c)
MAKE A NOTE on your calendar now: Our Annual Din ner meeting is set for January 17, 1981. Full details will be sent to you later.
Some Things Old, Some Things New The new floor (a beauty I) is red oak.
The rear windows, frames and sash, are custom-made re productions of the originals, but the frames of the front win dows were salvageable and only the sash is new. Thermopane was installed, however, and since it weighs more than glass the original sash weights were too light. Therefore, supple mentary weights have been added.
The light fixtures combine wrought iron parts correct for the 1890s but newly made to our order, plus antique white globes purchased locally. An antique dealer also provided the metal grille (from an old post office in Indiana) which divides the ticket office from the waiting room.
The bathroom includes a toilet with a wooden tank, numerous nice old wall fixtures (lovingly repaired by Board member Ted Anderson), and a marble-decked wash basin.
. he furnace is in the attic. It will be turned low, main taining temperatures in the forties, when the building is not in use. Under the same circumstances, the electric hot water heater will be turned off.
Unobtrusive Meters
Because of the historic nature of the building, the Peoples Gas Co. bent its rules and installed its meter in the attic in stead of on the face of the building. Commonwealth Edison, similarly cooperative, installed its meter on the north wall of the building, higher than is usual.
One of the most appropriate touches is the telephone num ber: HY 3-1893.
The building will be open (at least for now) only on Satur days from 10 a.m. to noon, on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m., and by appointment. To make an appointment, call Emma Kemp at the Blackstone Library 624-0511.
*
P.S. We went a bit over our budget. If you can contribute, or know someone who might, call Clyde Watkins.
WINNERS of the Third Annual Paul Cornell Awards will be announced at that dinner. Nominations are now open, and we hope you will make some. Anyone except a currently serv ing HPHS Board member is eligible. During 1980, he or she must have "significantly furthered knowledge, appreciation or preservation of Hyde Park's historical heritage". ["Hyde Park" is defined as the territory encompassed by the original village.]
Such knowledge, appreciation or preservation may have been fostered by authorship of books or articles; the writing and giving of lectures; the creation of exhibits or student pro jects; the restoration of exterior or interior public spaces of commercial, civic or residential buildings, or of buildings which have been sympathetically renovated and successfully adapted to new uses.
HPHS members are invited to submit short written state ments in support of their nominees. Send statements to our secretary, Mrs. Lloyd Fallers, 5840 Stony Island Ave., Chi cago 60637.
VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED to staff our headquarters on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to noon, and Sundays, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. If you can help, call Mrs. John Davey at Ml 3-5943.
HYDE PARK HISTORY NO. 1 was published in June. Its 84 pages contain articles about the effect of IC electrification on Hyde Park, the community wars against the Demon Rum, and background on the annexation vote of 1889. Included too is amusing material from original sources-for example, Chicago's 1926 parade and pageant of railway progress, at which a Hyde Parker was crowned "Miss Transportation". HYDE PARK HISTORY NO.2 is reviewed on the next page. Why not give both to ex-Hyde Parkers on your Christmas list?
Each booklet is $2.50 and may be ordered from Gary Husted, 4900 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago 60615. Make your check payable to the Hyde Park Historical Society. Or pick up the booklets at our headquarters on a Saturday or Sunday.
EXHIBIT TRACES HYDE PARK'S POLITICAL ROOTS
By Lee H. Morgan
Hyde Park's early residents, detesting and fearing the corruption characteristic of urban government in the mid-1860's, persisted in maintaining a political structure featuring a town meeting, elected trustees, and part-time officials. As the village grew, the work-load became too great and the system broke down.
Even splitting the village into three districts didn't help.
The result? By 1885, as Andrew Yox says, Hyde Park had be come "an overgrown and ungovernable village" which "drifted into its only real political alternative-annexation to Chicago." Yox is the University of Chicago graduate student in his
tory who did the research for Hyde Park Politics, 1861-1919: Suburban Protection and Urban Progress. That's the title for both the current exhibit at HPHS headquarters and of the catalog for that exhibit. The latter is the second of the So ciety's 1980 publications under the series title of Hyde Park History.
From the Chicago Tribune, July 14, 1889-one of over 100 items in the HPHS exhibit, Hyde Park Politics: 1861-1919
Of Boodle and Bosses
Yox's article runs to 40 pages and may be more detailed than all readers would demand, yet it is consistently in teresting and informative. (Do you know what a "boodle fighter" was? The early definition of a "gangster"? Of a "boss"?) The appendix, listing Hyde Park Trustees and Al dermen from 1868 to 1919, makes one realize better than a statement of the bald fact that Hyde Park Village in the 19th century was a very large geographic entity.
(Instructions on how to order a copy of the booklet appear elsewhere in this Newsletter.)
Over 100 Items on Exhibit
The exhibit based on Yox's research· was prepared by a committee headed by Jean Block and·including Kathleen Conzen, Jean Gottlieb and Emma Kemp. It contains about 110 items, some under glass (various early documents col lected by the now-defunct Woodlawn Historical Society and normally stored at the Woodlawn Public Library) and others on burlap-covered panels which hang on the walls of our headquarters building.
The viewer progresses from pictures and mementoes docu menting the early suburban character of Hyde Park Center to the trauma of annexation to Chicago [see story at right]
to the ways in which leading citizens thereafter "brought their suburban concern for honest, efficient and economical govern ment into Chicago's political arena, in an effort to reform the city whose embrace they had been unable to evade."
Memorable Photos Included
Among the memorable photos is one of a young Paul Cornell with the painfully fixed gaze typical of mid-19th century Daguerreotypes; a Jackson Park lawn tennis scene, circa 1900; and an unusual picture of William Rainey Harper at his desk in Cobb Hall. Fascinating too is Charles Merriam's campaign literature addressed to Greeks, Italians and Germans, and to "the colored voter of Chicago."
For this opening exhibit, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners loaned us an old wooden ballot box. Hanging on the wall above it are ballots on which visitors may vote for or against annexation to Chicago. Although a good many ballots were cast on October 26, the polls will remain open for a few more weeks. Our next Newsletter will report the 1980 outcome of a question originally asked-and answered-in 1889. The vote then, incidentally, was 5212 for annexation, 3357 against.
HYDE PARK TOWN HALL
... which has been the scene of so many noted contests and encounters between the taxeaters and the taxpayers. While nearly all the village officials have fallen in with the march
of progress and recognize the inevitable, there are a few who sulk in their tents and submit with sullen but hopeless pro test. In the acquisition of Hyde Park, Chicago gained a terri tory and people of which any city might well be proud.
The Town of Hyde Park was created and separated from the Town of Lake on March 3, 1861, and the Village of Hyde Park [39th St. to 138th St., State St. to the Lake] was or ganized under its last charter in August, 1872. Enthusiastic and patriotic Hyde-Parkers have for several years claimed that their village was the largest in the world, and the present popu lation of the annexed territory is computed at 75,000....
A TRIP THROUGH HYDE PARK
A trip to Hyde Park is full of interest and novelty to the visitor, who may go by the Cottage Grove avenue cable cars, the swifter moving steam cars, or charter a yacht or small steamer and take a sail along the attractive lake shore and disembark at the old pier at the foot of Fifty-third street, populous always with fishermen and youth who tempt the shiny perch or white herring with a forest of rods and laby rinth of lines and hooks.
Pioneers of Park Design
ECKHART AND JENSEN: A WEST SIDE STORY
By Malcolm Collier
How many South Siders have visited Chicago's great West Side parks: Humboldt, Garfield and Douglas, which lie be tween Sacramento and Crawford Avenues? These parks are connected with the South Side (and with Lincoln Park) by a series of boulevards, some hardly deserving the name but none theless linking the North, West, and South parks in a way the early city fathers envisioned and in a way unique to Chicago.
The boulevards are not the only link between the South and West parks. Although originally surveyed, planned and developed in the 1870s by Chicago's famous architect-engineer, William Le Baron Jenney, the parks were later renewed and somewhat redesigned by Bernard A. Eckhart and Jens Jensen, two men with ties to Hyde Park.
Hyde Park Ties
Eckhart, successful and respected business man and civic leader, funded the University of Chicago's mathematics building, Eckhart Hall. Jensen was a close friend of the Univer sity's professor of botany, Henry C. Cowles and, later, of George Fuller. Although Jensen's landscape work was mainly in the parks and on the North Shore, he did also plan East
End Park and the grounds of the original Chicago Beach Hotel.
Starting as a street sweeper, Jensen began to work for the West Parks in 1886. By 1890 he was superintendent of small but prominent Union Park. By 1894 he was superintendent of large and prominent Humboldt Park. In 1900 he was fired for daring to question the weight of coal delivered to the West Parks greenhouses, an action consistent with his character but a political mistake. He turned then to private practice and soon his reputation was firmly established by jobs under taken for prominent Chicagoans and the best architects of
the Chicago School. 4
In 1905, when Bernard Eckhart became president of the West Chicago Park Board, he found that the bookeeping, landscaping, and reputation of these parks were in such dis array that he managed to secure a $4,000,000 bond issue to set things right. He asked Jensen to take charge. The results were beautiful: the spirit and the intention are visible today despite current neglect and abuse of the park lands.
Jensen's Vision
The new park buildings, lighting fixtures and park fur niture were designed by the city's best architects. In Hum boldt Park, Jensen was able to carry out to the greatest extent his vision of the Midwest landscape in a park setting: a "Prairie" river with its natural flora, a "natural" garden with acres of native plants, masses of hawthorn and other native trees. Later, in 1918, he carried this vision even fur ther in Columbus Park, the one park which he planned from the beginning.
All these parks are well worth a visit. All could use our attention and support.
Newsletters 1979
Hyde Park Historical Society Newsletters from 1979
Text of Newsletter:
HYDE PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Volume I, Number 1 January, 1979
Herewith we inaugurate a newsletter which will come to you in January, April, July, and October. Your suggestions and contributions will be welcomed; send them to Muriel Beadle at 1700 E. 56th St., Apt. 401, Chicago 60637. The deadline for issue is the 10th of the month preceding publication.
On August 15, 1 75, the Chicago Tribune described a fete given by the ladies of St.Paul's Church. It was attended by about 390 persons, and lighted by locomotive search lights and Chinese lanterns.
On Saturday, January 27,1979 the Hyde Park Historical Society will have its annual meeting--a dinner at the Windermere Hotel. There are no plans to light the scene with anything more exotic than candles. For further details of the event, see p.3 of this newsletter.
Now is the time to renew your Hyde Park Historical Society membership, the best buy in Chicago because our dues are 1) low and 2) cover all members of a family. Send your check for $5 to Mrs.
John Davey, 5748 S. Harper,60637.
JANUARY MEETING FOCUSES ON FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
From Jan. 10 to Feb. 25, "The Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright", a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition, will be on display at the David and Alfred Smart Gallery, 5550 S. Greenwood. (Tues.-Sat.,
10 AM to 4 PM; Sun., noon to 4 PM.)
Hyde Park Historical Society Board member Irma Strauss assisted David Hanks, the Smithsonian's Curator of Decorative Arts, in lo cating obj_ects and researching their history.
She says, "All his interior details--furniture, lamp shades, rugs, windows, and at times fabrics, ceramics, silverware and even dresses of his clients--were designed to complete the architecture. Since most of his interiors have been destroyed or altered, it is only by viewing the objects in this exhibit along with photographs of the original architecture that his work can be properly understood." --2
The Winter Sporting Scene, circa 1912
With our purchase of the old Chicago City Railway Co. station at 5529 Lake Park Ave., people are becoming curious about cable car days in Hyde Park. Gerhardt Laves, who was born here in 1906, recalls how his older brother Ulrich enjoyed exhilarating sled rides down 55th St.,with the help of the cable car machinery.
This is how it was done: Ulrich would position his sled in the middle of the street, directly above the sunken cable which was constantly in motion thanks to the power house at 55th St. and Cottage Grove Ave. He would then reach down into the slot, grab the c ble, and off he'd go!
These adventures were less dangerous than they seemed, Gerhardt says, for the horses pulling other vehicles shied away from the boy on the sled; and following cable cars, being attached to the same cable and traveling at the same speed, never overtook him.
1978 IN REVIEW
On January 17, Mrs. Strauss will give an illustrated lecture, "Frank Lloyd Wright and Hyde Park Kenwood". Time: ts PM. Place: KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation, 5039
S. Greenwood Ave. The program will be co-sponsored by the Hyde Park Historical Society, the KAM-Isaiah Israel Sisterhood, and the Victor ian Society, Chicago Chapter.
Renovation Trade Fair Planned
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, in cooperation with the city of Chicago, is planning an exposition called "City House: A Marketplace of Renovation Ideas for Old.Houses." Scheduled for February at Navy Pier, this exhibit will feature preservation materials, skills, and information sources for home owners seeking to renovate older city dwellings.
Our programs were distinguished by their quality and their variety. Special thanks to Thelma Dahlberg, program chairman, for her fine arrangements. Here's a brief review:
Jan. 29: Arthur Weinberg on "Clarence Darrow As a Literary Figure", at the United Church of Hyde Park. A fresh approach to the biography of a famous lawyer and Hyde Park resident.
Mar. 14: A report on the status of proposals to designate parts of the community as Chicago historic districts or to list them on the National Register.Speakers: Robert Wagner of Illinois Dept. of Conservation, our own Board mem bers Dev Bowly and Michael Conzen. An exceptionally large and keenly interested crowd attended. At International House.
QUALITY AND VARIETY CHARACTERIZED THE SOCIETY'S 1978 ACTIVITIES
April 30: Mini-tour of KAM Isaiah Israel Temple, with Irma Strauss as our tour guide.
June 3 and 4: Members manned a booth across the street from the 57th St. Art Fair, distributed literature about the Society, sold publications, enrolled new members.
July 4: Excursion by bus to the traditional Fourth of July celebration at the Chicago Historical Society, preceded by juice and doughnuts and a quick look
at our just-acquired headquarters building (of which, more elsewhere in this newsletter).
Sept. 17: Excursion by bus--in fact, by three buses--to "Sunday on Prairie Avenue, 1893", the official opening of the Prairie Avenue Historic District. Most popular attraction: that modern rarity, an organ grinder man, complete with monkey.
Oct. 29: Sunday afternoon sherry reception for Paul A. Cornell and other HPHS Charter Members in Fellowship Hall at the United Church of Hyde Park. Speech by Mr. Cornell about his grandfather, the Paul Cornell who founded Hyde Park. At the following social hour, descendants of early Hyde Park families were welcomed as special guests.
Nov.11: Acting President Jean Block autographed copies of her much-praised book, Hyde Park Houses, at Hyde Park Federal Savings, a portion of each sale going to the Hyde Park Historical Society. Our thanks to the Universjty of Chicago Press and to Hyde Park Federal.
Dec. 10: Another workout for Jean Block--this time at the University Church of the Disciples, where she spoke to the topic, "Re searching Your House." For one bit of her advice, and a request, see the next page.
------------------------ti"'- - - - - - - - - - - -
ANNUAL MEETING & Dinner I
AT WINDRMERE HOTEL ON JANUARY 27
By the end of January, John Vinci will have completed his proposal for the renovation of our headquarters, the old cable car station at 5529 Lake Park. At the annual meeting, Dev Bowly will present a detailed re port and show sketches. There will also be entertainment before and after dinner, and a cash bar.
Date: Saturday, Jan. 27. Place: Windermere Hotel. Time: 6:30 PM.
Mr. Thomas J. Pavelec 5539 S. Cornell Ave.
Chicago, Il 60637
I will attend the HPHS annu al meeting and dinner on Jan.
27 at the Windermere Hotel. Please reserve places at $10 each. My check,drawn to the Hyde Park Historical Society, is enclosed.
Name
Cost: $10 per person. Guests are welcome. Use form at right.
CIHSM: Organized Swap Shop
The Hyde Park Historical Society belongs to the Congress of Illinois Historical Societies and Museums (CIHSM). This organization is sponsored by the Illinois State Historical Society in order to "facilitate the exchange of ideas, methods and solutions to mutual problem,s11 among the 135 local historical societies in Illinois who are members. Region al and state meetings are held frequently.
A newsletter, Historically Speaking, is published quarterly. Membership in CIHSM also includes subscriptions to two publications of the Illinois State Historical Society. We expect to print occasional excerpts from these sources.
DO YOU HAVE•. ?
Many Hyde Parkers have old title searches and architectural drawings of their houses. These, Jean Block says, should remain with the houses. But the HPHS would like to know of the existence of such material. Will you tell us what you have? Write Mrs. Samuel Block, 1700 E. 56th St., Chi cago 60637.
HYDE PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
N w Il att IT
Volume I, Number 2 April, 1979
Committee Organized to Save Rosenwald House
Whether by accident or a confluence of subliminal forces, the forma tion of the Hyde Park Historical Society preceded by only a few months a move on the part of the Chicago Landmarks Commission to make Kenwood a Landmark District and the nomination of Hyde Park-Kenwood for recognition
by the National Register· f Histor ic Places.
Under these circumstances, the
fi 'FfiMllf GfiTH[ INO
The date was January 27. The place was the Windermere Hotel. The weather was terrible. Yet al
most 200 people attended our annual meeting and dinner-and enjoyed it greatly.
In her welcome, President Jean Block said, "Recently there was a wonderful cartoon in the New Yorker depicting the usual lanky couple conversing over martinis. The wife says to the husband, 'I'd like to join the historical society, but I don't know if I want to be that kind of person.'
"If you look around this room, you will see that she wouldn't have that problem here. There isn't a Hyde Park Historical Society 'type.' In our membership we have all ages; renters and home owners; old-timers and newcomers: a cross-section that truly represents the diversity upon which Hyde Park prides itself "
This is undoubtedly why so many people later praised the "family original objectives of the Society to record Hyde Park's history, to preserve selected documents and artifacts, to promote public interest in Hyde Park and its history, and to educate and involve individuals and groups in an appreciation and understanding of its heritage take on a new and larger meaning.
One of the "artifacts" we are eager to preserve is the Rosenwald House at 4901 Ellis, now threaten ed with demolition if neither a single family nor an institutional purchaser can be found. The house, by Nimmons and Fellows, is an important example of Prairie School architecture, a unique element of our Midwestern heritage. Its own er was one of Chicago's great citizens, a gifted businessman and en lightened reformer and philanthropist. Julius Rosenwald contributed generously to the University of Chicago, Jewish philanthropies, Hull House, and many other organi zations. The Museum of
feeling" of the evening....top. 3
..
The State of the Station
VINCI PROVIDES RESTORATION PLAN FOR OUR HEADQUARTERS
By Devereux Bowly, Jr.
The Hyde Park Historical Society
has been demolished above the roof line, must be rebuilt. Most of the millwork must be replaced. The tongue and groove paneling on the interior walls and ceiling will be restored or replaced. The office of the Society will be located in what was once the station master's office, at the headquarters, 5529 S. Lake Park Ave., was constructed in 1893 or 1894 by the Chicago City Street Railway, once the most extensive cable car system in the country. The building later served the trolley system and in relatively recent memory housed a tiny lunch counter.
Last fall, the well-known preservation architect John Vinci was hired to prepare a set of measured drawings of the building as well as a plan for its restoration. A grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation covered half his fee. His report and drawings are now complete.
Here's a summary of the plan:
north end of the building. It will have a pullman kitchen and a renovated washroom.
The rest of the space will be out fitted as a station waiting room. It will have movable wooden benches, which can be supplemented for meetings by folding chairs, a wood-burn ing stove, ticket window openings, a sales stand, and facilities for display of historical material.
The building cost the Society $4,000. More than $10,000 was raised by the sale of Charter memberships. Architect Vinci estimates that the renovation will cost $50 per square foot, or a total of about $40,000.
This figure assumes that some of the
Because no original plans or early work will be done by Society volunteers. The building's exterior dimensions are 20 by 40 ft. The chimney, which no photographs of the building exist. Unfortunately, however, most far as is known) and the interior has of the needed work cannot be done by been extensively altered, it will be amateurs impossible to restore the building exactly as it was built. What will be It is hoped that most or all of done, however, is to create an authen the $40,000 can be obtained from tic railroad station appearance as Chicago-area foundations or corpora- of the late 19th century, wilettions, and a fund drive is in pro- the same time adapting the interior gress under the direction of Board to the uses of our Society. member Clyde Watkins, Director of Development of the University of Chicago. Depending on the success of the fund drive, construction is anticipated for the summer of 1979 or for 1980.
May 6: At the DuSable Museum of Afro American History, Dina Epstein and Ruth Fouch will speak on "Myths of Black Music."
May 19: A natural history tour of Wooded Island, with Douglas Anderson.
"City House" Advice: Think it Through, Do it Well
By Lesley Bloch
Twenty thousand people made their way to Navy Pier on the weekend of Feb. 16-18 for "City House", the exhibit sponsored by the Commission on Chicago Historical and Architectural Landmarks and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Passing up the popcorn and the hotdogs for gathering free brochures from many of the 99 exhibitors, I spent 2 1/2 hours listening, watch ing and walking. Looking over the to reinforce the impact of this lecture there was a display of page enlargements from an upcoming book, City House Guide, which tells the correct way to make many home improvements on older buildings.(Call Commission on Landmarks, 744-3200, for price and publication date.)
With new thoughts on restoring our front door to its original handsomeness and getting rid of the storm door, I took my enthusiasm home to our city house.
contents of my free "Make Chicago Great" shopping bag, I found information on shutter dealers, salvage companies, subscription forms for Old House Journal and the Time-Life Handyman series, information on security in the home, near the home, in the car and for the senior citi zen as well as passouts from the neighborhoods of the Highlands, Ken wood, Wicker Park, Pullman, etc.
With a list of all the exhibitors and their phone numbers I now have a ready source for any household improvement or problem.
Lectures were scheduled through out the weekend. Among those I at tended was Harry Hunderman's "Re storing the Historic Details of Your Home's Exterior." He says that
you should THINK before you ruin your house by tearing down, replac ing, repositioning or restoring bad ly. He showed slides of interesting houses which had become less so by the addition of aluminum siding, plastic awnings, glass bricks, etc.
This newsletter is published quarterly. Editor, Muriel Beadle. Typing, Corinne Seither. Graphics, Michael Conzen.
ANNUAL MEETING.... from p. 1
In addition to Irma Strauss's slide show, the President's Report, and the presentation of the first annual Paul Cornell awards, Dever eux Bowly brought us up to date on restoration plans for our headquarters. (His report appears on p. 2.)
The songs and skits which fol owed dinner were, as Ned Rosenheim said, "a reminder of the local tradition of amateur theatricals, those labors of love by writers, producers, directors and performers who make their livings in every possible colorful Hyde Park way except the professional theater."
The songs "Oscar" and "Abe" came respectively from the 1963 Harper Court benefit and the 1958 Revels. The song "In Old Hyde Park" and two monologues--"A Voice from the Past" and "Are You There?"--were written for this occasion. Performers were Helen and Roland Bailey, Pat Billingsley, Mary Schulman, Stephen Thomas and Impresario Rosenheim.
P.S. It would be a worthy HPHS project to collect memorabilia of the amateur theatricals that have flourished here. Anyone interested?
J. DARTER HAPPY HERE
By Malcolm Collier
How many kinds of fish are there in the Jackson Park lagoons? Ask David Gordon, who spoke Feb.22 at the Blackstone Branch Library on the ecology of the lagoons during the past century.
Gordon is on a work-study program at the Field Museum, is a research assistant at the Shedd Aquarium and a student of the lagoon fish population and bottom sediments.
He said there are now about 15 spe cies of fish in the lagoons. Among them are the tiny Johnny Darter andthe yellow perch, whose presence indicates that these waters are reasonably health y despite the loss of two feet of depth during the past decade and other hazards. Science and Industry is a constant reminder of his dedication to the city and its people. He espoused the cause of black education long before others became aware of this need.
The loss of this house would greatly reduce the aesthetic and historic value of the neighborhood. A group of concerned residents is working to prevent this from happening. You can join them by con tacting Victoria Post Ranney, 4919 Woodlawn Ave., 548-0017.
HYDE PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Volume I, Number 3 July, 1979
f much reading as the Newsletters J
/ we have published previously. Designed to entertain and inform @
{ you while you laze in hammock or J
1 porch chair, it is also substantial enough to prop tent-like :)
@over your face as a shield from the summer sun. :::::
::::: Our special thanks go to the authors of our signed articles. t
{Any reader who would enjoy an occasional writing assignment ::::: comparable to these is invited to telephone Muriel
)Beadle at 493-2119, 9 a.m.-5 p.m {
JOYCE FOUNDATION GRANT
The campaign to raise the money necessary for the renovation of the Hyde Park Historical Society head quarters, the 19th century cable car station at 5529 Lake Park Ave., is going forward.
To date our efforts have been re warded with a $2500 grant from The Joyce Foundation. Proposals are be ing sent to other foundations, and fund-raising activity will continue
throughout the summer. o
Henry Who?
PUNNY PARTIES HONOR NOVELIST FULLER
GUEST OF HONOR'S GHOST HASN'T YET MANIFESTED ITSELF
By Mary Hynes-Berry
Early this year, the Committee for Fuller Recognition of the Deservedly Obscure sent out invitations to honor the 122nd birthday (Jan. 9) of Henry Blake Fuller, the mildly well-known Chicago author and Hyde Park resident. The appointed night (Jan.13) came, along with the Blizzard of '79 and 40 guests.
This was the third birthday party given by my husband and me since we discovered that, 50 years ago this summer, Fuller died of a heart attack in a room he rented in our house. Before happening by chance on this information, we had never heard of Fuller. Since then, we have learned a lot.
One delightful source, which we acquired, is a 1927 letter from Fuller to Mrs. Lorado Taft. In it, he mentions moving to 5411 So. Harper Ave., with "Mrs. Ryan, but American" as his landlady.
After reading all the way through some of his eight novels (including the two he wrote in our upstairs bed room), we decided that Fuller was a competent not brilliant writer of some historical interest. It was One faction argued heatedly that the man who wrote the first realistic novel with Chicago as its set ting (With the Procession), who wrote exciting to discover that one's house another which became the name of a had had a brush with history. It was somehow realistic to learn that the brush was-like life is so of ten-of passionate interest to those involved and forgotten by everyone else.
The most appropriate reaction was to celebrate the Deservedly Obscure. Although Henry was a notoriously shy bachelor, there was always the off-chance that his ghost might join in the festivities. But, alas, Henry didn't manifest himself at the first party. Nor, at the second, did he attend the premiere performance of a hitherto undiscovered manuscript entitled The Brushman Cometh (which bore a remarkable textual resemblance to the letter in the Berrys' possession).
It was on the agenda of this year's gathering to decide if Fuller should be promoted to the status of Free Spirit. The title is granted to only the most deservedly obscure. So, once the evening had sufficiently progressed, the group was asked to debate before voting a recommendation to the Powers-That-Be. Debate they did. famous club (The Cliff Dwellers), who was admired by such writers and critics as Hamlin Garland, Theodore Dreiser and Edmund Wilson, who greatly aided Harriet Monroe in the editorial work of Poetry magazine, and who counted Lorado Taft as a close friend--such a man did not deserve obscurity.
Others argued that perhaps obscurity was deserved when academics who had devoted their careers to the man made comments like: "Whenever a critic needed another example of arrested literary development, all he had to do was to point to Henry B. haunting the fringes of literary recognition." (Charles Silet)
Still a third set pointed out that the previous birthday parties had seriously threatened Fuller's obscurity, no matter how well deserved.
The secret ballots were counted. A majority had voted to make Henry a Free Spirit. Even so, when the lights were dimmed and the 122 candles lit, Henry still didn't feel free to waft down the stairs and blow them out.
Maybe next year
AT SPRINGFIELD -
At 9 PM every evening except Mondays until September 8 (weather
2- permitting), "Sound and Light at the Old State Capitol" will be presented free of charge at the handsomely restored Old State Capitol
building in Springfield. The 45-min. electronic production, now in its fourth season, was narrated by the late Lee J. Cobb and focuses in on the fateful issues facing Abraham Lincoln and the nation in 1860. "Your Obedient Servant, A. Lincoln" is also in its fourth season
@ at Kelso Hollow Theater in New Salem. The play is presented nightly except Mondays through August 25. For ticket information, write The
.· Great American People Show, Box 401, Petersburg, IL 62675, or tele- phone 217-632-7755. □
WEDDING BELLS rang out on June 5, 1885, for Ina Ott, 5146 S.Harper Ave.,
CALL FOR GIFTS!
Many libraries store historical material
By Victor Dyer
What sort of historical materials should community libraries or his orical societies collect? What should the relationship be between historical society and library, especially when the one collects and the other stores the material?
At a May 16 conference on local history, sponsored by the Chicago Historical Society, speakers included Susan Prendergast Schoelwer, Assistant Archivist in the Special Collections Division of the Chicago Public Library.
She reported that 15 major historical collections-most of them dating from the 1930's-are now housed in branch libraries. Typically, these collections originated with neighborhood historical societies, some of which have gone out of existence. (The Woodlawn Historical Society is an example.)
Ms. Schoelwer's remarks stimulated a lively discussion of pub lic library/historical society relationships and obligations. It was evident that clear guidelines are necessary, with special attention given to the disposal of collections if a historical society should become defunct.
Information and ideas from this conference will aid the Hyde Park Historical Society Board of Directors in planning our acquisitions policies. The Acquisitions Committee (Jean Block, Kathleen Conzen, Victor Dyer and Albert architect W. I Beman.
According to the Hyde Park ► Herald, "Presents included an ► upright piano, an elegant oak ► cabinet, a hammered wood hod, ► an oriental water pitcher, a ► decorated French butter dish, ► cut glass and Bohemian glass ► fruit dishes, an embroidered ► piano cover, a French mantel ► clock and a rocking chair."
Rosenwald
Efforts to save the historic and architecturally significant Julius Rosenwald house at 4901 Ellis Ave. have gained momentum in recent months.
Representatives of the Committee to Save the Rosenwald House have met with Fourth Ward Alderman Ti othy C. Evans, Kenwood community leaders and the owner of the property.
The committee has widely distributed a statement contending that the only economically feasible way to preserve the building is to permit it to be sold as three condominium units, one on each floor.
To date, 770 people, more than 270 of whom live in the immediate vicinity of the Rosenwald house, have endorsed the statement and joined
the committee. If you would like to do likewise, send your name and ad dress on a postcard to the head of the committee, Victoria Post Ranney, 4915 Woodlawn Ave.
Early Black Music in U.S. did have Roots in Africa
By Muriel Beadle
"The break from their African cultures was so abrupt and so complete that slaves who were brought to the United States were in effect without any culture. White society, especially missionaries, was the source of whatever music they later developed." True or false? FALSE.
On May 6, members of the Hyde Park Historical Society hea d Dena Ep stein, music librarian at Regenstein Library, and Ruth Fouche, ethnol ogist at the DuSable Museum of Afro-American History, discuss "Myths of Black Music." Our thanks to both for an enlightening presentation.
Our speakers said that the erroneous statement above derives from the fact that incoming slaves had no common languages. What they did have,
however, were mutually comprehen
0 tempora! 0 mores!
Two delightful excerpts from "A Hyde Park Childhood," by Dorothy Michelson Livingston, who is a daughter of the great physicist Albert A. Michelson:
"We children attended the Lab oratory School,[which] was called the University Elementary School when I entered there for first grade in 1912. We were taught the nursery rhymes in Latin, and in sixty-eight years I have not
forgotten: Domina Maria, tota con traria/Quibiti crescit in horto?"
*
"My sisters and I were taken to hear Frederic Stock conduct the Thomas concerts at Orchestra Hall. We saw Pavlova do her famous 'Dy ing Swan'. We heard Galli-Curci sing and saw Joseph Schildkraut play in 'Lilliam'. But my person al taste was for a more vulgar form of entertainment. Whenever possible I escaped to the Frolic Movie House on Fifty-fifth Street, where for ten cents I saw hero William S. Hart rescue maiden Blanche Sweet from the villain..."
--from the University of Chicago
Alumni Magazine, Winter Quarter 179
sible tonal systems. They also had the traditional musical instruments of their homelands-cannily provided by slave traders to encourage dancing by their human cargo during the long sea voyage. The slaves arrived in better condition if they exercised enroute.
Nor did spirituals make up the bulk of the slaves' later American music. They also had secular music, the "sinful tunes" in the title of Dena Epstein's recent book, Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War (University of Illinois Press). Until recently, the existence of such music during the antebellum years was so poorly
documented that Mrs. Epstein's book is being highly praised by other experts in her field.
*
Its site added additional interest to the May 6 meeting. At the turn of the century, when Washington Park was one of the jewels of the Chicago Park District, the building that is now the DuSable Museum was the park's Administration Building.
It overlooked a sunken garden, of which only the formal pathways and edging balustrades remain today.
There is no trace at all of the hand some conservatory that was once sit uated at right angles to the Administration Building, just east of the sunken garden. □
If you have always wanted to know
... where the original Magnificent Mile was
... where there is a statue of President McKinley which-before it was melted down, re-cast, and moved to a new location-depicted Christopher Columbus
... where the garbage dump mentioned in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle used to be...
you should have been on the bus with Dominick Pacyga for the Chicago Historical Society tour, "People and Industry on the South Side" on Saturday, June 9.
The four-hour excursion focused on changes in industry, land use and movements of ethnic groups. In the Near Loop area we looked at the abandoned industrial buildings, wonder ing if plans for Soho in Chicago would attract tenants whose activities will make the area live again.
When passing the old Dearborn St. Station, we heard about the neighborhood of the future which is being built on railroad land, and how the station will be a school and a community center. Viewing these wide open spaces, we found it difficult to visualize the area in the days when the great trains were corning through Chicago and industrialists were benefiting from the closeness of the Loop, the river, the workers and the trains.
Further south, we saw the remnants of Prairie Avenue and understood how encroaching industry and the noise and dirt of the trains closed the grand houses and drove the people away.
On to the Stockyard neighborhoods of Bridgeport, McKinley, Back of the Yards and Canaryville (Irish nick name for hogs). Here we heard about the importance of the parish church, the ward office, the tavern, the drugstore and the funeral parlor in the life of the COillJt.lunity.
A busy Saturday afternoon on West 47th St. attested to ethnic variety, with shop signs in Polish, Lithuanian and Spanish. Only we to rists seemed to be bothered by pungent fumes from a fertilizer plant which has replaced the stockyards and their much heavier odors.
All the live animal pens are gone (except one for animals destined to be koshered in Philadelphia) Land where thousands of people once la bored has been left to go wild or to become sites for small industries or sprawling truck lots employing a few hundred people.
As our tour continued, we learned about physical barriers such as expressways, railroad tracks, sports arenas; and how everything changes once you cross the boundaries be tween them. Each ethnic group is memorialized in churches, synagogues and other institutions. We traced the movements of the Irish, for ex ample, through the architectural grandeur of their buildings as they (and we, in 1979) went west on Garfield Blvd.
Our guide defined a "corridor neighborhood" for us; showed us some streets without character and some with the wrong kind of character (too many fast food outlets, parking blessed with two special treats. The weather was the nicest in memory, and the Hyde Park Historical Society had a patriotic booth selling a full line of "dry goods."
There were items catering to the budget of every age group, from badges to boaters to books. Especially popular were the new HPHS t-shirts, displaying a picture of our headquarters-to-be.
Also available were handsome prints of the building, suitable for framing. These pictorial subjects were particularly appropriate because all profits will go toward the renovation project.
Behind the counter, a progression of volunteers from our ranks handled sales totaling over $800. Our thanks to: Theresa McDermott, Linnea Anderson, Kathleen and Michael Conzen, Tom Jensen, Cheryl and Clyde Watkins, Donald Miller, Christine O'Neill, Tom arid Georgene Pavelec, Margaret Fallers, Betty Davey, and Jean Block. Their enthusiasm also helped recruit 36 new members from among the passing throngs.
Next to our booth was a display on the Rosenwald House, including an excellent scale model by Kenwood Academy senior Josh Gerick. After many hours and repeated explanations of the issues, the Committee to Save the Rosenwald House had secured another 300 signatures!
If you missed your chance to purchase Hyde Park Historical Society paraphernalia, don't fret. We have some left, and will be offer ing them at future meetings and other events.□
HISTORICAL MATERIAL....from page 3
Tannler) is considering several possible locations for future archival and book collections of the Society.
In the meantime we are anxious to begin assembling histories of local institutions, pamphlets, biographical materials on residents of the community, scrapbooks, photographs, posters, etc. The committee would be happy to consider gifts of these and other historical materials relating to Hyde Park-Kenwood.
Call Kathleen Conzen at 285-2181
to describe or discuss your possible contribution.□
6
IS
AGING
According to the News Service of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, more than a third of the nation's housing was built before World War II.
Of the 80 million year-round housing units, 34% were constructed be fore 1940. Of the 48 million owner occupied units, 29% pre-date 1940.
And 43% of the 26 million renter occupied units are more than 40 years old.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, from the 1976 annual housing survey.□
HONORS LIST
The Chicago Foundation for Literature Award has been given by Friends of Literature to HPHS President Jean Block for "her careful ly researched and handsomely illustrated book Hyde Park Houses , a wonderful source book and guide to the architecture of an area where the past is present to be under
NOW AVAILABLE BY MAIL
CITY HOUSE GUIDE
City House: A Guide to Renovating Older Chicago-area Houses is the printed sequel to the popular "City House" exhibition at Navy Pier in February, about which we had an ar ticle in our last Newsletter.
The Guide, a treasury of infor mation and advice, has been published by the city's Commission on Chicago Historical and Architectural Landmarks, 320 No. Clark St., Room 800, Chicago, IL 60610. It can be
ordered by mail for $5.45. □
stood and enjoyed." The book was
published by the University of Chicago Press.
ROSENWALD ....
Mrs. Ranney is associate editor
The American Institute of Architects this year presented six of its 15 Honor Awards to historical preservation projects. One of them was the Chicago Public Library Cultural Center at Michigan and Randolph.
Tours of this handsomely restored building are offered by the Friends of the Library on Thursdays at 11 AM and 1 PM and on Sundays at 1:30.
Groups of 10 or more may schedule tours at other times. Call 269- 2922 between 10 AM and 4 PM during the business week.
*
The Illinois State Historical Society gave its Award of Merit for local and regional history to HPHS Board member Devereux Bowly, Jr. for his book, The Poorhouse: Subsidized Housing in Chicago, 1895- 1976 Southern Illinois University Press).
Describing the book as "carefully researched", the citation said further: "Although it deals with the Chicago experience, it has implications for all cities faced with the problem of providing housing for; poor people."
of the papers of famed landscape ar chitect Frederick Law Olmstead and chairperson of the Illinois Humani ties Council. Other organizers of the committee include Edna Epstein, 1120 E. 50th St.; John McDermott, 4811 Kimbark Ave.; and Gary Husted, 4900 Ellis Ave.
The Rosenwald house was open to the public in May as part of the An cona School Kenwood House Tour. Vis itors were glad to see that it is in good condition despite the fact that it has not been occupied for more than two years.
With the increasing interest in local history and in preserving sig nificant architecture, it is hoped by the HPHS Board of Directors that soon the Rosenwald house will again be occupied. Its preservation will give future generations some insight into the life of a most remarkable civil rights leader and philanthro
pist. □
The Hyde Park Historical Society Newsletter is published quarterly.
Muriel Beadle, Editor Corinne Seither, Typing Michael Conzen, Graphics.
Sierra Club Book Tells
the History of the Great Lakes
Reviewing Jonathan Ela's The Faces of the Great Lakes in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Socie ty, Orvetta M. Robinson of the Illi nois State Museum describes as "ab sorbing" this account of the ecolog ical, geological and human history of our great inland "river of lakes."
Published by the Sierra Club and priced at $24.50, this beautiful book
SOUTH SIDE TOUR...
lots and gas stations are almost sure to ruin the neighborhood); and said that electing to stay in a changing neighborhood can be cause
includes a preface by conservationist Sigurd Olson and 87 pages of photo graphs by B.A. King, "arranged by region from East to West, from the Thousand Islands to Duluth; remark able photographs [which] depict not only the natural landscape but also the cultural phenomena." Ms. Robinson says this is much more than a good coffee table book (although it is
that too).
for growth. Hyde Parkers who lived through urban renewal here would surely agree.
For your own guide to changes in Chicago, look for Dominick Pacyga's and Glen Holt's Chicago-A Histori cal Guide to Neighborhoods, to be published this month by the Chicago Historical Society. Paperbound $7.95
HYDE PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Volume I, Number 4 November, 1979
A Chance to Share, to Observe, to Banquet ·:·::::
Some interesting and instructive events lie just ahead. They include:
► An exhibit called HYDE PARK HISTORY ON SHOW, at Hyde Park Federal, on November 11. You should already have received a mailed announcement and invitation to show your historical treasures. Our next Newsletter will report on the meeting and exhibit.
► On Friday, December 7, the Illinois
NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR THE
the Paul Cornell Awards, which are presented annually by the Hyde Park Historical Society.
Members are invited to submit short written statements commend ing anyone (except a currently serving HPHS Board member) who significantly furthered community knowledge, appreciation, or preservation of Hyde Park's historical heritage in 1979. (For this purpose, "Hyde Park" is the area between 47th St. and the Midway, Cottage Grove Ave. and the Lake.
Award categories are: books and articles; exhibits; lectures;
Historic Sites Advisory Council, meeting at the Windermere Hotel between 9 and 12, 2 and 5, will consider applications for nomi nation to both the National and the Illinois Historic Registers.
According to Council member Michael Conzen (who is also on the HPHS Board), the Council convenes at three-month intervals in different cities in order to encourage greater public knowledge of its activities and procedures. It has not met before in Hyde Park. Interested citizens are urged to come for the entire meeting or any part of it.
► Our Annual Meeting and Dinner will take place on January 19. Full details will come later. D
This Hyde Park Historical Society
student projects; restoration of exterior or public interior spaces of commercial, civic, or residential buildings; and sympathetic
... to page 8
Newsletter is published quarterly.
Muriel Beadle, Editor Corinne Seither, Typing Michael Conzen, Graphics
Library. Renovation well Underway
NOTE: This is the first in a series of reports on the renovation of the Blackstone Branch Library. The following notes were extracted by Muriel Beadle from a conversa tion with architectural historian and HPHS Board member Irma Strauss.
Chicago's first branch library was built in 1904 by Mrs. Timothy
Blackstone to memorialize her husband. Solon s. Beman (who lived in Kenwood) was the architect of this
Greek Revival building. Exclusive of land, it cost $125,000. The renovation is budgeted at $700,000.
Beman's renderings survive in the Burnham Library at the Art Institute but the blueprints are missing. Coping with the resultant surprises are the renovation architect, An drew Heard(he lives in Kenwood, too) and the contractor, R. E. Rudnick.
They are doing a sensitive job. Ac cording to Librarian Emma Kemp, they are keeping as much as possible of the original fabric yet are taking full advantage of modern technology.
In 1904, the site was a cow pas ture. Being on alluvial soil, the building has done much settling.
Therefore, the outside stairs need ed resetting. The sidewalks have been repaved. In back, a concrete ramp has replaced the steps. New windows have been installed. (Not to re-use the original frames is too bad, but it wasn't possible.)
All the wiring has been updated and new fluorescent fixtures, ugly but necessary, are in place wher
ever bright light is essential.□
Next report: Restoring the de tails; modern additions.
TAX RELIEF LAW
MISSES ITS MARK ''--(7
By Carol Moseley Braun Like other best laid schemes of
mice and men, Illinois Senate Bill
244 is a scheme that has gang aft a-gley. It was intended to provide incentive for preservation efforts by granting a 10-yr. tax freeze on single family dwellings in Munici pal Landmark areas or in National
Historic Districts. (There are 26 of the latter in Illinois, among them Hyde Park and Kenwood.)
However, the bill contains many and grave errors. Qualification for the tax freeze depends solely on the house's age and location, not upon the extent of preservation efforts or investment. The owner can take advantage of the tax re lief while allowing the property
to deteriorate for 10 years. He can make "improvements" which funda mentally change the structure, with out loss of tax relief. Wholesale destruction of historic buildings could result from such a loophole.
PAUL CARROLL PAYS FOND TRIBUTE
TO THE IRISH WHO
LIVED HERE IN THE 193O's
By Lesley Bloch
The sanctuary of St. Thomas the Apostle Church was the scene of the Oct. 7 Hyde Park Historical Society meeting. It was an ideal spot for Paul Carroll's recollections, Being Irish in Hyde Park. Sipping "tears of the angels" and speaking from a place normally reserved for saints and priests, he delighted the audience with tales of his family, St. Thomas Church and Grammar School, and Kenwood--"the stronghold of the Irish mafia in the 1930's."
Nineteenth Century Picnic Menu
At our pleasant Sept. 15 outing to Naper Settlement, the bag lunches were prepared by Thelma Dahlberg, Jean Ervin, Gladys Finn and Chris Lehigh. Thanks, ladies.
HPHS members enjoyed reading the explanatory sheet which accompanied each lunch. It explained that every item on the menu--plum jam sandwiches, deviled eggs, pickles, apple and black walnut cookies, butter cookies with hazelnuts, fresh picked grapes, cider--could have appeared at an early 19th century pic nic.
This bread too was made by "set ting the sponge" from a carefully kept "starter." The cookie recipes came from century-old cookbooks.
The jam and pickles were homemade. Only the butter was "modern"--i.e., store-bought, not churned at home.
Our 20th century cooks also used plastic bags and paper products- much more convenient than following the 19th century practice of wrap ping sandwiches in a damp cloth, then packing them in a tin or wicker box. There's a limit to one's yearning for authenticity.□
The relatives living together at 51st and Kenwood were a marvelous crew. The spinster sisters, Nellie and Catherine Rose, attended 6 a.m. Mass, stirred pots of stew and read only the parish obituaries. The four bachelor brothers, aloof from work of any kind, sat behind their news papers--except on the occasions when they came before J.A. Carroll (real estate developer, builder of the Hyde Park Bank, father of Paul) with candidates for marriage, his approv al being required. The candidates were generally unsuitable.
Among young Paul's favorite spots in the neighborhood was the room above the garage at the home of Big Jim McKay. Here, the boy got to see and talk to three pistol-toting bodyguards who played cards continu ally but were always ready for trou ble. A shotgun was a fixture in a corner of the room. Mr. Carroll al so recalled with relish the "Friday night fights with the Protestants from Ray School."
For more Irish wit and wisdom from Paul Carroll, listen to WFMT on Sundays at 10:30 p.m., and look
for his forthcoming book, Chicago, Magic City of the West.□
NOTE: This and the story of Joe Hill (facing page) are corrrplementary. One is written from the viewpoint of a modern day union syrrrpathizer, the other reflects the anti-labor sentiment of many members of the Chicago Establishment in 1886
By Jean Block
Starting with the depression of the 1870's, strife between labor and management was almost constant as workingmen struggled for better wages and working conditions. The Haymarket Riot in 1886 followed a strike at the McCormick works: an apparently peaceable mass meeting was charged by the police, a bomb was thrown into the crowd, and many people were killed or wounded.
Nine anarchists were arrested and hastily tried. Seven were convicted and sentenced to hang. Although no one was ever to know who threw the bomb, the charge was that the thrower was incited by the inflammatory speeches of the accused.
An eyewitness account of the night before the execution as well as the execution itself appears in the papers of J. Frank Aldrich at the Chicago Historical Society. Attached to the account is a finely engraved invitation to the hanging.
Aldrich lived at 5649 Blackstone and then at 4800 Kimbark. A crusading Republican, he was elected President of the County Board in
1886 as part of a reformers' effort to rid the Board of the graft and corruption that were leading the County to bankruptcy.
Because of his office, Aldrich could visit the jail at will. On the eve of the hanging, he talked with August Spies and later wrote:
"Speaking in a well modulated but rather low tone, Spies said he believed he had done no wrong, that all they were contending for was the right of free speech, it was the struggle of the masses against the capitalists who had decreed that they should be 'put out of the way'.... I do not recall that we shook hands when I left him; probably not."
As for the execution, Aldrich wrote: "When the caps were adjust ed, Spies said, 'There will be a time when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today.'... Engel cried, 'Hurrah for Anarchy!' ...Fischer said, 'This is the happiest moment of my life.' Parsons said, 'Will I be allowed to speak Omen of America? Let me speak, Sheriff Watson. Let the voice of the people be heard.
Aldrich concluded (with a final sigh of relief) that the event "gave anarchism in this country a set back from which it has never recovered.
Amen." □
U.S.S. NAUTILUS JOINS ELITE GROUP Evidence that a historic place can move around is provided by the listing of the U.S.S. Nautilus on the National Register of Historic Places. This, the world's first atomic powered vessel and the first submarine to circumnavigate the globe at high speed while it was submerged, dates--how time flies!
--from 1951.
The Navy hasn't decided whether or not to put its historic place
on public display.□
By Lee H. Morgan
A historical society like ours is, by its very nature, specialized in its interests and program. Even more specialized, however, are the labor history societies which exist in thirteen Sta.tes. For example:
The Illinois Labor History Soci ety is among groups trying to se cure a posthumous pardon for Joe Hill, executed for murder in Salt Lake City in 1915 but whose convic tion is felt by many to have been due to anti-labor sentiment.
Joe Hill, born Joel Hagglund in Sweden in 1879, emigrated to the United States in 1910. Here, he joined and became an organizer for the militant Industrial Workers of the World (Ir-m, whose members were popularly known as "Wobblies").
Also a poet and balladeer, he was the great troubadour of the early 20th century labor movement. The following lyrics are typical of his work; this and other of his songs are still popular with folk-singers.
If we workers take a notion,
We can stop all speeding trains, Every ship upon the ocean
We can tie with mighty chains. Every wheel in the creation, Every mine and every mill, Fleets and armies of all nations Will at our command stand still.
Hill's way with words did not desert him upon his arrest for the murder of a Salt Lake City grocer and his son, during the trial, and later. Shortly before his execu tion, he sent to 'Big Bill' Hay wood, the IWW leader, this tele gram: "Good-bye, Bill. I will die as a true-blue rebel. Don't waste time mourning. Organize." And on the night before he faced the fir ing squad, he wrote:
My will is easy to decide,
For there is nothing to divide.
My kin don't need to fuss and moan--
"Moss does not cling to a roll- ing stone."
My body? Ah, if I could choose, I would to ashes it reduce, And let the merry breezes blow My dust to where some flowers
grow,
Perhaps some fading flower then Would come to life and bloom again. This is my last and final will, Good luck to all of you--Joe Hill.
On November 19, 1915, he died, despite pleas for a pardon from thousands of people. As for a post humous pardon, Utah's attorney gen eral says that neither Utah law, fed eral law nor English common law pro vide for it. The Illinois Labor His tory Society is sending its petitions anyway. Its president, Lester Orear, says, "The Utah ruling isn't final; it's only a skirmish."
FUNDS SOUGHT; GIFT RECIEVED
The drive to raise funds to re store our headquarters building at 5529 Lake Park Ave. is fully under way. Applications for major grants are pending before several founda tions and others are being prepared for banks and corporations.
The first donation of a fixture for the building has been received from Dr. and Mrs. Albert Dahlberg, both HPHS Board members. It is a late 19th century water closet, complete with a mahogany water tank with tin lining.□
Where are the records of the South Park Improvement Association? They must be in someone's basement, but whose?
If you know, or can provide a clue, get in touch with Jean Block
at 1700 E. 56th St., Chicago 60637i phone 363-9093. □
Strolling along Lake Parl( in days gone by
NOTE: Lake Park Ave., formerly Lake Ave., is now--thanks to urban renewal--hard by the west side of the I.e. embankment. But fragments of the original thoroughfare remain: for example, the section of today's Lake Park between 56th and 57th; the block that abuts the Hyde Park Bank on the east between 53rd and 54th; the driveway and parking lot east of Hyde Park Federal; the roadway which the Blackstone Branch Library faces.
According to a memoir written by a pioneer settler here, Mrs. Homer Nash Hibbard, Hyde Park in 1860 "was a cluster of scattered houses, less than a score, dropped down among the oak trees. There was no store, no postoffice, no market, and a single passenger car on the Illinois Central, three times a day, was the only connection with the city except Purcell's ox-cart, which served as an express to bring from the city barrels of flour and groceries. The one sidewalk, a board walk on Lake Avenue, was fringed with ferns and violets, wild flowers and strawberries."
--from the 1910 history of the Hyde Park Presbyterian
Church (now the United Church of Hyde Park)
About 1925, an 11-year-old youngster named Fred Sherwood lived at 5442 Dorchester, attended Ray School, and roamed the community during his leisure hours. A little over 50 years later, this is how he remembers Lake Park Ave. (from which the ferns and violets had certainly departed):
"There was still a livery stable there; also a wholesale butcher and a cigar shop where the owner sat in the window, hand-rolling ci gars. There were several horse troughs with semi-circular basins, one of which also had a slow-flowing 'people' spout."
--from a 1979 letter from Fred Sherwood, who now lives in Sawyer, Michigan.□
HAVE YOU EATEN AT THE COLLEGE INN?
Where students meet and eat. Best food at best prices.
READERS CAMPUS DRUG STORE.
61st and Ellis Avenue Fairfax 4800 ( also on campus exchange)
ADVERTISING IN THE NEWSLETTER?
Not yet. Older Hyde Parkers may re member Readers Campus Drug Store and correctly date the ad as circa 1935. (HPHS Board member and Uni
City House
March 21-23, 1980 are the dates for Chicago's second annual "CITY HOUSE: A Home Improvement Fair of Older Houses," at Navy Pier. If you want to exhibit, call Edward Jeske at 744-3200. University Archivist Al Tannler dug it out for us.)
The half-timber and stucco shops and gas station at 61st and Ellis were built in 1931. The University owned other commercial property in Hyde Park-from offices let to the Anti-Saloon League to shoe shining parlors-but the stores at 61st and Ellis were the first it had built for the benefit of students.
As the University Record said, these shops would make it easy for students "to buy a linen collar or obtain a 'permanent wave'". It was expected that dormitories for wo men would be erected near the existing College Residence Hall for Men (now Burton-Judson). Its Goth ic splendor was, of course, the reason for the Olde Englishe architecture of the retail shops.
Although the women's dorms never materialized, the stores long did well. The University still owns them but, alas, only the gas sta tion is open. The shops are boarded up, waiting for a revival of the economy south of the Midway. D
--Muriel Beadle
SENATE BILL 244
Governor Thompson signed the bill into law on Sept. 22, but used his amendatory veto to postpone the effective date of the legislation from January 1980 to January 1981. This, he said, was to give preservationists a chance "to work with the sponsors to improve the bill."
Anyone who cares about the preservation of our architectural heritage should send his or her suggestions for the amendment of Senate Bill 244 to its sponsors, Sen. Jeremiah E. Joyce and Rep. Daniel P.
O'Brien, care of their respective legislative bodies in Springfield.
NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE NOMINATIONS FOR THE PAUL CORNELL AWARDS
renovation or adaptive re-use. Our awards may be made in any, all, or none of those categories, but only one award will be made in each cat egory. Recipients of awards will be announced at our annual meeting in January. Send your nominations by Dec. 1 to Kathleen Conzen, 1333 E. 50th St., Chicago 60615.
To refresh your memory, our 1978 awards went to:
0 George Cooley, "for leadership in researching and preparing a plan for the restoration of the Wooded Island to its former glory."
0 Mr. and Mrs. Victor Barcilon, "for their sensitive exterior res toration of the Heller House [5136 Woodlawn Ave.], tuckpointing it in the unique manner initially speci fied by its architect, Frank Lloyd Wright."
0 Eliza Davey, "for developing an architectural outdoor study-game, Queen Anne Meets the Greek, which heightens the observational skills of parents and children."
Incidentally, there's a nice se quel to this one. Mrs. Davey, Ancona School's Art Center Coordina tor, will produce three similar Streetgames during 1979-80, thanks to a $26,000 grant from the Nation al Endowment for the Humanities.
The Games will be tested city-wide by 12 to 17 year olds. □