1336 W. Albion Avenue

From HistoryWiki

1336 W. Albion Avenue, (1915).

1336 W. Albion Avenue, Elmer D. Becker, 1919.

1336 W. Albion Avenue, Charles H. Gillette, 1919.

1336 W. Albion Avenue, Unit 1E, The Ken Mullen and Teresa Mullen Condominium, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002]]

2002 Fall House Tour Booklet

This location was featured in the 2002 Fall House Tour Booklet.

A house tour in Rogers Park would not be complete without at least one apartment. After all, over 80% of the housing stock in this area is rental. (Any multi-unit building is considered "rental property".) The reason for this dates to the building boom of the late teens and early twenties of the 20th Century, a time of unmatched expansion that saw large numbers of courtyard buildings, two and three-flats, and multi-story apartment hotels being constructed. Because of this, the population jumped from 6,800 residents in 1910 to over 57,000 in 1930.

Many of these buildings have since been converted to condominiums, including the Mullens', in 1979. The building contains 12 units in all, with six units using the access on the eastern side. Most units contain about 800 square feet, but with some layout variation.

The Mullens purchased their unit in 1995, and it includes two bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen, and a large front porch. Their unit underwent significant remodeling, including the kitchen and bathroom, where new marble was installed in 2002.

As part of the condo conversion, plaster was removed from many of the unit's walls to expose the Chicago common brick. The large bookcase/fireplace built-in is original, but would have been clad in tile or face brick. The woodwork and doors, including the front door, is still the original birchwood, giving it the look and charm of a traditional single-family home's front door.