2635 W. Albion Avenue

From HistoryWiki

2635 W. Albion Avenue, the Brandt/Woolverton House.

This house was on the 2003 Annual Fall House Tour.

Circa: 1927

Original Owner:

Present (2003) Owner: Craig Brandt and Laurie Woolverton

Between 1910 and 1930, Chicago gained more than one million new residents, creating high demand for new housing, and fueling a "building boom." Builders responded to this need with an affordable, well-built design that fit perfectly onto the city's long narrow lots -- the Chicago Bungalow.

Approximately 80,000 bungalows were built in Chicago during this period, largely in an area known as the "bungalow belt" which rings the city center. The West Ridge community falls within this belt, and contains many fine and unusual bungalows, including this one. This house can be a good example of how inspired and eclectic a Chicago Bungalow can be.

In this case, the normally subdued exterior displays a variety of influences, including Mediterranean-style arched casement windows, in the living room and dining rooms, Colonial Revival-style limestone columns ornamenting the facade, and a Shingle-style eyebrow dormer on the front paired with a Japanese-style dormer on the side. These seemingly divergent elements harmonize beautifully beneath the colorful, original tile roof. The current owners Craig Brandt and Laurie Woolverton are both architects, and have made preserving the character of the house a priority. Fortunately, the interior contains many original elements, including the stained glass, coved ceilings, and ornamental fireplace in the living room, the sconces in the dining room, and the intact black and white tiled bathroom.

The attic contains one large bedroom on the west end of the house. In the future, the owners hope to expand the unfinished east end of this space, and incorporate the charming dormers into the design.