Courtyard Buildings
Courtyard Buildings Soundex Code C636
see also: Apartment Buildings, Houses, Townhouses, Gardens, and Farm Houses.
The Courtyard Building was popular for multifamily housing in Chicago and its older suburbs, such as Evanston and Oak Park, from the turn of the 20th Century until the Great Depression halted most construction in 1929.
In fact, the courtyard design dates back to ancient history. In Western civilization, courtyard buildings were "a Mediterranean Revival Style invention dating to the Roman Empire," said Stuart Cohen, associate professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "With a series of rooms around a court, they could build city dwellings and not have to worry about light and air."
In ancient Roman cities, the courtyard or closely related atrium buildings were constructed as residences, both single- and multifamily, and as government forums and markets.
The courtyard design has endured from that period to the present day. Its most frequent use in the Middle Ages and Renaissance was in the monastery, in which the monks' rooms opened onto a courtyard, Cohen said. The courtyard design was used for some European castles for purposes of security.
As a multifamily residential design, the courtyard building was introduced in northern Europe in the 17th Century, said John Macsai, professor of architecture at the University of Illinois-Chicago. But most European courtyard buildings--found in abundance in Vienna, Amsterdam, and Paris--were constructed in the 19th Century in a wave of economic expansion, he said.
Unlike most of the courtyard buildings in U.S. cities, European courtyards were usually enclosed, with entry to apartments from galleries on each floor, Macsai said. "In Europe many lots have irregular shapes, and it (the enclosed court) makes use of the entire lot" with exterior walls following lot perimeters, he said.
European courtyards "have a lot of sitting areas, and some have shops on the ground floor. It was common for hustlers to come into the courts and play violins or entertain, and the residents would throw down money."
Enclosed courtyard buildings are rare in Chicago. The regular grid pattern of Chicago's streets allowed dimensional balance, and the structure generally extends along three sides of a rectangular or square lot. In many examples the building covers two lots and has two courtyards.
One of the few examples of enclosed courtyards is Howard Van Doren Shaw's Court of the Golden Hands, now called Astor Court, on Astor Street between Banks Street and Schiller Street (so-called because it originally had "golden" hand-shaped door knockers at the main entrances).
Courtyard buildings of the traditional Chicago style, with long narrow courts open at one end, are plentiful, especially on the Near North Side, in Hyde Park and Rogers Park, and in the suburbs of Evanston and Oak Park. Most were built in the first three decades of the 20th Century.
More buildings of this type are found in Chicago and cities with simultaneous development than in Eastern cities, such as New York City, which became crowded before the turn of the 20th Century. In the early years of the 20th Century, Chicago had plenty of land available for the luxury of courtyards and low-density development.
Residents of courtyard buildings generally were upper middle class or wealthy people who had second homes in North Shore suburbs, Cohen said.
Facades and entrances varied in architectural style from the classical, such as the Pattington Apartments with its Greek columns, to the exotic Mediterranean-style of the Pattington's next-door neighbor to the west, the former Kellshore Hotel, designed by E. Norman Brydges in about 1913, now called the Irving, with terracotta porticos at its two courtyards' entrances.
"The Pattington Apartments is a classic example of what may properly be termed the Chicago classical style as it was used for walkup flats and apartments," wrote Westfall in his article, "The Golden Age of Chicago Apartments," in the November, 1980, issue of Inland Architect magazine.
Courtyard Buildings in Rogers Park
Ashland and Pratt
RPWRHS photo L009-0147 shows Birchwood Beach Apartments (courtyard building) on May 19, 1987. No address given.
RPWRHS photo S013-0785 shows the Apartment Building at 1321 W. Birchwood Avenue in September 1976.
RPWRHS photo S013-0786 shows the back yard of the Apartment Building at 1321 W. Birchwood Avenue in September 1976.
RPWRHS photo S013-0786 shows the courtyard of the Apartment Building at 1321 W. Birchwood Avenue in September 1976.
RPWRHS photo A012-0115 shows the Courtyard Building at 7631-39 N. Eastlake Terrace on May 2009.
RPWRHS photo A012-0116 shows a lamp in the courtyard of the Apartment Building at 7631-39 N. Eastlake Terrace on May 2009.
RPWRHS photo A012-0117 shows Alderman Joe Moore in the courtyard of the Apartment Building at 7631-39 N. Eastlake Terrace on May 2009.
RPWRHS photo A012-0118 shows a hallway in the courtyard of the Apartment Building at 7649 N. Eastlake Terrace on May 2009.
RPWRHS photo A012-0119 shows a pier behind the Courtyard Apartment Building at 7631-49 N. Eastlake Terrace on May 2009.
RPWRHS photo A012-0120 shows an interior courtyard at the Courtyard Apartment Building at 7631-49 N. Eastlake Terrace on May 2009.
RPWRHS photo A012-0121 shows an interior courtyard at the Courtyard Apartment Building at 7631-49 N. Eastlake Terrace on May 2009.
RPWRHS photo S013-0356 shows the courtyard of the Northgate Pier Condominuim at 7649 N. Eastlake Terrace in September 1971.
RPWRHS photo S013-0561 shows the courtyard of the T.L.C. Apartment #11 at 7631 N. Eastlake Terrace in September 1972.
RPWRHS photo S013-0562 shows the courtyard of the T.L.C. Apartment #11 at 7631 N. Eastlake Terrace in September 1972.
RPWRHS photo S013-0563 shows the garden in the courtyard of the T.L.C. Apartment #11 at 7631 N. Eastlake Terrace in September 1972.
RPWRHS photo S013-0630 shows a view of a garden through a wrought iron gate to Lake Michigan at 7649 N. Eastlake Terrace. Photo date September 1971.
RPWRHS photo S013-0600 shows the courtyard of the Apartment Building located at 1335 W. Fargo Avenue in September 1977.
RPWRHS photo S013-0601 shows the courtyard of the Apartment Building located at 1335 W. Fargo Avenue in September 1977.
RPWRHS photo S013-0602 shows the courtyard of the Apartment Building located at 1335 W. Fargo Avenue in September 1977.
RPWRHS photo S013-0365 shows the courtyard of the building at ~1642 W. Farwell Avenue. Photo taken in January 1981.
RPWRHS photo S013-0506 shows the Parliament Shores Apartment Building at 1213 W. Greenleaf Avenue. Photo taken November 1981.
RPWRHS photo S013-0509 shows the courtyard of the Parliament Shores Apartment Building at 1213 W. Greenleaf Avenue. Photo taken November 1981.
RPWRHS photo S013-0510 shows the courtyard building at 1350 W. Greenleaf Avenue. Photo taken November 1981.
RPWRHS photo S013-0507 shows a courtyard building at 1416-34 W. Lunt Avenue. Photo taken in November 1981.
RPWRHS photo S013-0508 shows a closeup of the courtyard at the courtyard building at 1416-34 W. Lunt Avenue. Photo taken in November 1981.
RPWRHS photo S013-0723 shows a Courtyard Building at 7722-28 N. Marshfield Avenue in October 1980. No owner name given.
RPWRHS photo S013-0734 shows a Courtyard Building at 7722-28 N. Marshfield Avenue in October 1980. No owner name given.
RPWRHS photo S013-0514 shows courtyard building at 7552/54 N. Oakley Avenue, November 1981.
RPWRHS photo S013-0515 shows courtyard building at 7552/54 N. Oakley Avenue, November 1981.
RPWRHS photo S013-0185 shows the Courtyard Apartment Building located at 7044 N. Paulina Street in October 1990.
RPWRHS photo S013-0186 shows the Courtyard Apartment Building located at 7044 N. Paulina Street in October 1990.
RPWRHS photo S013-0187 shows the Courtyard of the Apartment Building located at 7044 N. Paulina Street in October 1990.
RPWRHS photo S013-0726 shows the Rose Court Apartments at 7014 N. Sheridan Road in October 1980. No owner name given.
RPWRHS photo S013-0728 shows the Rose Court Apartments at 7014 N. Sheridan Road in October 1980. No owner name given.
RPWRHS photo S013-0792 shows the Courtyard Building at 1317-25 W. Touhy Avenue in September 1973.
RPWRHS photo S013-0793 shows the front gate of the Courtyard Building at 1317-25 W. Touhy Avenue in September 1973.
Courtyard Buildings in West Ridge
RPWRHS photo S013-0724 shows a Courtyard Building at 2049 W. Jarvis Avenue in October 1980. No owner name given.
RPWRHS photo S013-0732 shows a Courtyard Building at 2049 W. Jarvis Avenue in October 1980. No owner name given.
Ridge Boulevard (west side/even side)
RPWRHS photo S013-0452 shows the courtyard of the Casa Bonita Apartments at 7340-50 N. Ridge Boulevard. No date given.
Unidentified Courtyard Buildings
RPWRHS photo S013-0363 shows a Courtyard Building. Location not given. Date not given.
RPWRHS photo S013-0511 shows a Courtyard Building. Location not given. Date: November 1981.
RPWRHS photo S013-0624 shows a Courtyard Building at 7405-11 N. ??????. Date September 1971.
RPWRHS photo S013-0625 shows a Courtyard Building at 7405-11 N. ??????. Date September 1971.
RPWRHS photo S013-0626 shows a the courtyard of a Courtyard Building at 7405-11 N. ??????. Date September 1971.
RPWRHS photo S013-0627 shows a Courtyard Building at ??????. Date September 1971.
RPWRHS photo S013-0735 shows the Parliament Gables, a Courtyard Building at ??????. Photo dated October 1980.
RPWRHS photo S013-0736 shows the Parliament Terrace, a Courtyard Building at ??????. Photo dated October 1980.
RPWRHS photo S013-0737 shows the Parliament Lane, a Courtyard Building at ??????. Photo dated October 1980.
RPWRHS photo S013-0741 shows the Parliament Terrace, a Courtyard Building at ??????. Photo dated October 1980.
RPWRHS photo S013-0742 shows the Parliament Gables, a Courtyard Building at ??????. Photo dated October 1980.
RPWRHS photo S013-0743 shows the Parliament Lane, a Courtyard Building at ??????. Photo dated October 1980.
