John & Elizabeth Moutoussamy House in Chesterfield #Ward09

 

I like this house it's very different and fits into the Chatham community for sure. Located at 361 East 89th Place so really in Chesterfield it was designed by noted Black architect John Moutoussamy who designed a number of buildings around Chicago. I found this pic and these buildings he designed on fb

• (1954) The John W. & Elizabeth R. Moutoussamy House, 361 East 89th Place, Chicago, IL
• (1959) The Alex Poinsett & Norma R. Poinsett House, 8532 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL
• (1962) The Lake Terrace Condominiums, 7337 South South Shore Drive, Chicago, IL
• (1968) The Quadrangle Condominiums, 6700 South South Shore Drive, Chicago, IL
• (1969) The Lawless Garden Apartments, 3620 South Rhodes Avenue, Chicago, IL
• (1969) The Michigan Beach Apartments, 7251 South South Shore Drive, Chicago, IL
• (1972) The Woodlawn Neighborhood Health Center, 6337 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL
• (1972) The Regents Park Apartments, 5050 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL
• (1973) Carver Military Academy High School (Chicago Public Schools), 13100 South Doty Avenue, Chicago, IL
• (1976) Harry S. Truman College, (City Colleges of Chicago), 1145 West Wilson Avenue, Chicago, IL
• (1981) Richard J. Daley College, (City Colleges of Chicago), 7500 South Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL
• (1981) Olive-Harvey College (City Colleges of Chicago), 10001 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL
• (1983) The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., International Headquarters, 5656 South Stony Island Avenue, Chicago, IL
•  (1984) The Chicago Urban League, 4510 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL
• – (1993) The Bessie Coleman Library (Chicago Public Library), 731 East 63rd Street, Chicago, IL

Whoever lives in that house currently I don't intend any disrespect by sharing a photo of their house especially since it was already shared on social media. This is one house that has definitely caught my eye over the years just architecturally stands out.

Here's more about John Moutoussamy, when you click the link you will see a pic of him outside of that very house on 89th Place.

Sun-Times: Altgeld Gardens Commercial Building

Via WisconsinHistory.org

Since I mentioned Altgeld Gardens a few days ago on this blog, I found this Sun-Times article on an architecturally significant building in that part of town called the Altgelt Gardens commercial building:

Historic Pullman on Christmas Eve 2020

 

[VIDEO] It's a bit snowy in Pullman isn't it. As depicted in these scenes uploaded this morning as we seen in this video of the historic planned company town/Chicago neighborhood, now a national monument.

I hope you all have a safe, festive, and happy holidays this year.

The former St. Nicholas Church in Roseland

You might see this reposted onto our ig page. In the meantime here's Eric Allix Rogers photo of this vacant church in Roseland at 113th Place and State Street.

There are some great buildings and architecture in our communities. Someone out there appreciates them, if only there was a way to keep these buildings in use so they won't meet the wrecking ball.

The former St. Nicholas church (William J. Brinkmann, circa 1900) is rotting away in Roseland

A post shared by Eric Allix Rogers (@ericallixrogers) on Apr 19, 2017 at 8:35am PDT

Curbed Chicago: Plan to renovate Pullman’s historic 1880 factory building is moving forward

Plans are being made to turn the historic Pullman factory and clock tower - located at 111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue - to become a visitor center. In addition there will be a interpretive center and HQ for National Park Service operations. This is an initiative of the National Park Service and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives.

The NPS’ ambitious plan to renovate Pullman’s historic factory building is moving forward https://t.co/ptHf4K9tPO pic.twitter.com/7bDVOaqk7u

— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) March 20, 2017

Red line extension moves forward

Rendering of the 103rd CTA station

I'm somewhat disappointed that the red line extension to Roseland may not open until at least 2026 at the earlier according to what was written by Greg Hinz. Regardless more progress is being made in the future progress to bring the CTA L system further south from 95th street. This project is expected to cost about $2.3 billion.

As CTA continues to move forward we will see a draft environmental impact statement which will be seen on this project's website. In addition as hopefully construction would begin at 2022 at the earliest another step is to purchase those properties within the footprint of the route whether or not the CTA goes with the two options for their preferred routing.

Former fire station in Pullman

Took this snapshot of this old fire station near 108th/Cottage Grove in Pullman. BTW, who is that person sitting in that top window on the left side. I thought this place was abandoned lol.

Regardless if you want to know more about the history of this building there's this page from Forgotten Chicago.

This firehouse is located on 108th Street in Pullman, just north of the charred remains of the famous factory. Built in 1895 and home to Engine Company 80, this is the last former firehouse in Chicago with an observation tower. Many 19th century firehouses originally had them to aid in locating fires. This station was disused in 1957 and currently sits abandoned.

And now with the additional attention Pullman is getting with the national park designation what other use could this architectural treasure see?

Check out the post of this picture on ig below.

An old firehouse in #Pullman near 108th/Cottage Grove. And who's that person sitting in the top window on the left hand side? #firehouse #architecture #chicagogram #southside

A photo posted by The Sixth Ward (@thesixthward) on May 8, 2016 at 8:55am PDT

Hotel Florence Pullman

This is the Hotel Florence as seen from across the street on 111th Street. An historic building designed in the 19th century for those who did business with the Pullman Company for whom this neighborhood was named. These days unfortunately this particular building is owned by the state and still trying to find a use for this building.

Even if it's not for a hotel my hope is that it can be used as a community meeting place or for business purposes as a restaurant for example. Closer to Cottage Grove a park surrounds it known as Arcade Park & Pullman Park.

Mid-century modern homes in Chatham

8459 South Michigan - Eric Allix Rogers

In 2012, I posted about the modernist architecture legacy of Chatham over @ The Sixth Ward. The many homes that were outside of the general character of that Black middle-class community had been documented over the years. And recently was documented at New City with the photography of one Eric Allix Rogers. I'd suggest you give it a read.

The takeaway is that 60 or so years ago Blacks were finally able to move away from the then Black Belt what we call Bronzeville today. While there may still be a dearth of housing options for that generation of Blacks even in spite of the end of restrictive covenants many found a place to create the suburban lifestyle they sought but weren't able to access.

Chatham was one place many were able to not only purchase a home in a nice area, they were also able to build a home. Probably a matter of buying an empty lot or tearing down a building to custom build a home. How many places in Chicago would one be able to do this today?

Where is this?

Via sixthward ig

I posted this over at the The Sixth Ward  ig page- of which you can see a slideshow in the sidebar. So Can you identify this piece of ornament on a building in Chicago's 9th Ward/Roseland area. It does resemble a familiar brand that probably had an office in that particular building once upon a time.

Well this question was answered on Instagram, but I do wonder who else knows where this is?