Two Framed Flat Homes in Chicago

Chicago:

The two-flat has been called the workhorse of Chicago housing. Typically built from 1900 to 1920, these homes were a bridge for the working class between apartment life and the single family bungalows that were to follow. Commonly, the first floor housed the owner, while the second floor was a rental unit.

The layout of both units was almost always the same. Two-flats were made of wood, brick, or stone and found in a variety of architectural styles. This example is a wooden balloon-frame construction with Victorian layout and ornamentation.

GreyStone

With a distinct limestone facade harvested primarily from quarries around Bedford Indiana, the multi-flat greystone is Chicago’s version of the New York brownstone. Constructed from around 1890 through the 1930’s, they are found in a variety of ornamentation styles, with the most common treatment being a simplified Classical Revival. These houses were built as both single-family homes and multi-family buildings.

Stacked apartments and a single street-facing entrance made multi-flat greystones hard to distinguish from their wealthier single-family counterparts. These features provided greystones with the appearance of grand and spacious living, while allowing a density not previously possible with smaller workers cottages.

The Workers Cottage

The workers cottage was the original Chicago home, built as early as the 1830’s and into the beginning of the 20th century. These were modestly scaled utilitarian buildings built of wood, while later versions (built after the Chicago fire of 1871) were made of brick. Typically, they were either one or one-and-a half stories in height, and had gabled roofs that faced the street.

The “workers cottage” property type developed in response to the grid-like subdivisions common to Chicago, as the city grew around the mouth of the Chicago River. As time passed, the basic form of the cottage stayed the same, while ornamentation styles came and went. Early examples showcased a simple Greek Revival style, while later versions were adorned with the ornate Queen Ann style. Regardless of the ornamentation, these cottages were the backbone of early Chicago.

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