55 Years Ago - Glessner House Fights For Its Life

Fifty-five years ago today, the Chicago Tribune ran a story sounding the alarm that the nationally and internationally significant Glessner House was up for sale and facing an uncertain future. Given the fact that most of the houses along Prairie Avenue had been torn down during the previous decades when the area transformed from a high-class residential neighborhood into a manufacturing district, the alarm was warranted. Businesses operating nearby, mostly connected with the printing and publishing industries, were still buying houses and tearing them down to provide more parking for their employees. (The two houses immediately south of Glessner House would be torn down in 1968 specifically for that purpose). Many people would have seen the 75 by 176 foot lot upon which the Glessner House stood, to have more value than the house itself.

The sale of the house by the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF), which had occupied the building since 1945, did not come as a surprise to those in the architectural and emerging preservation communities. In November 1963, a meeting took place between two senior staff members of GATF and Wilbert R. Hasbrouck (Chairman of the Preservation Committee of the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects), Joseph Benson (Secretary of the Commission on Chicago Architectural Landmarks), and Marian Despres (early Chicago preservationist and wife of Alderman Leon Despres, who drafted the city's first landmarks ordinance). It was at that meeting that GATF announced its plans to relocate operations to Pennsylvania and put Glessner House up for sale. Hasbrouck reported back to Jack Train, president of the Chicago Chapter AIA:

"Regardless of what final use is made of this building, I feel the AIA must take a major advisory role in its disposition. The Glessner House is too important a structure to go the way of the Garrick." (This was a reference to Adler & Sullivan's Garrick Theater, razed in 1961 after a significant battle that helped galvanize Chicago's early preservationists. A number of the individuals who fought to save the Garrick played a leading role in successfully saving Glessner House).

Turning back the clock 55 years to January 31, 1965, if you were to have picked up the morning edition of the Chicago Tribune and turned to page S3, you would have read the following article about the house. It may well have also been your first introduction to John and Frances Glessner, whose names had slipped into obscurity after their deaths three decades earlier.

Old Show Place on Prairie Avenue Haunted by Shaky Future; Now for Sale
Architects Hope to Make It a Museum
by Sylvia Shepherd

Granite block old home of late J. J. Glessner at 1800 Prairie av.,
was built in 1886 and has survived decline of once-fashionable
south side gold coast. Fate of house worries history-
conscious Chicagoans.

The uncertain destiny of the old J. J. Glessner house, built almost 80 years ago at 1800 Prairie av., has aroused the fears of several history-conscious Chicagoans.

The house, one of the show places of the original south side gold coast, now holds the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. This research organization has moved most of its operations to a new headquarters in Pittsburgh and wants to sell the Glessner building.

Richardson's Last Work
William Hasbrook (sic), one of those interested in preserving the building, said the Glessner house "would make a small museum of architecture." Hasbrook is chairman of the committee for preservation of historical buildings for the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Hasbrook believes the house is the only remaining residential work of the late Henry Hobson Richardson, famous Boston architect, in this city.

"Chicago is known thruout the world for architecture - not only of the past but of the present," said Hasbrook. "Material on architectural history is scattered around the city - in bits and pieces. This house could become a central spot for this material."

Mrs. Leon DePres (sic) wife of the 5th ward alderman, said, "Anything could happen to the building. There's no protection for it."

"We must see what we can do to preserve it," she added. "It could be a future attraction for tourists."

A City Landmark
Also interested in preserving the building is the Commission on Chicago Architectural Landmarks. Joseph Benson, commission secretary, said his group is "very concerned" about the fate of the house, which is one of 39 official landmarks in the city.

Richardson built the house in 1886 in what came to be known as "Richardsonian Romanesque." Because the architect believed beauty to be found in strength, granite blocks were used in the construction. He died three weeks after completing the house.

John J. Glessner was born in Zanesville, O., and came to this city as a young man. When International Harvester company was founded in 1902, he was a founder and became a vice president.

Glessner and his wife, Frances, were social leaders for 60 years. The house was famous for architectural significance and hospitality.

Glessner was a board president of Rush Medical college, a director of the Chicago Relief and Aid society, and a trustee of the Chicago Orphan asylum, the Chicago Orchestral association, and the Art Institute.

Society Rendezvous
His wife's Monday Morning Reading class was a feature of south side society for 50 years. Most of the fashionable women of the city began gathering at 10:30 a.m. until a class of more than 40 was assembled in the long library.

It was to their home that the Chicago Symphony orchestra members came once a year for a party.

Mrs. Glessner once was quoted as saying, "For all its granite, this home is wonderfully elastic. You can squeeze as many as you want into it."

In 1924, Glessner announced that the house would be given to the American Institute of Architects after the deaths of himself and his wife. His will asked for its maintenance as "a museum, library, gallery, and educational institution, including a school of design for legitimate architectural assemblages."

Rich Social Background
By 1925, a reporter wrote, "The antennae of business have encroached all round and about the dignified granite residence." Already changing was the neighborhood which once housed the George M. Pullmans, the Marshall Fields, T. B. Blackstone, the elder Philip Armours, and Dr. Frank Billings.

Mrs. Glessner died in 1932 at the age of 84. Her husband died just before his 93d birthday in 1936.

Conforming to the request in Glessner's will was deemed too costly in 1937 by the A. I. A., which estimated remodeling expenses at $25,000. It returned the home to the Glessner estate, whose heirs decided in 1938 to give the building to the Armour Institute of Technology.

"It is still in excellent shape" said Hasbrook, "and a choice piece of property."

Corrections to 1965 article:

• Henry Hobson Richardson died in April 1886, three weeks after completing the design for the house. The house itself was completed in time for the Glessners to move in on December 1, 1887.
• The Glessners invited the entire Chicago Symphony Orchestra for dinner on three occasions. Smaller dinners for the music director, selected orchestra members, and visiting soloists were held frequently.

Wilbert R. Hasbrouck - A Tribute

Wilbert Hasbrouck at Glessner House, 1970s

On February 10, 2018, Chicago preservation architect Wilbert R. Hasbrouck passed away at the age of 86.  Considered one of the “founding fathers” of the preservation movement in Chicago, his projects included some of the most recognizable buildings in Chicago and the Midwest including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, Louis Sullivan’s Peoples Savings Bank in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and William Le Baron Jenney’s Manhattan Building.  As co-editor and co-publisher of the Prairie School Review with his wife Marilyn, and as author of the monumental volume The Chicago Architectural Club: Prelude to the Modern, his scholarship helped generations of architects and preservationists to understand and interpret the buildings he fought so hard to save.  In this article, we will look at his significant work in preserving Glessner House and the surrounding Prairie Avenue neighborhood.

GLESSNER HOUSE THREATENED

Hasbrouck’s involvement with Glessner House began in November 1963, at a time when he was serving as chairman of the preservation committee of the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).  He learned that the current owner of the house, the Lithographic Technical Foundation, planned to move to Pittsburgh and put the house up for sale.  A meeting was arranged between Foundation executives and Hasbrouck, along with Joseph Benson (secretary of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks), and Marian Despres, wife of Alderman Leon Despres. 

Soon after the meeting, Hasbrouck prepared a report which he submitted to the AIA, stating in part, “Regardless of what final use is made of this building, I feel the AIA must take a major advisory role in its disposition.  The Glessner House is too important a structure to go the way of the Garrick.”  The reference was to Adler & Sullivan’s Garrick Theater, which had been razed in early 1961.  Hasbrouck was among a small group of preservationists, including Richard Nickel, John Vinci, Ben Weese, Tom Stauffer and Alderman Leon Despres, who had fought unsuccessfully to save what was considered one of Sullivan’s masterpieces. 

Hasbrouck and others continued to monitor the Glessner House, and when it was put up for sale in early 1965, he was quick to voice his concern over its future.  The first article about the fate of the house appeared in the Chicago Tribune on January 31, 1965.  In the article, ominously titled “Old Show Place on Prairie Avenue Haunted By Shaky Future; Now For Sale,” Hasbrouck was quoted as saying the house was “a choice piece of property” and must be adaptively reused and preserved. 

GLESSNER HOUSE SAVED

Over the next several months, Hasbrouck, and several others, worked hard to find a way to save the house and build a financially sustainable plan for its preservation.  On April 16, 1966, Hasbrouck was among 20 individuals who organized the Chicago School of Architecture Foundation with the specific goal of purchasing and maintaining Glessner House.  In December 1966, the Foundation purchased the house for $35,000 and its future was secured.  That same month, Hasbrouck was appointed president of the board, serving for four years.

In those first few years, he helped to bring additional support to the house through his connections in the architectural community, participated in planning and executing exhibitions, and overall raising the profile of the house.  In 1971, he was one of several architects selected to provide training to the first class of docents, and he continued to do so for several years.

PRESERVING PRAIRIE AVENUE

With Glessner House secure, the Foundation turned its attention to the surrounding community and the small number of historic houses still standing on Prairie Avenue.  Concern for the neighboring houses was heightened when the company that owned three of the structures (the Kimball, Colman, and Keith houses) put them up for sale.  Although there had been some discussion with the City of Chicago regarding the creation of an historic district, nothing had been formalized, so the buildings were still vulnerable.  

Marilyn Hasbrouck in front of the Prairie Avenue Bookshop

Hasbrouck and his wife went so far as to purchase the Keith house at 1900 S. Prairie Ave. to ensure its protection until the district could be officially designated.  Having started their publication, Prairie School Review, a decade earlier, they moved its operation into the house, and Marilyn opened her Prairie Avenue Bookshop, which went on to become a leading architectural bookstore in the United States.  The Hasbroucks sold the building in 1978, once its landmark designation was assured, and the Bookshop relocated downtown.

KITCHEN WING RESTORATION

Two views of the kitchen prior to restoration 

As a preservation architect, Hasbrouck was also involved in the first major interior restoration project at Glessner House.  In 1974, he received the contract to undertake the restoration of the kitchen wing, including the main kitchen, butler’s pantry, dry pantry, cold closet, and servants’ dining hall.  Extensive research was undertaken to determine the features that had been lost, and a detailed plan was drafted for its full restoration.  

Restored kitchen

The restored spaces gave visitors an accurate glimpse into the servants’ portion of the house during the Glessner occupancy.  Shortly after, additional documentation, including original building specifications, were obtained, verifying that the project was accurate down to the smallest detail.

CLARKE HOUSE IS MOVED

 Removal of cupola, November 1977

In 1975, Hasbrouck received another commission that would have a profound effect on the surrounding historic district.  His firm was hired to move the Clarke House, Chicago’s oldest surviving structure, from its location at 4526 S. Wabash Avenue, back into the neighborhood in which it had been constructed in 1836.  The project was complex – moving a 120-ton structure nearly 3-1/2 miles, and most significantly, over the Green Line elevated tracks at 44^th Street.  

Clarke House in transit at Michigan Avenue and 25th Street,
December 18, 1977

The house was successfully moved in December 1977 and following extensive restoration, opened as a house museum in 1982.

A LOOK BACK WITH GRATITUDE

On April 16, 2016, Glessner House celebrated its 50^th anniversary with a 1960s-themed celebration entitled Peace, Love, and Presentation.  The highlight of the evening was to honor five of the surviving individuals who had labored long and hard to save the house – Wilbert Hasbrouck, Ben Weese, Dirk Lohan, Wayne Benjamin, and Paul Lurie.  Each was presented with a framed certificate that included a picture of the house as it appeared in 1966, and a modern photo, showing the dramatic change from a soot-covered threatened building to a Chicago treasure, beautifully restored and accessible to visitors from around the world.  

Wilbert and Marilyn Hasbrouck with their sons John and Charlie,
at Peace, Love and Preservation, April 16, 2016

It was a fitting way to thank Wilbert Hasbrouck and the others for the profound impact they had on Glessner House and the preservation movement in Chicago.

THE WILBERT R. HASBROUCK HISTORIC PRESERVATION LECTURE SERIES

Glessner House is very pleased to announce the creation of the Wilbert R. Hasbrouck Historic Preservation Lecture Series to both honor his years of dedicated service to the organization, and to continue to educate future audiences about the importance and impact of historic preservation on our communities.  The series will consist of an annual lecture presented by an expert in the field who will speak on some aspect of preservation – past, present, or future.  

John Vinci: Life and Landmarks
Text by Robert Sharoff, photography by William Zbaren

Northwestern University Press

The first lecture, to take place on Wednesday May 16, 2018, will focus on the career of John Vinci, who worked beside Hasbrouck in saving Glessner House.  Vinci is the subject of an impressive and beautifully illustrated new book released in 2017, and he and the authors will be present for this inaugural lecture in the series.  We are deeply grateful to Paul and Margaret Lurie, long-time friends of the Hasbroucks, for providing initial funding for the first several years of the series.  Additional gifts are being sought to continue the series so that it can become a permanent fixture in our offerings to the preservation community.

Glessner House Museum celebrates 50 years

On April 16, 1966, twenty individuals signed a resolution creating the Chicago School of Architecture Foundation.  Out of that organization evolved both Glessner House Museum and the Chicago Architecture Foundation, entities that champion and celebrate the rich architectural tradition in Chicago, past and present.  As we commemorate the 50^th anniversary of that milestone event this week, we pause to honor those individuals whose foresight and vision saved H. H. Richardson’s iconic Glessner house, launched the successful preservation movement in our city, and made Chicago a destination for architectural enthusiasts from around the world.

Glessner House is Threatened

For twenty years, Glessner house was occupied by the Lithographic Technical Foundation, but by early 1965 that organization had relocated to Pittsburgh and the building was put up for sale.  The early 1960s had been a period of extraordinary challenge and frustration for those attempting to preserve Chicago’s rich architectural heritage.   Among the chief losses was Adler & Sullivan’s Garrick Theater on Randolph Street, demolished in 1961. 

The fate of the Glessner house was known as early as November 1963, when several individuals met with representatives from the Foundation to discuss the future of the building.  Among those at the meeting were Wilbert Hasbrouck, chairman of the Preservation Committee of the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (CCAIA); Joseph Benson, Secretary of the Commission on Chicago Architectural Landmarks; and Marian Despres, wife of Alderman Leon Despres, and the daughter of architect Alfred Alschuler.  Hasbrouck reported back to Jack Train, president of CCAIA:

“Regardless of what final use is made of this building, I feel the AIA must take a major advisory role in its disposition.  The Glessner House is too important a structure to go the way of the Garrick.”

On January 31, 1965, the Chicago Tribune published an article noting that the future of the house was in jeopardy, but quoted several individuals who recognized that the house was simply too important to lose.  Wilbert Hasbrouck noted that the building would make a perfect museum of Chicago architecture.  Joseph Benson also expressed concern and noted that it was one of 38 buildings in the city to be designated a landmark.  But Marian Despres noted that the landmark designation was purely honorary, and did nothing to protect the building from demolition. 

Individuals Come Together

Many of those involved in saving Glessner house were well acquainted with each other by the time the house went up for sale.  Leon and Marian Despres and others had rallied together to save Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House when it came under threat of demolition in 1957.  That successful effort led to the formation of Chicago’s first preservation group, the Chicago Heritage Committee, co-founded by architect Ben Weese.  Soon after, Alderman Despres proposed an ordinance creating an historical and architectural landmark commission which awarded landmark status to 38 buildings in 1960, including Glessner house.

In 1960, Weese, Despres, and Hasbrouck joined others, including photographer Richard Nickel and architect John Vinci, to march together in a picket line to save the Garrick Theater.  Although their efforts proved unsuccessful, it brought these like-minded individuals together and the preservation movement gained momentum. 

Worthy of Architects’ Praise

Ben Weese recalled that in the early 1960s, he spent the day escorting the world famous architect Alvar Aalto around Chicago, showing him the buildings of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.  Aalto appeared only mildly interested.  But when the two pulled up in front of Glessner house, Aalto stepped out onto the sidewalk and stood transfixed, studying the building for over an hour.

In March 1965, Weese and his brother Harry took architect Philip Johnson to see Glessner house.  Johnson praised the building, and was especially taken by the floor plan which oriented the major rooms toward the private south-facing courtyard.  He offered to pay half of the purchase price of $70,000 if those in Chicago could raise the other half, but later rescinded the offer when “the horrid question of maintenance came up.”  In spite of that, however, Johnson was quoted in June 1966 as saying “Glessner House is the most important house in the country to me.”

The Weeses Search for Funds

Ben and Harry Weese continued to search for funds to purchase and maintain the house throughout 1965 and into early 1966.  In a letter to selected Chicago architects, Harry Weese laid out the purposes of the proposed organization that would acquire Glessner house:

“To establish the first architectural organization in the country, at the birthplace of modern architecture, in a historic and architecturally significant building.

“To create a unique institution to become the center of architectural history, a staging point for tours, a place to sell books and literature, a gallery, a museum for artifacts in the courtyard.”

Others Express Interest

At the same time that these architects and preservationists were attempting to raise the funds to purchase the house, four young men, working independently, had also learned of the house and decided to find a way to purchase it.  Richard Wintergreen and Jim Schultz were draftsmen in the office of Mies van der Rohe.  Wayne Benjamin, a businessman in finance, had met Wintergreen at the University of Illinois, and Paul Lurie, an attorney, became acquainted with Wintergreen through his fiancée.  The four men formulated their idea to save the house over dinner at Pizzeria Due, ironically housed in a late 19^th century mansion.

CSAF meeting, August 18, 1966

The Chicago School of Architecture Foundation is Organized

On April 6, 1966, the Weese brothers announced publicly that they would pledge $10,000 toward the purchase of Glessner house.  The same day, Richard Wintergreen wrote to Philip Johnson alerting him to the fact that he and his three friends had formed a group to purchase the house.  Johnson suggested that Wintergreen’s group coordinate their plans with the Weeses, and from that point on, all those working to save Glessner house worked together.

On Saturday April 16, 1966, a resolution was signed by twenty individuals creating the Chicago School of Architecture Foundation.  Those signing were:  Carl Condit, Richard Nickel, Herman Pundt, Earl Reed, Wilbert Hasbrouck, James Speyer, Joseph Benson, Clement Sylvestro, George Danforth, Maurice English, Phyllis Lambert, Dirk Lohan, Paul Lurie, Wayne Benjamin, Richard Wintergreen, James Schultz, Dan Murphy, Ben Weese, Harry Weese, and Irving Berman. 

The first order of business was to raise the funds needed to purchase the Glessner house. 

Additional articles will be posted throughout our anniversary year highlighting the efforts of our founders in purchasing and preserving what survives today as Glessner House Museum.

Photos by Richard Nickel

Elbridge Keith House

The Elbridge G. Keith house at 1900 S. Prairie Avenue is one of just seven surviving houses on the “sunny street that held the sifted few” – Chicago’s most exclusive residential street in the late 19^th century.  The imposing three-story limestone clad house with slate mansard roof is the last surviving example of the Second Empire style which dominated the Prairie Avenue streetscape. 

The house was built in 1870-1871 for Elbridge Gerry Keith, one of three Keith brothers to reside on Prairie Avenue.  Keith was born on July 16, 1840 in Barre, Vermont, and was named in honor of Elbridge Gerry, who served as vice-president under President James Madison.  He was descended from James Keith, a Scotch Presbyterian clergyman who came to America about 1650, settling in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.  He grew up on the family farm, and after clerking in a general store in Barre, came to Chicago in 1857, joining his brothers Edson and Osborne, and working in the business selling hats and caps. 

In 1865, he married Harriet Hall in her hometown of Ottawa, Illinois.  They set up housekeeping on the 1700 block of Michigan Avenue.  In the same year, his brothers reorganized their firm as Keith Brothers and he was admitted as a partner.  It grew into one of the largest millinery firms in the entire country.  The firm continued as such until 1884, when it was again reorganized as Edson Keith & Co.  No longer a partner in the business, Elbridge Keith that year helped to organize the Metropolitan National Bank, serving as its president until its consolidation with the First National Bank of Chicago in 1902.  In that year, he was elected president of the Chicago Title and Trust Company, which position he retained until his death.

Dining room

In 1868, Keith purchased a double lot on Prairie Avenue for $10,750 and engaged John W. Roberts to design his new home.  Roberts began his career in the office of the prominent American architect Richard Upjohn before coming to Chicago, and designed numerous large residences in the city.  In the 1880s the house was significantly enlarged with the addition of the third floor mansard roof, and an addition to the rear. 

Keith was deeply interested in education, serving for many years on the Chicago Board of Education.  In 1883, a school was built at 3400 S. Dearborn and was named the Keith School in his honor.  (It closed in 1959 and was demolished soon after for the expansion of the campus for the Illinois Institute of Technology).

Keith was extremely active in civic affairs.  He was elected a director of the World’s Columbian Exposition, and later treasurer of the University of Illinois.  He was one of the incorporators and president of the Union League Club, and at various times served as president of the Commercial Club, the Banker’s Club, the Y.M.C.A. and the Chicago Orphan Asylum.  Additionally, he served as treasurer of the Moody Bible Institute, the Chicago Bible Society, the Bureau of Charities, and the Home of the Friendless. 

He and his wife had six children – sons Carl, Harold, Stanley, and Elbridge, and daughters Susie and Bessie.  Keith died at his home on May 17, 1905 and was interred in a large plot at Graceland Cemetery.  He left an estate valued at $980,000.  Bequests were made to a number of charities including the Moody Bible Institute, the Chicago Visiting Nurses’ Association, the Chicago Old People’s Home, Beloit College, the American Sunday School Union, and the Chicago Home for the Friendless. 

Keith also directed the income from a trust fund to his church of 30 years, the Christ Reformed Episcopal Church at Michigan Avenue and 24^th Street, and gave an outright gift to its longtime leader, Bishop Charles E. Cheney.  In September 1905, the church dedicated a tablet in memory of Keith which read, “To the glory of God and to the memory of Elbridge Gerry Keith, a beloved Bible class teacher in the Sunday school and senior warden of the church.”

Elbridge Keith’s widow Harriet remained in the home for a number of years after which she moved to a spacious apartment at 999 Lake Shore Drive.  She sold the Prairie Avenue house in 1920 and later moved to Pasadena, California where she died in 1933. 

In 1934, the house was acquired by a publishing company, Domestic Engineering.  It was used as offices for various publishers until 1974, when it was purchased by Wilbert Hasbrouck, an architect who had been involved in the rescue of Glessner House several years earlier.  

His wife Marilyn opened a book store in the house known as the Prairie Avenue Bookshop, which featured architectural books, prints, and fragments.  (For many years following, it was regarded as one of the pre-eminent architecture bookstores in the country).  The building also served as the offices for the Hasbroucks’ publishing company, the Prairie School Publishing Company, which produced The Prairie School Review. 

In 1978, the Hasbroucks sold the house to journalists Steven Pratt and Joy Darrow, the latter a grand-niece of the famed attorney Clarence Darrow.  They undertook extensive restoration work on the house including a $60,000 reconstruction of the elaborately bracketed cornice.  In October 1986 they opened the Prairie Avenue Gallery on the first floor, which hosted dozens of art exhibits.  The coach house was leased to Royal Carriages, which boarded horses on the ground floor, the drivers living up above.  Following Darrow’s death, daughter Marcy moved back in the house.  In 1997, she leased the first floor to Woman Made Gallery, which had been organized five years earlier to provide women artists with the opportunity to exhibit, publish, and perform their work.  In 1999, the coach house was completely renovated into a single residential unit.  Today, the first floor functions as a special events venue hosting art exhibits, weddings, and more.  For more information, visit www.keithhousechicago.com. 

On October 25, 2014, a very special event took place when nearly two dozen descendants gathered at the old family home for a reunion.  They were all descended from Elbridge Keith's son Carl, who had married Cornelia Alling of 2131 S. Calumet Avenue on January 1, 1901.   Carl Keith, who had written his reminiscences of the house and neighborhood in a manuscript entitled “The Home” would no doubt have been very pleased to see the house once again functioning as the Keith family home.  

House Moving Part III: Clarke House, 1977

Last week, we looked at the first move of Chicago’s historic Clarke house in 1872.  This week we will examine the second move of the house in 1977.

After the 1872 move, the house continued to serve as a private family residence for generations of the Chrimes and Walters families.  In 1941, it was sold to Bishop Louis Henry Ford and the St. Paul Church of God in Christ.  They used the building for church purposes and the Bishop’s residence for the next 35 years.  Respectful of its history, they celebrated the birthday of the house each year.

Discussions surrounding the creation of the Prairie Avenue Historic District were underway by 1970 when both the Clarke and Glessner houses were designated landmarks by the city of Chicago.  Within two years, the city began negotiations to purchase the Clarke house from the church and move it from its location at 4526 S. Wabash Avenue, where it had stood for 100 years, back to its original neighborhood.

The move almost stopped before it started.  On Monday January 31, 1977, fire broke out in the basement of the building.  Fortunately there was no major structural damage, and the many layers of paint on the interior moldings protected them from the blaze.  Three days later, an article in the Chicago Tribune announced that the city was continuing its negotiations to purchase and move the house, in spite of the fire.

In late August, detailed plans were announced for the move of the house later in the year.  Wilbert Hasbrouck, a respected preservation architect was retained by the city to oversee the move and the restoration of the house at its new site at 1827 S. Indiana Avenue.  He undertook an extensive analysis of the house and its structure, to determine exactly how the house could be moved, and how it would be restored to its original 1836 appearance. 

Ironically, the 1977 move proved much more difficult that the earlier move, due to the presence of power lines, street lights, and most significantly the elevated train tracks.  The tracks of the Englewood-Jackson Park L (a.k.a. the Green Line) stood a few blocks east of the house and would have to be crossed.  Numerous moving techniques were considered and dismissed – dismantling the building into three layers; utilizing the railroad rights-of-way; and using a barge on Lake Michigan for part of the move.

Ultimately it was decided to raise the house 25 feet and slide it above the el tracks using an elaborate combination of jacks and support cribbing.  The diagrams above, which appeared in the Chicago Tribune on August 20, 1977 showed the basic steps:

-remove the cupola, porches and other small parts of the house;

-place the house onto a 64-wheel trailer, pulled by a 1-1/2 ton truck;

-move the house onto jacks and support cribbing on the west side of the el tracks which crossed 44^th Street between Prairie and Calumet avenues and raise it a foot at a time to a height of 25 feet;

-winch the house across the tracks on rollers along steel I-beams to the support cribbing on the east side of the tracks, and then lower the house a foot at a time back down to the ground and onto the 64-wheel trailer;

-complete the move via trailer to the new site.

The proposed route for the move, as shown in the map above, covered 32 blocks:

-north on Wabash to 44^th Street;

-east on 44^th Street to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive;

-north on King Drive to 31^st Street;

-west on 31^st Street to Michigan Avenue;

-north on Michigan Avenue to Cermak Road;

-east on Cermak Road to Indiana Avenue;

-north on Indiana Avenue.

It was anticipated that the move would take approximately 12 days.  On the first day, the building, which weighed 120 tons, would be placed on the trailer and moved at a walking speed to the west side of the tracks.  Five days would then be needed to jack up the house to a height of 25 feet – one foot higher than the tracks.  The next day, the house would be winched across the tracks, a move that would only take about 30 minutes.  Then five more days to move the house back down to the ground, and finally one more day to complete the move onto extra-wide footings at its new location.

November 18: Removal of the cupola

The move began on Wednesday November 23, 1977, the day before Thanksgiving, at which time the house was moved as far as the tracks on 44^th Street.  Everything proceeded accordingly to plan (although small pieces fell off the house at various points along route) and the structure was ready to be winched across the tracks.  At one minute after midnight early on Sunday December 4^th, the electric power was shut off on the el tracks and the house was slowly pulled across the tracks.  A crowd of 2,000 people gathered to watch the event, despite the bitter cold temperatures.

December 4: The move over the Green Line tracks

The temperature created a problem.  After the house was move onto the cribbing on the east side of the tracks, it was discovered that the hydraulic jacks had frozen.  The house would sit suspended in mid-air for the next two weeks, surprising commuters who encountered the house at eye level as they crossed the bridge at 44^th Street.

December 12:  Trimming trees on 44th Street

December 18:  On King Drive at 41st Street

December 18: Crossing the Michigan Avenue bridge
over I-55 at 25th Street

Finally, on Sunday December 18^th, the house was moved the last leg of its journey and placed on to its new foundation.  The final cost of the move was $410,000.  An extensive restoration was undertaken over the next 4-1/2 years, in a partnership between the City of Chicago which owned the building, The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Illinois which agreed to furnish the house to the time period, and the Chicago Architecture Foundation which would operate the tours in conjunction with Glessner House Museum, which they owned and operated at the time.  Robert Furhoff undertook an extensive analysis of the interior of the house, uncovering original paint layers and wallpapers which were replicated in the restoration.  One of the most significant projects was the recreation of the east portico, based on the one historic photograph that survived showing the house during the occupancy of the Clarke family, dating to the mid-1860s.

The house opened to the public as an historic house museum in 1982.  In 2004, additional restoration work was completed including the recreation of the matching portico on the west side of the house.

Photos courtesy of Clarke House Museum.