LINCOLN PARK — The Commission on Chicago Landmarks approved plans to renovate the interior of one of the city's last surviving workers cottages.
The home at 1925 N. Fremont St., known as the Martin Schnitzius Cottage, was landmarked in late 2013 and bought by a developer in July.
At a landmark hearing Thursday, plans to renovate the interior and preserve the exterior passed without opposition.
“This is a great project,” said Commissioner Ernest Wong, acting as chairman of the Permit Review Committee.
Renovations include increasing the space upstairs and in the back, while maintaining the integrity of the exterior, according to the architect on the project, Timothy LeVaughn.
Original plans for a wide dormer in the north side of the roof were cut back, at the suggestion of commission staff, to allow for two smaller dormers "without violating that roof line," LeVaughn said.
Renovations to the rear facade, which is considered a secondary element of the structure, will require approval from the City Council Zoning Committee.
The home was built in 1891 and designed by Bettinghofer & Hermann, an architectural partnership that designed a number of significant buildings in the neighborhood including St. Alphonsus Church, the Aldine Building at 909 W. Armitage Ave. and a firehouse at 202 E. Chicago Ave.
Workers cottages were a common building type during Chicago's 19th Century in working- and middle-class neighborhoods. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 most of the cottages were constructed with brick.
In July, LeVaughn said the landmarks commission is "very sensitive" about the Schnitzius Cottage "because it's what they consider one of the finest examples of cottage architecture."
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