ROGERS PARK — Architecture nut and blogger Larry Shure has been sketching and analyzing Rogers Park's homes and buildings since 2003.
Shure runs blog Ultra Local Geography and just began to publish a series of drawings featuring the character of Morse Avenue's houses.
The city planner said his blog let him "focus on things which are often ignored or overlooked."
Ben Woodard discusses Shure's work:
"Instead of studying masterpieces of architecture and urbanism I try to look more deeply at the things which define a neighborhood at a more modest scale," Shure said in an email. "But it turns out that those things tend to have a greater impact on the look and function of the city than architectural gems, which often illustrate exceptions rather than rules."
Shure's first post in his series features two frame houses in the 1700 block of Morse.
All illustrations by Larry Shure.
He said the homes were built about 1905 during a boom period after the Panic of 1893 subsided.
Shure also featured two Queen Anne-style homes a couple of blocks away in the 1900 block, highlighting their wrap-around porches. Shure wrote the homes represent some of the early suburban development of Rogers Park in the 1890s.
"The blog has been a good way to explore some of my interests, and every now and then I'll touch on a subject that has some neighborhood resonance," Shure said. "And it's always nice to have people visit the blog and leave comments."
You can follow Ultra Local Geography on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
1716-1718 W. Morse Ave. and 6947 N. Clark St., circa 1905
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