LOGAN SQUARE — For #ThrowbackThursday, here's a view of the west side of Kedzie Boulevard circa 1910.
The old photograph shows stately mansions along Kedzie looking south from Altgeld Street.
Here's what Logan Square Preservation has to say about the photo:
In 1950, Thomas Dale, wrote a letter to Chicago writer John Drury about growing up in the early 1900s in Logan Square. He had this to say about the mansions on Kedzie pictured here: "There were many beautiful homes along Kedzie Boulevard and, happily, a dearth of apartment buildings. These homes were stonefront mansions with beautiful front yards; many had conservatories.”
Most of these mansions still stand, but three were demolished for large apartment buildings in the 1920s due to their proximity to the Logan Square Metropolitan Elevated Terminal at Kedzie and Linden and the way that it transformed the block is quite remarkable.
A walk down this block is illustrative of this first wave of “transit-oriented” development. The missing homes were replaced by very high density apartment buildings, largely offering small apartments.
DNAinfo is partnering with Logan Square Preservation to share its archive of historic photos and material in a "Throwback Thursday" post each week. All photos are the property of Logan Square Preservation unless otherwise indicated.
For more photos and information, visit Logansquarepreservation.org or Facebook.com/logansquarepreservation.
