Astor Street District

“This town house is representative of the Georgian revival style based upon English Georgian architecture. The design is formal and symmetrical, and understated. (Barbara Crane, photographer) In 1892, Stanford White, of the firm of McKim, Mead and White, designed the Patterson House, the first Georgian revival building on Astor Street.”

“While Astor Street, Lake Shore Drive, North Avenue, Burton Place, Scott Street, and Ritchie Court are original street names, Schiller Street was originally Church Street, Banks Street was originally Division Street, Goethe was originally Grand Haven Slip, and Division Street was originally Bishop's Street.”

“Germaine. (Barbara Crane, photographer) 10 ments of the facade. The first of these buildings, the one at 1301 North Astor, listed among its residents the second generation Potter Palmers.”

“The structures in the Astor Street District today provide the area with its unique quality and character. Built over a period of more than 80 years, they are a successful blend of several architectural styles, and are representative examples of the works of the most prominent architects, locally and nationally, working at the turn-of-the-century-a unique ensemble.”

“McKim, Mead and White had thoroughly studied the architecture of Georgian England and its American adaptation, and were the chief source of the Georgian revival style's popularity. The Georgian revival style was the last major architectural development along Astor Street and flourished through the 1920s; a few of the older town houses were remodeled and received Georgian facades.”

“He, like H. H. Richardson, admired the Romanesque and employed its design elements in his work, which tended toward a more contemporary design in architecture. He lived at 1310 Astor, the house on the right, and was in the midst of planning for the Columbian Exposition at the time of his death at age 41 in 1891.”

“Like the older Queen Anne style, this style is picturesque, but its forms are more massive and broadened out: the texture inherent in the building material is emphasized; arches are full and round; and the ornament is modeled upon the rich organic forms of nature.”

“During the years Astor Street was being developed, three main architectural styles were fashionable. They are the Queen Anne, the Richardsonian Romanesque, and the Georgian revival. The Queen Anne style was in vogue throughout the early 1880s.”

“The most popular and prevalent style that developed was the Georgian revival. The Georgian revival style was particularly appropriate for adaptation to an urban development such as Astor Street.”

“Astor Street was named to honor John Jacob Astor, founder of the American Fur Company, whose traders operated in and around Chicago during the early nineteenth century. Astor's "Addition to Chicago" was subdivided and recorded prior to the fire and encompassed the area south 2 The district's oldest house, and the one most typical of the Queen Anne style, is the Archbishop's residence.”