Belle Shore Apartment Hotel

“The building's elegant white terra cotta with Gothic designs represents the high-quality of craftsmanship and materials used to construct the city's buildings in the 1920s. The 8-story Belle Shore was built from 1928 to 1929 in an Art Deco style by the firm of Koenigsberg & Weisfeld.”

“The black terra cotta corner bulkhead is new. The first and second floors of the south and west elevations of the Belle Shore are faced entirely with the distinctive green glazed terra cotta tiles that vary in the shade of green due to weathering or replacement in the past.”

“In juxtaposition to the interior economies of compressed floor plans and kitchenette space, the exteriors of the apartment hotels of the 1920s presented an elaborate and sometimes flamboyant facade.”

“Polychromatic brick and terra cotta ornamentation allowed architects to design elaborate quoins, cornices, entablatures, pilasters, and columns. Architectural historian Daniel Bluestone describes the boom in apartment hotels in the context of Chicago's urban growth: Rather than aiming to simply fit their buildings into older neighborhoods, the apartment hotel architects of the 1920s designed compelling monuments to modern living.”

“Little is known about either of the two architects. Nathaniel Koenigsberg, the son of David Koenigsberg, a Russian immigrant to Chicago who became a realtor, is first listed as an architect in the 1917 Lakeside Business Directory, with an office at 4410 Milwaukee Avenue.”

“The buildings are highly visible, both individually and together, from the lakefront and from the (Red Line) el. Although the 12-story Bryn Mawr towers over the buildings around it, the Belle Shore's attention-grabbing green terra cotta provides a unique counterpoint.”

“All other windows on this elevation are double-hung, and have been replaced with aluminum in the same pattern as the second floor. The building's main roof, mechanical, and elevator penthouse are flat, and do not detract from the parapet ornamentation.”

“On either side of the capitals in the architrave are small black terra cotta relief forms. The elaborate main entrance to the Belle Shore on Bryn Mawr Avenue is through a round arched doorway surrounded by a panel of textured gold-colored terra cotta.”

“The 12-story Bryn Mawr (left) was built from 1927 to -4- 1928, designed in a Late Gothic Revival style by the architectural firm of Levy & Klein. The building is dressed in white terra cotta with pointed-arch Gothic designs, giving it a regal appearance.”

“The entrance is sheltered with a large projecting iron canopy sheathed in copper-colored metal with molded rectangular panels. Each storefront entrance on the north elevation is recessed into the building and each entranceway has a tile floor in a checkerboard pattern.”