| Address | 40-52 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL |
|---|---|
| Built | 1882-83 |
| Architect | James J. Egan |
| Status | Designated Chicago Landmark |
| Designation Date | March 26, 1996 (Final)City Council Journal of the Proceedings, p. 19236 |
| Neighborhood | Near North Side |
| Type | Apartment building |
| Landmark ID | L-115 |
Direct quotes from the Chicago Landmark Designation Report
“While it is true that the Hotel St. Benedict Flats was built during a phase of "flat fever", it undoubtedly was one of the best and finest examples of this new kind of building as the Chicago Inter Ocean noted in 1883: Perhaps the largest flat on the North Side is the one rising at the corner of Chicago avenue and Cass street [Wabash Avenue], covering 163 feet on the avenue and 154 feet on the street.”
“Benedict Flats. Handsome and imposing, the Hotel St. Benedict Flats is the best surviving example of its type. Until recently historians who studied Chicago architecture primarily focused either on commercial buildings or unique residential structures.”
“Joseph's church lot with an option to purchase. He built upon the lot a row of exceptionally fine flats containing thirty-six apartments at an outlay of $90,000. As the newspaper noted, the new apartment complex was sited on land originally occupied by one of the city's first churches.”
“In the 1860s, the Benedictines of St. Vincent Abbey, a Roman Catholic order from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, came to Chicago at the invitation of Bishop James Duggan to establish the parish of St.”
“The Chicago Historic Resources Survey did not find any surviving examples of this building type in the 2nd Ward, and in its preliminary survey of the 42nd Ward, the survey has found only one building somewhat comparable to the Hotel St.”
“This is most unusual for such a vintage building. The developer of the structure was a prominent Chicago contractor, Patrick J. Sexton, who was born in County Cavan, Ireland in 1848.”
“James J. Egan died on December 2, 1914. Like Patrick J. Sexton, he is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston, Illinois for which he had designed a Gothic entrance gate in 1883.”
“The Builder of the Hotel St. Benedict Flats and its Architect In the case of the Hotel St. Benedict Flats, the name of the developer and the architect are both known.”
“Americans who studied abroad brought back not only a rich vocabulary of classical styles and a thorough grounding in the methods of composition but also a familiarity with the building types they had seen in Paris.”
What other designation reports say about this building
“The earliest and most significant of those that remain is the Hotel St. Benedict Flats at 40-52 E. Chicago Ave., designed in 1882 by James J. Egan in a polychromatic version of the medieval-inspired High Victorian Gothic architectural style.”
“1891-93); and the Hotel St. Benedict Flats (40-52 E. Chicago Ave.; 1882-83). Neighborhood Club Buildings in Chicago The Germania Club Building reflects the long-standing tradition of Chicagoans forming clubs and…”
“Only a handful, including the Hotel St. Benedict Flats (1882-83) at 40-52 E. Chicago Ave. (designated a Chicago Landmark in 1996) and the former Armour Institute main building (1891-93) at 33rd and Federal streets, can match the Yondorf…”