Chicago's George Harvey House, the last standing frame house by Adler & Sullivan (with the contribution, it's thought, of Frank Lloyd Wright) burned to the ground Saturday morning.
It was already at risk -- the owner applied for a demolition permit this last June -- so how the flame was introduced to the structure is anyone's guess. This is Chicago, after all, where fire is the home-owner-trying-to-dodge-historic-landmark-status's best friend.
From Preservation Chicago:
The Harvey House is thought to be the last wood-frame structure designed by Adler and Sullivan still standing after two summer cottages, one owned by Louis Sullivan in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, were recently lost to Hurricane Katrina. The house gives us a rare glimpse of what the Lakeview neighborhood looked like when it was still a suburb, before it was annexed to Chicago.
Richard Nickle photographed the Harvey House, but of course it doesn't appear Richard Nickle's Chicago, because at the time the book was published it wasn't yet lost.
Other Louis Sullivan's lost this year: Pilgrim Baptist Church and the Wirt Dexter Building.
Thank you to Chicagoeye and geekgrrl++ for the sad chronicle of events.
[Photo credit: geekgrrl++]
1 comment:
I happened by this place on Saturday evening (my friend lives across the street). There were cops still all over the place and honestly, the whole thing looks suspicious. I wish I had seen it when it was still standing...
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