Edgewater's vanishing single-family homes-Berwyn and Winthrop
I have lived in Edgewater for going on three years, and multiple times each week I have walked past this lonely home at the corner of Winthrop and Berwyn. I have seen it go from vibrant to dying within this span. Can you believe the boarded up back? This is a key Edgewater corridor for crying out loud!
I wonder what lies beneath the altered exterior-no doubt it once bore much fancier Victorian-style features? I can understand what caused the house's decline however, for next door stand three out-of-place cookie-cutter condos. They very clearly have crowded out the sad home at the corner, making IT seem out of place. A shame really, because it anchors this corner well. For the time being, each corner here remains in place-for how much longer will this house be around?
What buildings formerly occupied the adjacent lots where the condos now stand?
Love, Mr. Archibleckture
posted by Sunnysider at 9:54 PM
5 Comments:
Why did you not buy it when you had a chance? It was up for sale for over a year and a half.
I wish I could buy every threatened home in order to preserve them; in fact I had contemplated putting together an investment bank to do just that. But as a lower middle class individual, all I can do is helplessly watch as house after house is purchased and torn down for the condos. This blog is my contribution to raising awareness of this architectural tragedy. That is one point I failed to make in the posting: another reason why these homes are threatened is because they are on sale for hundreds of thousands of dollars-out of reach of most people except developers. Their land is worth more cleared than with the house sitting there. Very sad indeed.
For a good photo, look at the four structures on the west side of Broadway at Ardmore (5800 N). New 4-5 story condos in between a greysone and SF home.
Mr. A,
Thanks for the blog!
Some of your readers may be interested in more Demo Derby, these from Rogers Park:
Rogers Park Tear-Down Gallery
Thanks again!
I hate when people make that comment about buying up the properties. It's as if if you haven't got the money, you can't have any say about what goes on- irritating and insipid view in my opinion.
And can you blame the corner Victorian for selling? Who wants to look out at a shopping mall wall the rest of your life- horrible!
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