It’s a survivor.
The blue frame Italianate house at 2121 N. Hudson Ave. made it through the Great Chicago Fire, and it has survived 136 years of changing lifestyles and architectural tastes.
Known as the Richard Bellinger Cottage, the house sits on a nicely landscaped, extra wide lot on a block-long Lincoln Park enclave.
It’s got a large brick patio and a two-car garage. It has a price tag of $1.6 million.
And it has a problem.
Though it is in the Mid-North Historic District, the house has no individual protection from being torn down to make way for a mansion or condo building. It was built in 1869 and designed by William W. Boyington, who also designed the Old Water Tower.
“If the City of Chicago Landmarks Division deems it worthy of an individual city landmark, that’s about the only chance we have to save it,” said David Bahlman, president of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, who was attending the National Preservation Conference in Portland, Ore.
The house is rated “orange” on Chicago’s list of more than 17,000 buildings considered architecturally or historically significant. It’s the second-highest category, after “red,” but its rating entitles it only to a 90-day hold on demolition, Bahlman said. But that 90 days could allow the Chicago Landmarks Commission time to assess the property and decide its fate, he added.
Its location in the historic district would require that any modifications, including demolition, be approved by the Landmarks Commission, said listing agent Mark Ahlheim of Prudential Preferred Properties. But with “the size lot [a double lot] and the market price for larger condos and or single-family homes and the public’s tastes for more interior space, the economics are such that one might determine that the best and highest use of that land is to tear it down and build something different,” he said.
The current owner and Ahlheim say they’d prefer that not happen, though.
There is an open house Oct. 1 and 2 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Its interior was remodeled in the late 1980s or early 1990s, according to its owner. Stairs in the two-story living room lead from the living room up to a bedroom and a bath and to the ground floor and the family room, kitchen, a bathroom and laundry area. The master bedroom and bath are on the main (second) level along with a room off the living area that can be used as a dining room or office.
An entrance foyer leads out onto the porch and down wonderful, long stairs to the sidewalk. Looking back at the house, it’s imposing, with ornate detailing — the 19th Century version of a worker’s cottage.
It’s built to one side of the lot. A brick walk leads from the front through a garden — the owner pointed out the resident rabbit sitting calmly under a tree — and then to a brick patio. The two-car garage is on an alley. Traditional Chicago porches are off the second floor and the main level — the latter acting as a private outdoor space for the master bedroom.
The next-door neighbor to the north has a two-flat-style, brick single-family and was allowed to build an addition to the back of his house that, because of its recessed design, is not readily visible from the street. This house also has a side yard, meaning there’s open space on either side of the Bellinger Cottage — a precious commodity in a dense neighborhood.
Some will view the house itself as precious. Said Bahlman: “It’s an extremely important piece of architecture for Chicago to save.”
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Wayne Faulkner is editor of Real Estate. You can contact him at [email protected] or by mail at baiduhai, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611