The following blog entry was contributed by: Sam Marts and Dina Petrakis
- he's Bucktown, she's Wicker Park - who compare their two ‘hoods.

People that criticize urban sprawl also denigrate the “Mini- or Mc-Mansion” and increasing footprint of new homes. There is nothing new under the sun, however, so today we look at 2 grand homes on multiple lots- one in Bucktown and one in Wicker Park built a century earlier.  

This Wicker Park home was built grand on a wider-than-standard (25’ x 125’in most neighborhoods) lot.  Certainly intended to impress, the building features a turret and multiple roof lines.  

The piano nobile (first floor) is up off the ground, the balcony implies public address, the stone façade is highly textured and detailed- it’s actually Queen Anne style in stone.  The proportions are vertical, typical of buildings before 1919.  There are 3 vertical elements adding grandeur and depth- the turret, the center section, and the entry section.  The rooflines point to the sky as do the columns and balustrades.  The windows are tall, allowing maximum light and ventilation (air conditioning was not available residentially) and adding to the verticality of the overall composition. 

This Bucktown contemporary uses two lots with the building oriented to the long side of the plot, furtheraccentuating its size.  

This house looks very different from its predecessor until we realize it also presents itself as a collection of 3 vertical elements -here treated as abstract planes with differing materials.  Like the Wicker Park home, the first floor is raised.  However, this design makes the eye moves horizontally, typical of the modern age.  Featuring a richness of textures and materials, the abstract planes play across the elevation, and the entry and stair are obscured, typical in contemporary design.  The windows are in a hierarchy visible from right to left.  The largest and most imposing windows are on the right, framed with limestone wrapping around the corner; tertiary windows are simple squares in the center section; and to the left are secondary windows, large but NOT framed in limestone.

So- horizontal Bucktown or vertical Wicker Park- how do YOU like your big house?  

The following blog entry was contributed by: Sam Marts and Dina Petrakis
- he's Bucktown, she's Wicker Park - who compare their two ‘hoods.

Today we take a peek at two homes of more moderate size, for those of you working your way up to a Bucktown or Wicker Park Mansion- or who prefer a smaller footprint.  The approach of these two homes is dramatically different, in part due to their location- and the timing of their “remodelation”.  

This Bucktown cottage has been enlarged and modernized, maintaining most of the original façade.  The slot window at the top and the picture window at the parlor both increase the visual scale of the cottage and announce their modernity with new shapes.  The most dramatic element is the second-story addition with a contrasting glass and metal wall in totally contemporary mode.  This would not be allowed in a Landmark District and wouldn’t look congruous there.  Had this renovation been more recent, it might have been a tear-down- or certainly would be a larger addition.  Today, the modest scale has a place in the market again.

This Wicker Park two-flat has elements which actually make it appear cottage-like by reducing the scale of the upper level; the roof of the bay window and the canopy over the entrance come forward and the second story visually recedes.   The cornice is original but the porch was reconstructed using picturesque elements as fitting this Landmark District and similar to surrounding buildings.  An addition on this property would most likely be limited to the rear of the structure by Landmarks- and a tear-down would be prohibited.  The scale of properties in Landmark Districts is more static- and appeals to those who appreciate both size and aesthetic.

So which is YOUR pick, “anything goes” Bucktown or “my way or the highway” Wicker Park?

This blog was contributed by Demetrius Simpson. He is a Chicago native, sits on the Wicker Park & Bucktown Chamber Board of Directors, sits on the Bucktown Community Organization (BCO) Board of Directors, and is a Realtor with Sergio & Banks Real Estate.

Since the 1800’s, the Wicker Park & Bucktown communities have been a melting pot of cultures.

German, Scandinavian, Eastern European, African and Spanish descended cultures all played a role in shaping the Wicker Park & Bucktown neighborhoods and the architecture that we know today.

In 1800, the neighborhoods now known as Wicker Park & Bucktown were a dense, marshy forest full of wildlife. It was an isolated area on the outskirts of the City of Chicago, connected to the City primarily by the Indian trail known today as Milwaukee Avenue. 

It was The Great Chicago Fire in 1871 that sent a wave of settlers into the WPB areas,

As the fire left seventy three miles of Chicago streets and 17,450 buildings destroyed and a third of the city’s population homeless.Affluent German and Scandinavian immigrants settled in Wicker Park, away from the ashes of the once thriving neighborhoods to the east. They built large homes made almost entirely of brick and stone, as a response to the vulnerability of wood frame homes to fire. By 1895, homes built in the Italianate and Victorian Gothic styles, to name a few, circled the four acre park donated to the city by developers Charles and Joel Wicker, after which the park, Wicker Park, and eventually the neighborhood were named. Wicker Park was the showplace of architectural styles during the 1890’s. Many of these homes still stand today and are located within Wicker Park’s Landmark District.