Harold T. Wolff was an architectural historian with Ridge Historical Society in the 1990s and early 2000s, who contributed substantially to our understanding of the architectural legacy of the Ridge. His regular columns for the BAPA Villager gave readers insights in architecture and history with his elegant prose. With permission from BAPA, these columns have been made available on the RHS website.
Pergola Bunglow is an Inviting Home
June 2001 | Villager
The City of Chicago is devoting resources to the preservation and modernization of bungalows and, in cooperation with the Chicago Architectural Foundation, their glorification as well. They are particularly — though not exclusively — concentrating on the Chicago bungalow, the red-, orange-, brown-, or yellow-brick one-and-a-half story structure with a small dormer or window under…
A Charming Tudor House
October 2000 | The Villager
Murray Hetherington (1891-1972) was the second generation of a family which has been associated with the architecture of the Ridge since his father, John Todd Hetherington (1858-1936), moved to Beverly/Morgan Park in the early years of the 20th century. The son graduated from the Armour Institute of Technology (now the Institute of Technology) in 1914,…
An Elegant French Manor House
January 2000 | The Villager
Because it coincided with the great Depression, the architecture of American houses of the years between 1930 and 1939 can be misunderstood as a simplification of style necessitated by economic belt-tightening. In fact, a convergence of trends, including streamlining of decoration on the one hand, and the use of simple geometric solids rather than elaborate…
Waterman A La Moderne
March 2000 | The Villager
By Harold T. Wolff, Ridge Historical Society Harry Hale Waterman (1869-1948) is among my favorite architects on the Ridge. His work frequently appears in this column. We admire Frank Lloyd Wright for the solutions he devised to an assortment of architectural problems within the two styles he originated, the Prairie and Usonian. Harry Hale Waterman…
A Pioneer of Forest Ridge
September 2000 | Villager
The year was 1890 and Chicago was in the midst of a real estate boom encouraged by the prospect of a world's fair to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America. Enterprising realtor B.F. Cronkrite assembled an 80-acre tract between 95th and 99th Streets and between Damen Avenue and Leavitt Street, and sold…
A House of Elegant Simplicity
July 2000 | The Villager
By Harold T. Wolff Ridge Historical Society Considering that Harry Hale Waterman began his architectural career working alongside the two acknowledged masters of the Prairie School, Frank Lloyd Wright and George Washington Maher, it is disappointing not to find more of his work in this style. The England J. Barker House, 10650 S. Longwood Dr….
A Semi-Bungalow Offers Solid Family Living
December 2000 | The Villager
Perhaps because it seemed a contradiction in terms, the generation that erected for themselves the great thickets of bungalows we are so familiar with never quite came to terms with the thought of a two-story bungalow. After all, could that sense of intimacy, that simplicity of maintenance despite dispensing with servants, that curious reliance on…
A Housing Experiment
January 2000 | BAPA. Beverly Area Planning Association
Sometimes an architect will come up with a solution to a problem presented by a client which admirably meets the requirements but nevertheless does not receive the flattery of imitation by others. Such houses enrich the community by addition to its variety, even when they do not set a trend themselves. And, in the case…
A Distinguished Georgian
April 2000 | The Villager
By Harold T. Wolff Ridge Historical Society Among the most distinguished examples of Georgian Colonial Revival houses, not only in Beverly/Morgan Park but across the city, is the home at 9822 S. Longwood Dr., built in 1908 for Frederick C. Sawyer, a department manager for Swift & Company. This house is probably the only example…
Unusual Craftsman House Seeks Sunlight
September 1999 | The Villager
By Harold T. Wolff Ridge Historical Society Lying in the lee of the Blue Island Ridge, the area from Wood to Charles south of 95th Street is, to some extent, sheltered from the elements to which the houses on higher ground are fully exposed. Sometimes architecture must be planned to compensate for missing climactic forces,…