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.
ARCHITECTURE ON THE RIDGE An Italian Renaissance Townhouse
October 1999 | The Villager
Scattered throughout Beverly/Morgan Park are many residences designed in the Italian Renaissance style of the early 20th Century. They range in size from the yellow-brick foursquares with green tile roofs commonly found throughout the neighborhoods to the landmark villa now used as the residence of the president of Chicago State University on Longwood Dr. Among…
Giving Drama to a Simple House
June 1999 | Villager
By Harold T. Wolff, Historian Ridge Historical Society Many people think that the special protections of the City of Chicago's landmark district on Walter Burley Griffin Place, 104th Place between Prospect Avenue and Wood Street, cover only the Griffin-designed Prairie School houses. In fact, the district enshrines every house from one end of the block…
An Early Contemporary Home
February 1999 | The Villager
Because construction continued in Beverly/Morgan Park right through the Depression, it is possible to document the evolution of modern housing here more fully than in almost any other place in the Chicago metropolitan area. A case in point is the very early Contemporary-style house at 10408 S. Talman Ave., erected in 1941 for V. A….
An Arts & Crafts House With a Park View
August 1999 | The Villager
The arts and crafts movement, begun in England by William Morris in the 1880's in reaction to a century of mass production, sought a revival of the handcrafting of objects of lasting beauty and utility. The movement quickly gained many adherents in America, particularly through the evangelizing of CR Ashbee on behalf of the (British)…
An Architect’s Style Evolving
December 1999 | The Villager
An architect ambitious to make a lasting impact in his profession almost always has to undergo a period of experimentation, seeking to create a style which is both distinctive and attracts clients. Typically, she or he will begin with established forms and work slowly towards something which is novel and yet expresses the lifestyle of…
A High-Style Norman Manor House
May 1999 | Villager
Although there are many houses on the Ridge that qualify as examples of the French eclectic styles much favored by architects and builders in the 1920s, few compare with the Norman-style manor house at 10100 S. Longwood Dr. (Its owners have thoughtfully left up the signpost carrying the former address, 1929 W. 101st St.) This…
Waterman’s Mission
January 1998 | The Villager
Harry Hale Waterman, whose best work is identified with Beverly Hills/Morgan Park, always seems under-appreciated to the people who know it best. Apparently uninterested in forging a new style and then having to sink or swim with it, Waterman built within all of the historical styles popular during his career and did a few buildings…
The Most Admired House In Beverly/Morgan Park
October 1998 | Villager
Even for those who have spent their entire lives on the Ridge, experiencing the BAPA Home Tour by bus can be an eye-opening experience. As the vehicle winds its way up and down Beverly/Morgan Park streets, a resident may watch with interest the reaction of visitors from other neighborhoods or outside the city. These visitors…
A Charming Design for Big-City Apartments
November 1998 | The Villager
When Ridge Historical Society president Sue Delves heard I was planning to write about Longwood Towers complex, 10901-10951 S. Longwood Dr., it set her to reminiscing. Sue and her husband Gene had returned to Chicago in 1957 and were looking for a place to live. Sue, reared in a downstate country town, wanted to rent…
Throwing Light on a Prairie Style Home
September 1998 | Villager
The use of contrasting dark wood beams and light stucco, so common among Prairie School houses, sometimes provokes a sense of uneasiness among viewers, as if it were Tudor half-timbering in the guise of novel wall treatment four centuries later. The question arose in the era when these houses were constructed, and because of the…