The RHS Facebook page is a rich archive of history-related posts by Carol Flynn, RHS Facebook admin and writer until mid-2025. Carol prolifically wrote a wide variety of meticulously researched local history articles for RHS. She continues to write for the Beverly Review and other media sources with articles particularly focused on local Ridge history.
2021
The Month of March – Part 3, The House the Egans Built
In the last few posts, we’ve been profiling the Frank and Kate Egan family, a typical Irish American family that lived on the Ridge one hundred years ago. They became media celebrities due to the house they built at 1414 West 95th Street.
As March is National Irish American Heritage Month, National Women’s History Month, and National Craft Month, the story of their house ties all three themes together.
The Egans lived at 9440 S. Loomis Street for a number of years. In 1912, they acquired the property at 1414 West 95th Street, a 50-foot by 125-foot lot, with the intention of building a house. They set up a temporary portable structure like a garage that they intended to live in for a short time while the house was built.
At the time, a new building material, and the technology for making and using it, that was generating incredible public interest was cement.
Cement is a binding material that can be made from a variety of chemical substances (limestone, etc.) that when mixed with sand, gravel, and water, dries into a hard substance called concrete. Wet concrete can be poured into molds to dry to look like anything, from bricks to furniture.
The term “new” is relative here because deposits of cement formed by natural means have been found that are estimated to be twelve million years old. A form of cement was used in the Bronze Age, and it was continually refined up to modern times. Advances in the 1800s led to a product that had a reasonable drying time and developed strength quickly, important characteristics. Machinery for making cement and concrete also advanced during this time period.
The use of concrete in construction grew rapidly from 1850 on. It was used for the foundation of buildings. Then in 1908, Thomas Edison experimented with using pre-cast concrete to build houses.
Cement manufacturers and dealers began holding an annual industry exhibition at the Chicago Coliseum in 1908. By 1912, the show had 300 exhibits and 10,000 attendees. On display was everything from concrete burial cases to concrete pianos – and concrete houses.
“’Poured’ house to become home of the future” declared the Inter Ocean newspaper. A “poured house” was created by mixing cement with the materials to make concrete, pouring it into molds, letting it dry and harden, and removing the molds to use the finished structural pieces. They could be any size blocks or an entire side of a house.
Many of the exhibitors held contests and games at their booths with prizes awarded to members of the public. A newspaper article reported that Kate Egan attended the cement show at the Coliseum and was presented with a machine for making concrete blocks.
Egan family descendants reported that at a church fair, husband Frank won a set of cement brick molds.
Son Bernard began to build cement blocks, and produced enough to cover the entire garage. The family then designed and began to build an entire house from cement blocks they made themselves.
They started by gathering large granite boulders to use for the foundation. All of the family members kept their eyes open for boulders. Kate drove around in a horse and buggy looking for boulders, which Frank would then call for. Note, there were a lot of boulders left by glacial activity thousands of years ago that could be found, although it took some time to round them all up.
The plans for the house were drawn up by George, Jr., who was an electrician, and they were approved by an architect. There were four large rooms on each floor, an attic, three finished rooms in the basement plus a laundry. Porches were planned for the fronts and backs of both floors.
Frank was always handy with tools, so although he had no experience as a carpenter, he began constructing the interior of the home. He visited shops and studied trade manuals for technical information. With just some occasional professional help, he installed the plumbing and a hot water heating system, and laid the floors and woodwork. Presumably, son George took care of the electricity.
In October of 1918, it was reported that Kate, with the help of a mason, laid the final cornerstone of the house herself. She said many times afterward that she was proud she accomplished that.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck the family the next month. Although he had health problems, Bernard had enlisted at the start of World War I. In November of 1918, he died of pneumonia as a complication of influenza in a military hospital in San Antonio, Texas. His mother and sister Florence traveled down there to arrange to have his remains returned home, and he was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Bernard had built the foundation and first floor of the house. The family’s sentiment was so interwoven with the granite boulders that Kate declared a monetary value could never be placed on the house and she would not take even $100,000 for the home.
Kate was the creative force behind much of the project. She built two artistic fireplaces, one in the reception hall and another in the library. They were built of granite boulders embedded in red cement.
There were 32 windows in the house that were inset with colored stained-glass fleur-de-lis, according to a newspaper article. Kate planned this based on her love of seeing the French flag waving. There are many symbolic meanings of the fleur-de-lis, including honor and faith.
The family lived in the house while they built it. In 1920, the newspaper reported the house was almost finished and their friends would soon join them for a magnificent house-warming. There were still finishing touches to be made and Frank and Kate later estimated it ultimately took 13 years to complete the house.
Affordable housing, whether building, buying, or renting, was then, and always will be, an issue. Frank was part of a program in 1920 to advise people on how to build a home on a moderate income without incurring debt. He would not estimate the cost of the house but said that the total expenditure would be far less than if it had been put up by a builder.
Kate lived in the house until her death in 1947; Frank had died in 1939. Daughter Florence and her son lived with Kate. According to family stories posted on Ancestry, the family ran the house as a “tourist home,” what we would call a bed-and-breakfast today. It was a huge 10 room house, and at one point they were approached to sell it to a mortuary firm but turned the offer down.
In the spring of 1948, there were a series of ads about items for sale from the house.
RHS has tracked down, so far, that the house was still occupied in the late 1950s. We’re trying to discover when it was torn down. Today the address is a vacant lot.
This gives new meaning to a “craft project” for National Craft Month.
Next post: Some final information on the Egans.
Note that other people had concrete houses built on the Ridge and there are some outstanding examples in the Beverly/Morgan Park area today.
The Month of March – Part 4, Wrap up on the Egan Family – Sons George and Bernard
This post continues our story on the Frank and Kate Egan family, an Irish American family who lived on the Ridge one hundred years ago.
The Egans became famous for building a concrete-block house on 95th Street in the 1910s, doing all the work themselves. They lived in the house for almost four decades.
They often shared information about their activities with Pauline Palmer, the reporter for the “Ridge and Morgan Park News” section of the Englewood Times, so this gives us a glimpse into the social lives of a Ridge family. Mrs. Palmer only lived a few blocks away from the Egans and surely they were acquaintances.
Also, through Ancestry.com, RHS connected with the great-granddaughter of Frank and Kate Eagan, and she generously shared photos and family information with us. We are very grateful for that.
Here are some “moments in time” from the Egans.
A lot of Irish Catholic families, especially “older” generations, will relate to this story. The one thing many Irish Catholic mothers set their hearts on was that one son would become a priest. Denied the right to practice their faith in their own country for so many years by the British government, and experiencing a great deal of anti-Irish Catholic sentiment in the U.S. by the established Anglo-Protestant leadership, Irish Catholics tenaciously clung to the Church in the U.S. Priests were not only spiritual leaders, they were social and political leaders, also. They were local celebrities.
According to Egan family folklore, oldest son George, Jr., was apparently slated for the priesthood, at least in his mother Kate’s viewpoint, until he met and married Emily Biggs. George became an electrician, and in 1919, they moved to the north side in the Irving Park area, and eventually had seven children.
Undoubtedly, Kate was disappointed that George did not become a priest. But there are entries in the social notices that George and Emily were guests of his parents, and their children were also entertained at their grandmother’s house.
In addition, Kate stayed with George and Emily for two weeks in 1918 when Emily was ill with influenza and pneumonia. At least one of the children was also ill with bronchitis.
In 1920, there was an entry that Emily Biggs Egan received notice that she and her descendants were beneficiaries in a large estate left by a deceased aunt and uncle. Surely that was welcome news.
In previous posts, we’ve shared that the Egans’ second son, Bernard, died from influenza and pneumonia at the age of 24 in a military hospital in Texas. According to the newspaper, he died on Thanksgiving Day, 1918. His mother Kate and sister Florence traveled down to Texas to arrange to have his body returned to Chicago.
The solemn high Mass, at St Margaret of Scotland Church, and burial in Mount Olivet Cemetery took place in February 1919, likely delayed by weather and the ground too frozen for the burial.
In 1917, the newspaper carried several stories about Bernard. We posted before that it was Bernard who made the first cement bricks that were used to cover the garage and begin the house, and he did most of the building of the foundation and first floor. Now he was traveling throughout the East Coast and Canada as a representative of the Bates Valve Bag Company, which produced machines for packing cement and like substances.
He came home for Easter, and that summer, it was reported he was home for a brief visit before he left for a long trip through South America.
Pauline Palmer reported, “Mr. Egan has been very successful and the neighborhood is proud of him.”
Whether any of that trip took place before Bernard enlisted in the Army isn’t reported. It also isn’t reported what kind of service action Bernard saw once he did enlist. Eighteen months later he died in Texas.
Losing Bernard was a tragic blow to the family. For several years, on Thanksgiving Day, Bernard was remembered at St. Margaret’s Church with services in his honor.
In 1927, St. Margaret of Scotland Parish began the construction of a new church. The paper reported that Frank and Kate Egan were donating a statue of St. Margaret to the new church in memorial to Bernard and to their son-in-law George Dumais who was killed in 1924.
Bernard lost his life in the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19. Other family members were also very sick that year. Kate was ill in October. Daughter-in-law Emily was ill in November and daughter Florence in December. Frank, the father, was very ill with influenza in the spring of 1919. Fortunately, they all survived.
Next post: Egan daughters Florence and Marie.
Changes for Catholic Churches on the Ridge
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has announced pending changes for some of the Catholic churches on the Ridge as part of its “Renew My Church” effort.
St. Benedict in Blue Island, St. Walter in Chicago (Morgan Park), and St. Peter Claver Mission in Robbins will combine into one parish, with a new name, and one pastor.
Gone – in name – will be St. Benedict Church, the first Catholic Church established on the Ridge.
Volp’s Blue Island history, “The First One Hundred Years,” tells us that St. Benedict Parish was organized as a mission by the Benedictine Fathers of Chicago in 1861. Services were held in a building at the corner of York and Western Streets.
In 1862, the lot on the corner of York and Gregory Streets was purchased for $125 and the first church was built in 1864. The first school was built in 1880. In 1895, a church was built that had four school rooms on the ground floor, and the church proper on the upper floors. This was torn down in the late 1960s for the “modern” church there now.
St. Walter Church was established in the 1950s in the Morgan Park neighborhood of Chicago, at 117th and South Western Avenue.
Not technically part of the Blue Island Ridge, St. Peter Claver Mission in Robbins was established in 1958.
The Month of March – Part 5, the Egan Daughters
We’ve been looking at the George Francis (Frank) and Kate Egan family, an Irish American family that lived on the Ridge one hundred years ago. We shared some information on the sons, George, Jr., and Bernard, in the last post. This post will look at the daughters, Florence, born in 1892, and Marie, born in 1898.
Like most Irish American Catholic families at the time, activities centered around family, the Church, and Irish organizations. We see this with the Egan daughters. The family belonged to St. Margaret of Scotland Parish at 99th and South Throop Street. Florence and Marie were both involved in multiple activities and organizations, often following in their parents’ footsteps.
In 1919, the local paper reported Florence and Marie spent the Fourth of July in Indiana and both came home with “a nice sunburned complexion.” They were members of the One-Two-Three Club, and they entertained the club at their house; the Egan house was a stop for the club’s progressive hiking party, where refreshments were served at the stops.
After their brother Bernard died in 1918 from influenza while he was in the army, the family became involved with the Gold Star Mothers. Florence and Marie were mentioned in the local paper for assisting at the candy booth for the Gold Star Mothers’ bazaar held at the Coliseum.
Florence served as an officer with the St. Margaret’s chapter of the Women’s Catholic Order of the Foresters, which formed following the men’s organization, to offer sick, funeral and death benefits. She was also a member of the Daughters of Isabella, the women’s auxiliary of the Knights of Columbus.
Like her parents and many Irish American Catholics, Florence was very active in efforts to secure Ireland’s freedom. She became the recording secretary for the Joseph Murphy Council of the American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic.
In 1921, she and the president posted an open invitation in the newspaper for people to attend a meeting of the group. She attended an outing with the group at Riverview Park that fall. Most impressive, she led the grand march at the Council’s benefit dance that summer.
That year, she and a friend hosted a Halloween party at the family home at 1414 W. 95th Street, which also served as the housewarming party for the house, which the family had famously built themselves from cement blocks. Reported the local paper: “Spooks, witches and brownies … all enjoyed themselves in the pretty new home … at the genuine old-fashioned Halloween party.”
Florence enjoyed travelling. She liked day trips to visit family and friends in outlying areas, and she also visited local resorts and places like Starved Rock.
In the fall of 1922, she visited Buffalo, New York, and she decided to move to New York and make it her home. The paper gave her location as Herkimer, a town south of Utica. But she was back home on the Ridge by spring 1923.
In 1924, she married Benjamin McGovern from Buffalo, New York. The newspapers noted she was treated to many showers and parties. She had one son. The marriage ended in divorce and Florence and her son moved into the large family house with her parents.
Florence continued her social activities. In the 1930s she was active with the Catholic Daughters of America, and the women’s auxiliary of the American Legion, where she served as president of a local unit and attended conventions in Springfield.
She had a summer home in McHenry where she entertained guests. Florence eventually moved to Arizona.
Marie, the younger sister, married George DuMais in 1920. Friends from all the clubs, and relatives, feted Marie with showers and parties.
DuMais worked for the Rock Island railroad. They moved to Portland, Oregon, for a brief time. Kate, Marie’s mother, spent a winter out there with her daughter. They moved back to the Ridge, and they bought a summer home in Wisconsin, along with a cousin from Kate’s side, the Murnans.
In October of 1924, George DuMais was crushed between two train cars in the Blue Island switching yards and died in the hospital a few hours later. His funeral was from St. Margaret of Scotland Church and he was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery. This left a devastated Marie a widow at the age of 27 with three small children; the third was born about a month after George died.
A descendent of the DuMais family responded to the RHS Facebook posts about the Egan family and reported this about Marie: “Marie Egan (later Marie Egan DuMais) was my great aunt.
“As I recall family history retelling the story, George DuMais worked for the Rock Island, and he was killed in a workplace accident. Marie was offered a cash settlement, or a promise of a lifetime job. Her son was only 5 or 6 at the time and she was pregnant with [another child]. She took the job.
“She worked as the ticket agent at multiple stations between 91st and 119th streets on the suburban line, ultimately ending up at 95th and Wood. The station included an apartment where she lived for many years, and where we would occasionally spend a night when her grandchildren, my cousins, would come to visit. Her son was a career Air Force officer and lived
in many places around the country.
“The Rock Island lived up to their commitment, and she worked long past the normal retirement age.
“When she finally retired, she was the longest tenured employee of the Rock Island.”
Her address for many years was listed as 10301 Walden Parkway, the 103rd Street station. All of the stations had second floors that were often lived in by the agents. This station no longer exists, it was replaced in the 1960s.
Marie also participated in clubs and activities.
Florence and she were both members of a cards club, the Beverly Five Hundred Club.
In 1943, the Ridge Court members of the Catholic Daughters of America (CDOA) held a supper followed by cards and games at the Food Research Institute downtown at Jackson and State Streets. The Food Research Institute fostered “better homemaking,” and developed new food formulas, tested and developed recipes, and staged food photography. It put on lunch and dinner events and was a popular venue for women’s clubs. This connects us to National Nutrition Month, which is also celebrated in March.
Florence was the chairman of the event. A few weeks before, the CDOA selected committee chairs for the year. Marie was appointed chair of the committee on caring for the sick, and Florence was appointed chair for “Americanism and national defense.”
Neither Florence nor Marie remarried.
Next post: Conclusion on Frank and Kate Egan.
The Month of March – Part 6, Conclusion with Frank and Kate Egan
This post will bring to a conclusion our stories about the Frank and Kate Egan family, an Irish American Catholic family that lived on the Ridge one hundred years ago. Their frequent mention in the local newspapers gave us a glimpse into their lives that we don’t often find.
Through Ancestry, we connected with a great-granddaughter who shared some wonderful family pictures and history with us. Another distant relative supplied information via comments on one of the posts. We love connecting with family members of the historical people we profile, and we thank them for their contributions.
We’ll start out with one addendum to Part 5 on the Egan daughters. We found a newspaper picture of Marie Egan DuMais from 1931 that we are including here. She was installed as the chief ranger of the St. Margaret’s chapter of the Women’s Catholic Order of the Foresters. Her sister Florence was named treasurer.
March is National Women’s History Month, National Irish American Heritage Month, National Nutrition Month, and National Craft Month, and the Egans brought all four themes together for us.
The cement block house that the Egan family built at 1414 West 95th Street has to be the ultimate craft project. Mother Kate Egan was much of the creative force behind the project. The house became the center for family activities. There were many newspaper mentions of them entertaining there. Kate came from a large family and out-of-town relatives – from Denver, Austin, Seattle, Los Angeles, New Mexico – stayed at Kate’s house.
At one time, assuming during the Great Depression and World War II years in the 1930s – 40s, when families looked for new ways to bring in income, the Egan family ran the house as a “tourist lodge,” and advertised permanent rooms for men. This was the time that “motels” were beginning – “MO-tor” and “ho-TEL” combined – indoor rooms to stay in conveniently located along major autoroutes, replacing earlier motor camps.
It was mentioned in the papers several times that Kate suffered from severe flare-ups of “rheumatism,” which back then encompassed osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and any other illnesses that affected the joints. Rheumatology was just coming into its own as a medical specialty.
Kate stayed active with her grandchildren. One article had her going to two First Communions, the Lane Tech High School prom at the Medinah Temple, and graduation for the grandson who had the prom, all in a space of two weeks. Her grandchildren, and nieces and nephews, were frequent guests at the big house.
In 1927, Frank and Kate Egan and Phillip DuMais donated the statue of St. Margaret of Scotland for the new church the parish was constructing. The statue was in memory of Bernard Egan, the son who died of influenza in the army during WWI, and George DuMais, the husband of Marie Egan, killed in an accident at the Blue Island train yard. The statue can be seen in a niche high above the outside front doors of the church, right below the roofline.
Frank and Kate celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1933 with a Mass at St. Margaret of Scotland Church, a breakfast, and an open house for friends during the day. One article brought up some reminiscences by the couple.
During the Great Chicago Fire, when he would have been just 14 years old, Frank hitched up his father’s express team to help people rescue their household goods. Apparently, the frightened horses ran away and there was an accident; the chaos and danger in the streets at the time can only be imagined.
Their 50th anniversary coincided with the beginning of the Century of Progress, and Frank recollected he managed an exhibit in the Machinery Hall during the 1893 World’s Fair. It could have related to sewing machines, as his expertise was in that area.
Frank died on December 1, 1939, at the age of 82, and was waked at their home, then buried from St. Margaret of Scotland in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
In 1941, daughter Marie held a surprise 77th birthday party for her mother Kate.
Kate died on January 22, 1947, at the age of 82. Her last story involves her funeral procession from St. Margaret of Scotland Church and burial in Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Kate was buried the same day in the same cemetery as was Al Capone, the infamous bootlegger from the days of Prohibition. Capone, aged 48, died in his home in Florida, and his remains were brought up to Chicago for burial. At that time, Capone’s father and one brother were already buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery.
It was a freezing cold, windy day, February 5, 1947, when the funeral cortege for Capone arrived at the cemetery at the same time as that of Kate Egan and her family. Fifteen limousines conveyed Capone’s mother, wife and son, brothers, and other family members and friends. A few “gawkers” and media people braved the cold to watch. There were about forty people in attendance, very small by standards set during the 1920s for gangsters. The service was said by Monsignor William Gorman, the chaplain of the Chicago Fire Department, who had been Capone’s mother’s parish priest at one time. The ceremony was brief, and the family did not linger.
According to Egan family folklore, the family was scandalized that famous people turned out for Capone’s funeral and it was conducted by Monsignor Gorman, while a good Catholic mother like Kate got only a small cortege and a local priest.
Of course, a good Catholic mother like Kate was the expected norm, and Kate couldn’t possibly have competed for public attention with a notorious bootlegger and alleged murderer who dominated Chicago and the newspapers for over a decade.
One paper reported that Msgr. Gorman did say at Capone’s gravesite that the ceremony was “to recognize his penitence and the fact he died fortified by the sacraments of the church. The church never condones evil, nor the evil in any man’s life.”
The Capone graves were later relocated to Mount Carmel Cemetery, but the Capone gravestone still stands in Mount Olivet Cemetery.
However, this was not a story about Al Capone. This was a story about a typical Irish American Catholic family who lived on the Ridge one hundred years ago and contributed to the rich history of the community.
This concludes the series on the George F. Egan family.
The Ridge Historical Society
March 18, 2021
Chicago Alderman Sophia King is proposing a change to the Municipal Code of Chicago that would prohibit “cultural exhibits and libraries” – including small local historical societies/museums like the Ridge Historical Society – from being established in residential areas. The proposal was never shared with communities or organizations that may be affected by it before it was submitted to the Zoning Committee for vote. The Committee will deal with the proposed changes on March 23, 2021.
Cultural institutions and “house museums” have existed peacefully in residential areas for decades. They enhance communities by preserving the history, arts, literature, and stories that so richly contribute to the unique characteristics of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. Especially now, as groups long unrecognized and unappreciated for their contributions to society are just coming into their own, it is misguided to curtail these efforts.
RHS is located in the historic Graver-Driscoll House in the Ridge Historic District and the Longwood Drive Landmark District. Our understanding is that RHS would be grandfathered in as an existing organization but that does not guarantee future protection.
The RHS Board has written to the Zoning Committee to add our opposition to the proposed changes to that of many other organizations and private citizens who are taking a stand. We have shared our concerns with our own alderman, who is not a member of that committee. We hope this proposed change will die in committee and not go to the City Council for vote.
Comments for the March 23 meeting must be submitted by 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning, March 19. Comments should be sent to staff member Raymond.valadez@cityofchicago.org. The issue is “OPPOSITION TO ALDERMAN KING’S ZONING ORDINANCE LIMITING CULTURAL EXHIBITS, LIBRARIES AND HOUSE MUSEUMS IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS.”
Depending on the outcome of the March 23 meeting, further action may be needed.
Ridge Historical Society
March 19, 2021
Chicago Municipal Code Zoning Issue
Here are the actual images of the Chicago Municipal Code concerning proposed changes for cultural institutions and "house museums."
Right now, cultural organizations get a "P" for setting up in any residential district – and P means "permitted by right." They don't need any special permission.
In Alderman King's original proposal, dated 12/16/20, she proposed that all cultural institutions get a "-" or dash, which means "Not Allowed" in all residential areas except for the densest highrise areas, and then they would need an "S" – special use approval required.
Note that the Ridge Historical Society is in an "RS" district, so this proposed change would make RHS "not allowed" whether we have special use approval or not. RHS might be "grandfathered in" as an existing institution but that could be challenged and there is no guarantee for protection in the future.
This is the ONLY proposal right now that anyone has seen on this issue so it is the one people are replying to. King claims she submitted an amended proposal but not even the Zoning Committee had seen that as of their video meeting in February.
We have NO idea of the actual proposal the Zoning Committee is looking at during their next meeting, March 23, 2021. It has not been shared with the public.
March 2021 – Oscar Wilde’s visit to Chicago – part 1
St. Patrick’s Day is over but it’s still National Irish American Heritage Month, so we can fit in one more Irish story.
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1854. He is considered one of the greatest Irish writers. He wrote poetry, essays, and articles. His plays, such as The Importance of Being Earnest, considered his masterpiece, continue to be performed today. He also wrote fiction, mainly short stories, and his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is a classic.
Many people know him for his epigrams, or brief statements that are memorable and interesting. There are hundreds of great Wilde quotes, and some good ones include:
“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”
“The nicest feeling in the world is to do a good deed anonymously – and have somebody find out.”
“They've promised that dreams can come true – but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too.”
“No man is rich enough to buy back his past.”
“I can resist anything except temptation.”
“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.”
This could go on for pages.
Before Wilde became famous for his literary career, however, he was already a celebrity and media sensation. As a young man, only in his 20s, he became the embodiment of, and spokesperson for, the Aesthetic Movement.
Aestheticism as a philosophy emphasized pleasing the senses and emotions through beauty and good taste as more important than moral, political, or societal concerns. It was primarily an art movement although it influenced other phases of life. It grew out of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of the mid-1800s through people like artist/poet Dante Gabriel Rosetti, and influenced such artists and designers as William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. Aestheticism advocated “art for art’s sake” rather than art for any other purpose such as a moral lesson or political statement.
Oscar Wilde was raised by parents who were considered intellectuals. His father was Ireland’s top eye-and-ear surgeon, running his own hospital. He was knighted in 1864. Sir William Wilde also wrote on Irish archeology and folklore. He was known for his philanthropy, treating the poor for free at the back of Trinity College in Dublin.
Wilde’s mother was an Irish nationalist, strongly supporting freedom from English rule. Lady Jane Wilde was an early advocate for women’s rights and education for women. She spoke ten languages fluently. She was a poet, she wrote for fashionable magazines, and she collected and wrote about Irish folklore.
Oscar had an older brother, and a younger sister who died at age 9 from meningitis. Oscar and his brother were baptized in both the Church of Ireland (Protestant) and the Roman Catholic Church, according to his biographers. He had a lifelong fascination with Catholicism, and even traveled to Italy as a young man to meet the Pope, but he did not really practice in either church.
When Oscar was young, the Wilde home was a site for cultural and social life in Dublin, and he met many of the leading writers, artists, politicians, scientists, and “influencers” of the day. He learned to speak German and French fluently. He excelled as a student at Trinity College and Oxford University in England.
When Sir Wilde died in 1876, it was discovered he was practically bankrupt. Lady Wilde lived with her older son Willie and relied upon her writing to make a living. Willie studied law but never practiced. He earned a meager income as a journalist, drama critic, lead newspaper writer, and editor. Willie was considered witty and humorous, but he was plagued by alcoholism and living in his younger brother’s shadow. The brothers lived together during college years, but were estranged for most of their adult lives.
While a student at Oxford University from 1874 to 1878, Oscar Wilde became an advocate of the Aesthetic Movement, influenced by writers/mentors Walter Pater and John Ruskin. Wilde adopted aesthetic mannerisms. He grew his hair long, wore showy outfits, and affected languid dramatic poses. He scorned sports but he occasionally boxed, a sport the Irish love, and famously drove off four fellow students who attacked him.
He decorated his room with symbols of the movement like peacock feathers, lilies, sunflowers, and art objects. Wilde entertained guests extravagantly, serving them on popular blue china. He famously said, "I find it harder and harder every day to live up to my blue china." This became a slogan for his fellow aesthetes.
Next post: Oscar Wilde moved to London and entered society, which led to a trip to the U.S., including Chicago.
March 2021 – Oscar Wilde’s Visit to Chicago – Part 2
Oscar Wilde is one of Ireland’s most regarded writers. Before his literary career took off, however, he was already a celebrity and media star.
During his years at Oxford University (1874-78), he became a follower of the aesthetic movement, which promoted pleasing the senses and emotions through “beauty.” Primarily an art movement, aestheticism advocated “art for art’s sake,” that is, the arts – fine art, decorative art, literature, music – should exist and be enjoyed and appreciated for the pure beauty of the works, not for other purposes like political statements or moral lessons.
After graduating from Oxford, Wilde first returned to Dublin, where he reconnected with a childhood sweetheart, Florence Balcombe. She married another Irish writer, Bram Stoker, who twenty years later would publish a masterpiece that gave the world one of its most famous characters – Dracula.
Wilde wrote that his time with Balcombe was “the sweetest years of all my youth.” He announced he was returning to England probably for good, and he only returned to Ireland for two brief visits after that.
Moving to London, he set himself up in a bachelor flat and “entered society.” He soon became known for his charming wit, biting sarcasm, and brilliant conversational skills. He was mentioned and quoted frequently in the newspapers and society journals.
He had published poetry and lyrics during his college years, and now produced a book of poems, “Poems,” which sold out, although it was panned by the critics.
He continued his aesthetic lifestyle, and tailors began producing “high-art clothing” for men based on Wilde’s outfits – britches that ended at the knees tied with bows; silk, satin, and velvet jackets and pants; colorful neckties, handkerchiefs, and stockings; fur coats; outsized hats; and fancy shoes.
Soon Wilde was setting, not following, aesthetic trends. The newspapers called him the “apostle of the aesthetic school.” He began lecturing and writing on aestheticism with topics such as philosophy, fine and decorative arts, architecture, and fashion.
Wilde was not the only aesthete in London society – there were many, including the artist Edward Burne-Jones, whose artwork included stained glass, oil painting, ceramic tiles, jewelry, tapestries, and mosaics. Burne-Jones had worked with William Morris to create the tearoom at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the 1860s which remains famous today as a design from the early days of the aesthetic movement.
Said Burne-Jones about his art, which captures the essence of the aesthetic movement: “I mean by a picture a beautiful, romantic dream of something that never was, never will be – in a light better than any light that ever shone – in a land no one can define or remember, only desire – and the forms divinely beautiful.”
Wilde was the most flamboyant and outspoken of the aesthetes, however. As one newspaper said in 1881, “Two years and a half ago he came to London, and on being told to not say anything unconventional he did exactly the opposite; the consequence was that he became the fashion.”
Wilde, as well as all aesthetes, were controversial figures, with as many critics as fans. Their beliefs and behaviors contradicted the traditional moral values of the Victorian era. The term “decadent” became associated with the aesthetic lifestyle.
George Du Maurier, a cartoonist and writer for Punch and Harper’s, leading magazines that helped bring the aesthetic movement to the U.S., often caricatured Wilde.
Artist William Powell Frith produced a painting titled “The Private View at the Royal Academy, 1881,” depicting Wilde with his followers viewing artwork, while his critics stand behind him, observing him. Aesthetic women’s fashions, with their bright colors and softer, flowing lines, contrast with traditional attire, which used somber colors and features like bustles.
Dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, the creators of comic operas such as the “Pirates of Penzance,” parodied the aesthetic movement in a new play, “Patience.” They modeled one of the characters on Wilde.
To promote the play in the U.S., their theatrical producer Richard D'Oyly Carte talked Wilde into a trip to America to lecture about aestheticism.
It was in this context, the role of ambassador for aestheticism, that Oscar Wilde visited the United States in 1882 on a lecture tour. Soon, the Gilbert and Sullivan play stopped being the focal point, and Wilde’s visit in and of itself became the noteworthy historical phenomenon. The trip was originally planned for four months but was extended to almost a year because it was so commercially successful.
The tour included two visits to Chicago, which made a memorable impact on the city.
Next post: Oscar Wilde’s visit to Chicago.
March 2021 – Oscar Wilde’s Visit to Chicago – Part 3
Oscar Wilde visited the United States in 1882 to lecture on aestheticism. He was 27 years old. He had not yet published any of the plays or fiction for which he would become famous as a writer. He was, however, already famous for this wit, sarcasm, opinions, and conversation skills. He was famous for his flamboyant dress, “decadent” lifestyle, and love of “beauty” as the guiding principle of life.
He had agreed to the trip to the U.S. which was arranged as a promotion for the new Gilbert and Sullivan play, “Patience,” a parody of aestheticism. However, the play was soon eclipsed by Wilde himself. The trip was scheduled for four months, but was extended to almost a year because it was so commercially successful.
Wilde arrived in New York City on January 3, 1882. Within days, he posed in full aesthetic look for photographs taken by Napoleon Sarony, the leading portrait photographer of the day. These photographs define Oscar Wilde to this day.
After working his way through New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, and smaller cities like New Haven, Albany, and Buffalo, he arrived in Chicago on February 12.
The American press loved to hate Wilde. They reported his every move, outfit, and comment, while at the same time declaring him irrelevant. The newspapers in Chicago were no different. The articles in the Chicago papers offered detailed scenes of Wilde’s visit, almost like the plays he would later author.
Chicagoans had their first glimpse of Wilde when a reporter from the Inter Ocean newspaper interviewed him at the Grand Pacific, the luxury hotel he was staying at, now long gone.
Wilde’s room was decorated with rare old books and an antique desk with inlaid pearl done in Japanese style, a popular aesthetic trend. The “skins of wild beasts,” identified in another newspaper as buffalo, and a gold silk fringed shawl were draped on the sofa, which had been pulled up to an angle with the bright coal fire blazing in the grate.
Wilde reclined on the sofa, smoking Turkish cigarettes. He wore a quilted black silk smoking jacket with scarlet collar and lapels, with matching black “pantaloons” with scarlet piping down the side. The outfit was completed with matching scarlet necktie, handkerchief, and stockings.
He greeted the reporter with “languid grace.” The first question put to him was what he thought of Chicago.
“That is a difficult question to answer,” replied Wilde. “I don’t pretend to have seen the city yet, I have been here too short a time; but from what I have seen I like it much better than New York. It is wonderful to think how you have built such a large city in so short a time, especially after such a great calamity as your great fire. But of course it is a little sad to think of all the millions of money spent on buildings and so little architecture. But that will come in time, no doubt.”
When asked if he had seen any art yet in Chicago, Wilde replied he had seen the work of a sculptor named John Donoghue. He praised the work as “of the highest artistic quality, more beautiful than the work of any sculptor I have seen yet.” He said Chicago should be proud of this young artist.
Wilde showed the reporter a plaque with a medallion of a young girl that Donoghue created to illustrate one of Wilde’s poems from the book “Poems” he had published in London the year before. He gave gifts of the book out frequently.
[A few weeks later, the newspaper reported that Wilde offered to advance Donoghue the funds to have one of the artist’s works cast in bronze and exhibited in London. He also ordered more of the medallions to give as gifts.]
He was asked how he liked the American people, and he responded the people on the East coast were very cosmopolitan; he expected to find “real American life” in the West. He said he found the audiences in the large cities to be “intelligent, courteous, and sympathetic.” There had been a few instances of disturbances in smaller, “provincial towns,” but “the good sense and good feeling of the majority entirely stopped” the disturbances.
Wilde was asked about the results of the tour financially, at which he showed “surprise” at the “outrageous question.” He was even asked outright how much he was making per night, but he did answer the questions. He was making $1000 per night in the big cities, less in the smaller cities.
He said that he was surprised by many comments of the newspapers. “They think it a strange and awful thing that I should want to make a few dollars by lecturing. Why, money making is necessary for art. Money builds cities and makes them beautiful. Money buys art and furnishes it an incentive. Is it strange that I should want to make money?”
That concluded his first published interview in Chicago.
During this first visit, Wilde was the guest of honor at luncheons, dinners, and receptions where he interacted with prominent Chicagoans like Marshall Field. He “talked very pleasantly on the subjects of dress, dancing, etc.” He was pronounced “perfectly charming” by the ladies.
When asked how he liked Chicago’s top social circles, Wilde replied, “I like your society people very much. They have all apologized to me for their newspapers. Your newspapers are comic without being amusing. English papers are founded on facts, while American papers are founded on imagination.”
Wilde might have charmed Chicago’s social circles, but he had less success with its cab drivers.
Wilde was the guest of honor at a society reception on Michigan Avenue, and a cab had been hired to then transport him to the Prairie Avenue district to be the guest at another house, that of architect John Wellborn Root, the partner of Daniel Burnham. Root was the creative genius of the team, and his designs using steel support beams would later pave the way for modern skyscrapers.
It was a dark and chilly night, and the driver, Frank Trudell, the foreman of Beardsley’s livery stables, could not find the address. The cab bounced around the muddy, unpaved streets, much to Wilde’s annoyance.
“I say, you ought to know where this is,” said Wilde, sticking his head out the cab’s window.
“Yes, I ought to know a good many things,” retorted Trudell.
Finally, Trudell pulled to the curb and told Wilde he had to get out of the cab and hold the horses while he, the driver, looked for the house. Wilde balked at the suggestion. What did the driver take him for? He was no hostler.
Trudell said he was not going to drive up and down the street all night. Either Wilde held the horses, or they headed back to downtown.
“Oh come, I say now, you wouldn’t do that,” said Wilde.
“Oh yes I will,” replied the cab driver.
Wilde “stepped out into the bleak night in knee breeches and dress coat” and fine shoes with silver buckles, and held the horses.
The house was located, and Wilde, still irritated, told Trudell to wait to take him back to his hotel. After waiting an hour and a half in the cold with restless horses, Trudell knocked on the door and sent a message to Wilde. If he wanted a ride back downtown, he had to leave then because Trudell would wait no longer.
Wilde came out and they left.
Next post: Oscar Wilde’s Memorable Lecture in Chicago.