If I lived in a charming, historically signficant Chicago neighborhood like the Villa, I’d keep it a secret. Not so with the current group of Villa residents. Celebrating their neighborhood’s 100th anniversary in 2007 led to the creation of a public tour that reveals the delightful architecture of this Prairie School-influenced neighborhood.
Led by a gracious pair of guides, Ruth Mugalian and Katharine Wolanyk, my tour group learned the history of the subdivision, heard about an Olympic medalist who once lived there, peeked inside one home and viewed the private garden of another. While Ruth and Katherine claim not to be “real” architectural tour guides, they taught me a lot, including the name of an architect whose work I’ve long admired but was too lazy busy to look up.
Consisting of 126 houses bound by Pulaski, Addison, Hamlin and Avondale, the Villa was considered a fill-in subdivision, meaning it was developed after the surrounding area had been built up. Nearby Old Irving Park, for example, was already developed, though it was known as just Irving Park in 1907.
In stark contrast to Chicago’s rapid post-fire transformation into a major city, the Villa was designed to look backwards toward a disappearing rural past. The original marketing materials called the Villa “the Park in Irving Park,” “the beauty spot of the Northwest Side,” “a home in a park.” To ensure it would stay that way, the original owner of the land, Henrietta Osborn, insisted on a few convenants: no apartment buildings, no flat roofs, no two houses the same. This being Chicago . . .
No harm done. The Villa’s twin apartment buildings have stunning details like tile roofs, American Craftsman-style rafters and built-in planters that fit in nicely with the neighboring homes. The flat-roof house, shown in the top photo, turned out to be perhaps the Villa District’s strongest evocation of that Prairie School pioneer, Frank Lloyd Wright. And those three very similar houses in a row? Well, paint and landscaping disguise the would-be violations.
The roster of architects who designed the 126 homes includes two men who made other notable contributions to the city’s architectural legacy. John C. Christensen designed two Villa homes and was the Chicago Board of Education architect. He designed many schools, including Sullivan High School and Lane Tech. The other known architect was Clarence Hatzfeld, who designed buildings I’ve always been drawn to, though I didn’t know anything about him.
Hatzfeld not only designed some 20 Villa homes, he built the best-looking Chicago Park District fieldhouses, those Tudor Revival structures at Independence Park, Portage Park, Gompers Park, Jefferson Park, Indian Boundary Park, and River Park. According to Wikipedia, among the typical elements of Tudor Revival buildings are steeply pitched roofs, half-timbering often infilled with herringbone brickwork, dormer windows–all of which appear in the park district fieldhouses as well as on the homes Hatzfield designed for the Villa.
Until now, I’ve never examined why I feel touched by a vague but deep sense of happiness whenever I pass by one of these fieldhouses on the North Side of Chicago. I haven’t thought about how these structures resemble the fieldhouse of my early childhood and why their appearance moves me the way it does.
From age three to six, when my family lived in Budlong Woods, I attended classes at River Park. Tumbling and dancing in the gym, baton twirling, music and crafts in the auditorium. I enjoyed recitals, performances, and even–hard to believe–the annual swimsuit pageant around the outdoor pool. I played endlessly in the sprinkler next to the children’s playground. River Park was one of the first places outside our own home where I felt, well, at home. And perhaps the cozy, homey look of the River Park fieldhouse, the signature style of Clarence Hatzfeld, was part of the reason I felt so comfortable.
Clarence Hatzfield designed this Villa District home.
You have three more opportunities this year to join a Villa Walking Tour: August 15, September 2 September 25, and October 3. Check their website for more information.
Resources: Encyclopedia of Chicago, The Villa Improvement League, Northwest Chicago Historical Society.
Credits: Thanks to Elaine Soloway for suggesting it was about time I learned about The Villa.
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