FROM ECSTASY TO AGONY: THE FALL OF THE HARVEY HOUSE
Not one year after the devastating fire of the Pilgrim Baptist Church, not one month after the Wirt Dexter building was reduced to ashes, comes the tragic news of a third Sullivan/ Adler going up in smoke. This time, it’s the Harvey House, the last surviving wood-frame structure Sullivan and Adler designed.

Instead of a toast to Louis H. Sullivan’s 150th birthday, we eulogize.

A GLIMPSE OF 19th CENTURY SUBURBIA
Completed in 1888, the Harvey House, was designed by Sullivan and Adler for insurance tycoon George M. Harvey. A departure from the steel-framed office buildings and multi-use structures that became their specialty, the Harvey House was a free-standing, wood-frame home – one of only three created by the esteemed architectural team, and the sole survivor; the other two were swallowed up in 2005 by Katrina.

The generously-scaled 3-story house was very much a reflection of the lifestyle in Lakeview, which until 1889, was a tree-lined suburb of Chicago. It was charmed with a wraparound porch and porte cochère – a roof that extended from entrance to driveway to shelter residents and guests as they’d run from automobile (or coach) to the house. Over the years, several key features vanished. The porch. The porte cochère. But peek inside, and one could still see a graceful wood staircase, adorned with small coffers and ornamentation that were unmistakably Sullivan. Other details of a more streamlined nature bore what architectural historians believe were the influence of a young Frank Lloyd Wright.

A VICTORY FOR HISTORY…
Due to the alterations, the City did not deem the Harvey House worthy of landmark status. But because of the architects involved and the history it represented, the Harvey House was granted an Orange rating. A fine acknowledgement, but still leaving it vulnerable to demolition. Which appeared to be its fate when, in June of 2006, the House’s owner told Alderman Shiller (46th Ward) she was considering applying for a demolition permit and replacing the house with a condo complex.

 

Word got out – and so did opposing forces. The neighborhood group Save Our Sullivan (SOS) sprung up. Preservation Chicago alerted all its members. The press was notified. The Alderman’s office was flooded with calls and email. The pressure was on.

A month later, the tide turned. The owner stated that she was able to find the financial wherewithal to continue plans to renovate the Harvey House, taking off the table the possibility of demolition. Neighbors, preservationists, historians – the city – rejoiced.

AND THEN, A CRUSHING DEFEAT
On November 4th, 2006, at 1:30am, fire broke out on the 2nd floor. No one was home. The blaze was merciless. After firefighters battled for two hours, the Harvey House collapsed. Unlike the Wirt Dexter and the Pilgrim Baptist Church, as of this writing, the cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation. But the results are the same: further devastation of the legacy of an architectural giant who helped put Chicago on the map of the world.

GLIMMERS OF A SILVER LINING…
As is the case with the Pilgrim Baptist Church, the original drawings and plans of the Harvey House still exist, placing the rebuilding of it to its original form certainly in the realm of possibility. Money is always the issue. But so is heart. Who knows? Perhaps the two will converge, and we’ll be raising a glass to Louis Sullivan in true celebration, after all.

 

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