“A 19th-century row house designed by the Chicago architect who did the first modern skyscrapers is for sale, with many of its original tile, wood and stained-glass features intact.
“The four-bedroom home priced at $899,500 on Kenmore Avenue in the Buena Park neighborhood of Uptown is one in an attached set of two that pioneering high-rise architect and engineer William Le Baron Jenney designed in 1891. (See more photos at link below.)
“By the time he designed this pair, Jenney had already revolutionized the construction of big buildings with his Home Insurance Building downtown. An inner skeleton of iron and steel reduced the weight of the 10-story building, making it possible to build tall. The building was later demolished, but the oldest remaining steel-skeleton building, Jenney’s Ludington Building in the South Loop, was built the same year as the Kenmore Avenue homes.
“‘It’s like you’re walking back in time when you come inside,’ said Jay Koman, the owner of the home, which is represented by Michael Hall of Baird & Warner. Among Koman’s favorite original details: four transom windows on the second floor that are etched with symbols of the four seasons.
“There is a familial connection between the Kenmore pair and the Home Insurance Building. Edward Waller, who financed Jenney’s Home Insurance Building, was the brother of James Waller, an early developer of the Buena Park section of Uptown. Two of James Waller’s children tapped Jenney to design the Kenmore pair. (Rodkin, Crain’s Chicago Business, 7/30/21)
Preservation Chicago strongly encourages the new owners to consider a Chicago Landmark Designation for 4050 N Kenmore Avenue by William Le Baron Jenny. This would both protect the building long-term and provide significant tax benefits to the future owners.