Question are being asked regarding the circumstances of the emergency demolition of 932 E. 50th Street in Kenwood. This large orange-rated home was added to the 90-Day Demolition Delay on November 12, 2024, but released for demolition after only TWO days on November 14, 2024.
Listing photos of the exterior and interior of the home suggest significant deferred maintenance, but does not suggest that the building posed a danger to health and safety. Additionally, the house was located on a large nearly half acre lot and set back far from the street. If deemed necessary for the 90-Day Demolition Delay to run its course, the property could have easily been secured with fencing. Additionally, many neighbors toured the interior of the home during when listed for sale and did not report any concerns raised about imminent structural issues.
According to the 90-Day Demolition Delay permit information, the property was owned by the City of Chicago, Department of Buildings. According to Redfin per public records, the property was sold to a private buyer on October 17, 2024 for $455,000. Redfin estimates the value of the home at $2,267,092. There would appear to be sufficient value in the property to erect a security fence for the duration of the demolition delay.
Regarding the history of 932 E 50th Street prepared by Preservation Chicago, the home appears to have been an 1880s Victorian and The architect is not known. It was orange-rated but fell beyond the boundaries of the City of Chicago Kenwood Landmark District which would have protected it against demolition.
According to a 1949 article in the Chicago Tribune, the property used to be a perfume shop/bottling factory, confirmed in 1922 and 1925 issues of the Tribune that ran ads for “labelers–for cosmetics and toilet preparation.” and for “bottle filling machine” Both ads specified the laboratory building at the rear of property-which must be the still extant brick coach house.
In 1925, Julian and Mary Burnham were noted as living at this address, and in 1946, Harold Haydon and his wife resided at the then residence. Haydon was an assistant professor of art at the University of Chicago, and an article was written about his rehab of the former perfume shop into an artistic home.
William Beavdry is noted as living at 932 50th by 1951. He was a longtime resident at the address, and was a South Side landscape architect who worked on First Baptist Church and KAM temple. He also founded the “Augustine Ascend Elm Research Association” out of the house, and also ran ads recruiting research assistants in the 1950s. The Augustine Elm was an elm cultivar discovered in the 1930s to be resistant to Dutch Elm disease. The society founded by Beavdry advocated for the planting of the cultivar, and the address potentially acted as a nursery.
932 E 50th Street was a beautiful home with an interesting history. It suffered deferred maintenance, but was an excellent candidate for restoration. The systems designed to ensure oversight and to prevent hasty demolitions was short-circuited when it was released from the 90-Day demolition day after only two days.