Sheffield-Belden Group

NW corner of Sheffield and Belden)

Courtyard Building

Address: 1000-1012 W. Belden/2300-2302 N. Sheffield

Architects: Maher & McGraw

Date: 1926

Style: Renaissance Revival

Four Freestanding Townhouses

Address: 2308, 2310, 2314 and 2316 N. Sheffield

Architects: Attributed to John Morrell and others

Date: 1892, 1890,. 1890, and 1893

Style: Romanesque Revival

Neighborhood: Lincoln Park

Overview

For over 130 years, four freestanding brick and stone Romanesque Revival townhouses have fronted the 2300 block of N. Sheffield Avenue in the Lincoln Park Community Area. In 1926, these townhouses were joined to the south at the northwest corner of Sheffield and Belden by a beautifully-scaled courtyard building containing 40 apartments. The freestanding townhouses were later converted to apartments while some in recent years have been transformed into DePaul University offices. The courtyard building has provided reasonably-priced housing for the community, as well as DePaul students, for decades. Together, these five historic structures comprise a half-block along Sheffield and Belden Avenues.

All of the buildings are “contributing” structures in the Sheffield National Register Historic District while two of the historic houses, 2310 and 2316 N. Sheffield, are rated “Orange” in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey (CHRS), deeming them important to the City of Chicago and the community in which they are located. In the past year, DePaul University has proposed these five buildings be demolished and replaced with a new multi-story athletic center. This development would completely change the character of the block and adversely impact the few remaining historic structures nearby.

Preservation Chicago supports the growth of this amazing Chicago institution of higher education and recognizes DePaul University as a tremendous asset. However, we are also of the opinion that the demolition and loss of these five buildings will adversely impact the streetwall, historic character, and human scale of both this block and the Sheffield National Register District, which has experienced a tremendous onslaught of demolitions and new construction in recent years, often by DePaul University.

Read the full story at Preservation Chicago’s website

Sheffield-Belden Group, a Preservation Chicago 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered Chapter