Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District (Boundary Increase)

Two courtyard apartment buildings on East 49th Street in Chicago were added to the Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District through a boundary extension. The 1916 building at 821-29 East 49th Street, designed by Roy F. France for Maurice M. Robinson, is a red brick, U-shaped structure of three stories over an English basement, with 48 apartments and sparse limestone trim. Its main alteration is brick infill of basement windows for security. The 1929 building at 816-26 East 49th Street, designed by R. A. Northquist for Alvin Oscar Johnson, is yellow brick and S-shaped, with 36 units, terra cotta trim, arched windows, green tile roofs and Spanish Colonial Revival detailing. The nomination says neither building has special architectural distinction, yet both match the district's many three- and four-story courtyard apartment buildings. Adding them gives the district a more distinct western edge, beyond which the land was cleared for Urban Renewal in the 1950s and 1960s.