Lathrop, Julia C., Homes

Lathrop Homes is a federally supported public housing complex on a 35-acre strip beside the North Branch of the Chicago River on Chicago's north side. Built in 1935-1938 under the Housing Division of the Public Works Administration, it was designed by a team headed by architect Robert DeGoyler, with landscape architect Jens Jensen shaping the road layout and planting. Thirty-one original buildings, mostly two- to five-story brick-veneered apartment blocks and row houses, face the streets and enclose quiet rear courtyards and lawns for residents. Brick colonnades link buildings and lead into the interior open spaces. The plan follows Clarence Stein and Henry Wright's ideas about limiting traffic and creating safe play areas. The site is considered important both nationally and within Chicago for its site plan and its traditional, ornamented buildings. A 1959 senior building and a 1960 recreation center were added later and do not contribute to the historic character.