Stretching south from 47th Street to the Midway Plaisance and east from Washington Park to the lakeshore, the historic neighborhood of Hyde Park - Kenwood covers nearly two square miles of Chicago's South Side. At one time a wealthy township outside of the city, this neighborhood has been home to Chicago's elite for more than 150 years, counting among its residents presidents and politicians, scholars, athletes, and fiery religious leaders. Known today for the grand mansions, stately row houses, and elegant apartments that these notables called home, Hyde Park - Kenwood is still one of Chicago's most prominent locales. Physically shaped by the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and by the efforts of some of the greatest architects of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries - including Daniel Burnham, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mies van der Rohe - this area hosts some of the city's most spectacular architecture amid lush green spaces. Tree-lined streets give way to the impressive neogothic buildings that mark the campus of the University of Chicago, and some of the Jazz Age's swankiest high-rises offer spectacular views of the water and distant downtown skyline. In "Chicago's Historic Hyde Park", Susan O'Connor Davis offers readers a biography of this distinguished neighborhood, from house to home, and from architect to resident. Along the way, she weaves a fascinating tapestry, describing Hyde Park - Kenwood's most celebrated structures from the time of Lincoln through the racial upheaval and destructive urban renewal of the 1940s, '50s, and '60s and on into the preservationist movement of the last thirty-five years. Alongside hundreds of historical photographs, drawings, and current views, Davis recounts the life stories of these gorgeous buildings - and of the astounding talents that built them. This is architectural history at its best.
About the AuthorSusan O'Connor Davis is an independent scholar and a founding member of the nonprofit Kenwood Improvement Association. She has worked in the design industry for nearly twenty years and serves on the Board of Governors at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago.
Reviews"This is a unique presentation of history and architecture, an intellectual and visual treat. Chicago's Historic Hyde Park is a long-overdue successor to Hyde Park Houses, the much-loved book by Jean Block." (John Vinci)"
Book InformationISBN 9780226138145
Author Susan O'Connor DavisFormat Hardback
Page Count 504
Imprint University of Chicago PressPublisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 1871g
Dimensions(mm) 28mm * 23mm * 3mm