Albert Galloway

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Galloway House

Posted by Rav Ens Wood on March 24, 2013
Posted in: A Walking Tour of Old Ravenswood. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

4542 North Hermitage Avenue

The house was built for Edgar Galloway and his wife, Helen. They bought the land in 1874 from Thomas A Cosgrove, a member of the Ravenswood Land Company.
Edgar’s brother Albert bought the lot just north of this one in the same year. The Galloways, like other early residents, then began acquiring additional property in Ravenswood.

4542 N Hermitage from a 2008 photo. Credit: Cook County Assessor

4542 N Hermitage from a 2008 photo. Credit: Cook County Assessor


For example, between 1874 and 1880 they purchased or had financial connections to every lot on this side of Hermitage between Wilson and Sunnyside except the church property and the two end lots at Sunnyside.
Their holdings made the Galloway brothers particularly interested in community improvement projects. Edgar, who was a pluumber, was active in the movement ot bring sewers to Ravenswood. In 1884 the movement gained momentum and engineers were consulted.
They recommended running a line down Montrose to the Chicago River to take advantage of the natural drainage this route offered. But the river was in Jefferson Township, and Jefferson objected to a sewer line at Montrose and the river.
For its part, Lake View, which ended at Western Avenue, would not allow Jefferson to run a water main through Lake View to Lake Michigan.
Ravenswood was forced to use an alternate route: it built a sewer main down Damen from Lawrence to Belmont, then over to Western and the river, which at that point was part of Lake View.
Like many large projects, construction of the sewers fell behind schedule. Collection of the homeowners’ special assessment, however, continued on schedule. In 1888 this led several homeowners on Commercial Avenue to petition Lake View City Council to suspend collection of their assessments. The petition was denied. The sewer was eventually built.

SOURCES

Office of Deeds early maps; 1880 Census.

WALKING DIRECTIONS TO NEXT LOCATION

Continue the tour to 4541 North Hermitage Avenue.

  1. The next building is across the street, about 20′ from you.
  2. Click the ‘Continue the Tour’ button below when you’ve reached your destination.

MAP OF DIRECTIONS TO NEXT LOCATION


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Andrews House

Posted by Rav Ens Wood on March 21, 2013
Posted in: A Walking Tour of Old Ravenswood. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

4517 North Hermitage Avenue

Several features of this house are typical of houses of the 1870’s: note the deeply recessed, coffered front door and curved first-floor windows. First floor openings are all elongated. Roofline slopes gently. Many of its original features remain despite several siding efforts, including asphalt meant to simulate brick. Few such old houses survive on the North Side.

FEATURES (INCLUDING OWNERSHIP)

The James Andrews family was one of the earliest to settle in Ravenswood. Mr. Andrews joined the Congregational Church one block south in September 1873 and was one of the leaders in the effort to build a firehouse, later built at the corner of Ravenswood Avenue and Wilson, perhaps not coincidentally close to the homes of Andrews and the Galloway brothers, who were particularly active in organizing it. The firehouse stood just east of the railroad tracks (which then ran at ground level), across East Ravenswood Avenue from the site of the Pickard Building. The firehouse and its equipment cost $1,200, of which $1,000 came from assessments on local property owners. The remaining $200 was raised from a dance and from the sale of ice cream in the summer months.

4517 N Hermitage. Credit: Google Street View

4517 N Hermitage. Credit: Google Street View


It was the only firehouse in Ravenswood, and, of course, was operated by volunteers. Fire was a particular concern in Ravenswood because of the many wooden buildings. Although at least as early as 1879 Lake View Township restricted construction of wooden buildings in the southern part of the township, there were no restrictions in Ravenswood.
The City of Lake View later bought the firehouse for $800. Lake View offered to refund the money to the contributors, but, with their consent, it went instead toward a local public library.
Like his neighbors, the Galloways, Andrews purchased other property in Ravenswood. He also was president of the Ravenswood Loan & Building Association. Andrews’ primary business, however, was not real estate, but hardware. He was a long-time partner in the ventilator manufacturing firm of Andrews & Johnson.

SOURCES

CCL Survey; Recorder of Deeds Office, 1880 Census. No permit. Historical records.

WALKING DIRECTIONS TO NEXT LOCATION

Continue the tour to 4501 North Hermitage Avenue, the Ravenswood United Methodist Church.

  1. The next building is across the street, about 174’south from you.
  2. Click the ‘Continue the Tour’ button below when you’ve reached your destination.

MAP OF DIRECTIONS TO NEXT LOCATION


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