Marshall Field Garden Apartments

The Marshall Field Garden Apartments is a large non-governmental subsidized housing project in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The project occupies two square city blocks and was the largest moderate-income housing development in the U.S. at the time of construction in 1929. Marshall Field Garden Apartments has 628 units within 10 buildings.[2] Rapper Polo G is a notable former resident of this project.

Marshall Field Garden Apartments
Looking south on Sedgwick Street at Blackhawk Street
Location in Chicago
Location1336--1452 N. Sedgwick St., 1337--1453 N. Hudson Ave., 400--424 W. Evergreen Ave. and 401--425 W. Blackhawk St., Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates41.9080°N 87.6388°W / 41.9080; -87.6388
Area5 acres (2.0 ha)
ArchitectAndrew J. Thomas
Architectural styleLate 19th And Early 20th Century American Movements
NRHP reference No.91001691[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 17, 1991

History
Postcard of the apartments
the 1500 block of north Sedgwick street circa 1966. The apartments can be seen in the left of the image, and have been renamed to 'Old Town Gardens'
The apartments

The project was developed by the estate of Marshall Field, entrepreneur and founder of the Chicago Marshall Field's department store chain. The project was directed by Marshall Field III. Its aim was not only to provide housing at a reasonable cost but also to provide a catalyst for renewal of the surrounding area. Marshall Field Garden Apartments was at the time of construction one of two large philanthropic housing developments in Chicago. The other was Michigan Boulevard Garden Apartments, at 47th and Michigan. Both were built in 1929 and both were modeled after the Dunbar Apartments built by John D. Rockefeller Jr., in 1926 in Harlem, New York City.[3][2]

Marshall Field Garden Apartments was meant to be the first of three or four similar projects, but the Great Depression kept those plans from coming to fruition. Marshall had hoped to provide low cost housing but land acquisition and construction cost overruns pushed the rent into the moderate range.[2]

By 1991, the apartments had deteriorated, and were sold to private investors in 1992[4] with a clause that specified that they would remain available only to low income tenants for 25 years.[5]

In 2016, the apartments were sold to Related Midwest,[6] and in a public-private partnership agreement plan to keep the units affordable until 2045.[7][8] Shortly after purchasing the apartments, Related Midwest hired, local architecture firm, Nia Architects to renovate and update the historic buildings.[9]

Location

Marshall Field Garden Apartments is located on 1450 North Sedgwick in Chicago, Illinois 60610. Marshall Field Gardens Apartments is a populated place located in Cook County at a latitude of 41.908 and longitude -87.639. The elevation is 594 feet. Marshall Field Garden Apartments appears on the Chicago Loop U.S. Geological Survey Map. Cook County is the Central Time Zone (UTC -6 hours) which Marshall Fields Gardens Apartments have. [10]

Security and Maintenance
A former entrance to the apartments that has been fenced off
current entrance to Marshall Field Garden Apartments

A controversial security system was installed in 1999 to control access and provide valuable investigative information, using biometric devices.[11] The apartments are the scene of frequent shootings.[12][13][14]

In 2016, an electrified copper rod attached to the building killed a dog that a man was walking by the building.[15]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Susan Benjamin (c. 1991). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Marshall Field Garden Apartments" (PDF). Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  3. Devereux Bowly Jr. "Subsidized Housing". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  4. Goldsborough, Bob. "Sheldon Baskin, developer who held a stake in White Sox, dies at 80". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  5. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-04-01/news/9101300162_1_low-income-cabrini-green-federal-rent-subsidies
  6. "Big affordable-housing deal includes Old Town complex". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  7. "Related to Acquire, Rehab 3,000 Units". Housing Finance. 2015-04-29. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  8. Kusisto, Laura (2015-04-28). "Related Buys Affordable Housing Portfolio". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  9. {{Cite news|url=http://www.relatedmidwest.com/ourcompany/properties/189/marshall-field-garden-apartment-homes/
  10. http://illinois.hometownlocator.com/il/cook/marshall-field-garden-apartments.cfm#
  11. Jeremy Appel (1 August 1999). "High-tech security in low-income housing". SecuritySolutions.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  12. staff, Chicago Tribune. "3 wounded in shootings on North, West sides". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  13. Briscoe, Tony (2018-02-27). "Front desk security at the apartment building is spraying cleaner on what appears reddish colored stains in the lobby. Snapped a quick picture before I was asked by police to move away.pic.twitter.com/ZTak1A73yw". @_TonyBriscoe. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  14. "2 critically wounded in Old Town shooting". ABC7 Chicago. 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  15. "After Dog Killed By Electric Shock From Wiring, Owner Pursues Legal Action". DNAinfo Chicago. Archived from the original on 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
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