Hampton House
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
The Hampton House is a Chicago, Illinois residential condominium located in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the property that once housed the Hyde Park House, a hotel built by Hyde Park founder Paul Cornell in the 1850s.
[edit] Mid 19th Century
| Cornell's Stone | |
|---|---|
|
Cornell, a successful lawyer, businessman and real estate speculator, purchased 300 acres of Lake Michigan lakefront land between 51st and 55th Streets in Hyde Park Township (six miles south of downtown Chicago). The land was also adjacent to the Illinois Central Railroad. Cornell employed a common speculation strategy of the day by developing near rail depots. Cornell took the extra step of lobbying for the placement of a local railroad passenger station that opened in 1856. He parceled small plots and dedicated a small lakefront park that is further discussed below. He constructed a hotel, The Hyde Park House, in the 1850s near the planned rail depot in order to introduce travelers to a new suburb that provided escapes from the cities. This became an especially successful speculation strategy as an escape from the blight and devastation of the Great Chicago Fire that was to come 1871.
The 4 story Hyde Park House was a popular summer respite for a clientele who had the time and money for extended stays. The recently widowed Mary Todd Lincoln even stayed there with her sons. It also served as host to Prince of Wales, Albert Edward during his 1860 visit to Chicago. It served as the focal point of Hyde Park social life. However, little white collar work took place in these suburbs at the time. Nonetheless such commerce formed an economy of its own by employing service workers and attracting the cashflow of guests. Within 10 years of its initial development the town population grew past 1000 residents including numerous former guests of the hotel. The hotel burned down in 1879.
[edit] Early 20th Century
"The Sisson", a hotel, was constructed in 1918 on the site of Paul Cornell’s first Hyde Park House hotel opened in 1857, which had been destroyed by fire in 1879 at Lake Michigan and 53rd Street. It is credited as the first high rise on the south side of Chicago excluding buildings associated with the World's Columbian Exposition. It was constructed adjacent to Lake Michigan before the landfill projects that moved the shoreline eastward and eventually cleared the way for the construction of Lake Shore Drive.
[edit] Mid 20th Century
The Sisson was later known as "Hotel Sherry". As the Sisson and Hotel Sherry it was a popular lakefront host to American League opponents of the Chicago White Sox. By the 1970's the Hotel Sherry became the Sherry Apartments. It also became the residence of Harold Washington.
[edit] Recent History
In 1979, the building was converted to the Hampton House Condominium Association. More recently, the property is most famous for having been the residence of Harold Washington while he served as Mayor of Chicago and as an Illinois Congressman. It is a brick exterior building with a basement, a mixed use ground floor and 11 completely residential floors. The building's street address was 1725 East 53rd Street at one time according to City of Chicago tax records. During Harold Washington's residence the address was changed to 5300 South Shore Drive so as to make the address more stately. Many large buildings in this region of Hyde Park were converted from Hotels to Condominiums in the later part of the 20th century, which has left the entire south side of Chicago devoid of high class hotel accommodations.
[edit] Adjacent Park
In the 1980's a dozen or so South American Monk Parakeets were released into the park directly across the street from this building. They settled in a large Ash tree. By the summer of 1988 bird watchers counted two dozen birds in the original tree. The population has continued to redouble frequently. The park, which is in the Chicago Park District has been renamed Harold Washington Park. The flock, known to many as Harold's Parakeets, has grown to a few hundred birds that nest throughout this park, Burnham Park and Jackson Park on the South Side of Chicago. The original tree became infested with termites and collapsed on June 12, 2004. Over 50 birds were displaced by the collapse. The nests were replaced in other nearby trees. Birdwatchers come from around the world to see this flock of birds. Many miss the origal tree, but they still visit. The birds have been a hotly contested issue pitting the U.S. Department of Agriculture against local politicians and the Harold Washington Memorial Parrot Defense Fund.
Alternate theories for the original population of birds are
- Harold Washington released a dozen or so birds during his local residence.
- A small flock of the birds escaped from a commercial shipment.
- A small flock of the birds escaped from a residential birdcage.
Regardless of their origins, the flock was ably defended by the Mayor who foiled attempts to have them removed from the local park.
[edit] Trivia
Although the Hampton House property is located in Chicago's fifth aldermanic ward, the park across the street is located in the 4th ward. Thus neighborhood decisionmaking has additional complications.
The new address really marks a service entrance on the side of the building. The main entrance remains on 53rd Street. The new address continues to confound modern technology. If you put the new address in certain map engines like maps.google.com and terraserver.com you will wind up about a block or so away in Burnham park. Certain engines map the building correctly using 1753 East 53rd Street and others using 1725 East 53rd Street. The City of Chicago finally caught up with the address change in 2003 for tax purposes. Many computer systems attempt to correct for this problem by denoting the proper address of the building as 5300 South South Shore Drive or 5300 South Lake Shore Drive. These addresses still map incorrectly.
Another long time former resident of the building was Koko Taylor.
[edit] Additional Photos
| Hampton House Harold Washington Marker (front) | Hampton House Harold Washington Marker (back) | Hampton House from Lake Shore Drive 53rd Street Exit | Hampton House and south end of Harold Washington Park | Hampton House from center of Harold Washington Park |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
