Brewster Apartments

Brewster Apartments
a sign at the entrance to the building

The Brewster Apartments (originally known as the Lincoln Park Palace) is a residential building in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Located at Diversey and Park (today's 2800 North Pine Grove Avenue), it was designed by the architect Enoch Hill Turnock for Norwegian native, Bjoerne Edwards, publisher of American Contractor, with construction starting in 1893. Edwards would die from an 8-floor fall at the construction site before the project was completed. The building was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 6, 1982.[1]

Architecture

The building employs skeleton-frame construction, which enabled the advent of skyscrapers at the end of the 19th century. Within the external masonry walls is an interior featuring open cast-iron stairways, bridge walkways paved with glass blocks, and a massive skylight.[1]

In popular culture

The Brewster Apartments has served as a location in the movies Running Scared, Child's Play and Hoodlum.

Famous Residents

Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld lived in the building in 1897 after leaving the governorship. [2]

Charlie Chaplin may or may not have visited the building during his brief time in Chicago while associated with Essanay Studios. Chaplin arrived in the city just before Christmas of 1914 to sign a contract with Essanay Studios, before moving to Essanay's Niles, Calif., location (about 30 miles south of Oakland) by mid-February 1915. Brewster legend is that he lived in the penthouse suite "during the heyday of Chicago filmmaking at the Essanay Studios between 1915 and 1916," but that is largely nonsensical based on his known movements. The penthouse owners over the years have sworn by this whimsical tale of early film "history."[3] [4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Brewster Apartments". Chicago Landmarks. City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division. 2003. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  2. ↑ "John Peter Altgeld". Chicago Tribute Markers of Distinction. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  3. ↑ Chronicles of Old Chicago: Exploring the History and Lore of the Windy City (Paperback – July 1, 2014) by Adam Selzer
  4. ↑ The Moving Picture World newspaper, page 8, Jan. 2, 1915 (full-page announcing “Essanay announces it has secured Charles Chaplin”)

Coordinates: 41°55′59″N 87°38′30″W / 41.9331°N 87.6416°W / 41.9331; -87.6416


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