You want greystones, you got greystones

Newport Avenue, historic district, Chicago

Newport Avenue, historic district, Chicago

Some of our commenters have been waxing nostalgic about the Chicago greystone.

There’s a passel of them in Wrigleyville, near Yo’s offices, so we headed out to take some shots of the Newport Avenue historic district. You’ll find over 100 YoChicago shots of this two-block area at Flickr. If that doesn’t satisfy, indulge yourself in the 55-page planning report (PDF file) from the Historic Chicago Greystone Initiative.

Many of the properties on Newport Avenue have been maimed in some manner — a missing cornice, a botched window replacement, some shingles on the stone façade, and so on.

The irony of this district, in my take, is the height and density at which most of it is built. Try to replicate today what many consider an irreplaceable part of Chicago and the residents would be braying for an overlay district and screaming at the developer for more parking.

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