one of the last standing downtown chicago post-fire worker cottages is hurtling towards oblivion

previous posts have covered this historically significant 1870's-era cottage and the "death sentence" it was handed way back in summer 2016. however, the post i have been dreading all along is finally here. the wheels are now in motion, and the "kiss of death," in the form of an ominous and inescapable green fence, has been wrapped around one of the last remaining post-fire workers cottages, constructed shortly after the great chicago fire of 1871 wiped away all of downtown chicago in a matter of two days.

the dwindling population of post-fire cottages in chicago are nonetheless significant, reflecting an ardent effort in the aftermath of destruction to erect structures amid piles of smoldering ruins. buildings rose at an unprecedented, dizzying pace within the confines of the "burnt district," fueled by the availability of "common" brick which was largely extracted from the rubble, cleaned, stacked, and ultimately repurposed to build chicago anew.

Rebuilding the Marine Building, located on the northeast corner of Lake and LaSalle Streets, after its destruction during the Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago, Illinois, circa 1873.

research indicates that 1241 n. state street was erected shortly after rebuilding commenced, originally housing several laborers who no doubt worked relentlessly to erect both temporary and permanent buildings in place of the mountains of rubble. in fact, the majority of the brick used to construct the house was itself salvaged from buildings that had succumbed to the fire less than a year earlier.

the first occupant to be identified (several years after the fire) was richard maurice birdsall, a grocer whose office was headquartered at this address. birdsall arrived to chicago in 1877, and eventually became vice president of the western cold storage company. birdsall is further credited as being the originator of the railroad refrigerator car, and established the first cold storage plant in the city in 1882.

i think of the whimsical "relic house," a museum of sorts, comprised entirely of materials collected from the fire, and that exhibited objects extracted from the ruins. i cannot help but look at this cottage as an oversized fire "relic" based on its construction, comprised from thousands of clay bricks recycled from buildings decimated in the fire's inferno. in addition,  this small cottage is one of only a few structures still standing - built shortly after the fire, when the "burnt district" was in the midst of transformation.

documenting the death of this building is going to be incredibly painful to witness, considering its historical weight. within a week or less, the structure will be quickly eradicated from existence. at the very least, the cottage will live on through salvaged architectural elements and hundreds of images (including photographs of the house's interior shown below) documenting the demolition.

update as of 11/2/2016:

i discovered this early 1950's kodax velox paper photograph taken from the front yard of the cottage. the 1870's "athen" marble italianate rowhouses remain standing to this day. the photographer is not identified. dates to the early to mid-1950's.