john a. kling commercial building (1871) demolished shortly after gutted by fire

at the surface level, the recent fire at 695 north milwaukee was a devastating blow to the owners of a couple of local restaurants and entertainment companies. however when i dig deeper, it also becomes apparent that this location had a rich past with local chicago retail. the exact year in which the structure was erected remains unclear - most likely 1871, as this year is noted in a few specific sources (research ongoing). the address 695 is most likely accounting for what was formerly two locations on milwaukee avenue.

image pulled from google maps.

at this point, kling's building is half-demolished. the lemont limestone circle-top window hoods adorning the facade came crashing down - a complete loss.

according to records from the 1909 chicago address renumbering document, these two locations were 355 and 357 milwaukee avenue pre - 1909. not much information is given about the residents of 357, however 355 was home to the sewing machine empire of the kling family. according to the 1893 handbook of chicago biography, john adam kling was born in darmstadt, germany on november 4th, 1838. he was the son of german parents, martin and elizabeth kling. educated in his native town, he came to chicago on june 18, 1867. as a mechanic and an expert in the manufacture of sewing machines, he also had a thorough knowledge of locomotives and printing presses. in 1867, after his initial arrival, he started the first sewing machine office in the northwestern portion of the city. he was also a member of the german aid society as well as the german mutual benefit association. in 1866 he was married to a second elizabeth kling; they had four children, the only surviving of which was charles l. kling.

the cluster of masonry (red) commercial buildings shown on this 1886 sanborn insurance map "capture" were erected during the 1870's, including kling's building.

his initial location as a repairer and dealer in sewing machines was also on milwaukee avenue, near peoria street. in 1871 he moved to the 355 location on the same avenue, and in 1879 bought out the premises he now occupied. according to the 1887 publication half century's progress of the city of chicago: "his business has been steadily increasing and today he has one of the finest stores on milwaukee avenue. in dimensions it is 25x60 feet, and in the rear of which is a repair shop 25x30 feet in area. mr. kling is a skilled, practical machinist and is familiar with all the different makes of sewing machines and always has a great variety on sale, and also all the various attachments. he makes a specialty of the american and household machines which are conceded to be among the best made in the world. sewing machines are also repaired and put in perfect order and are also exchanged. he also deals in silk twist, spool cotton, oil, etc., and makes a special business of the celebrated heinisch tailor shears."

looking east with the largely demolished kling building in the foreground.

one of many lemont limestone window hoods destroyed during the building demolition.

in 1883 elizabeth kling is noted to have donated money to flood victims back in germany, so clearly her husband's heritage played an important role in their daily life. their son, charles, is noted in the field museum's annual report of geologic acquisitions as having donated " 43 specimens of garnet and quartz and abrasive papers made from them".

the neighboring building - east of kling's building was built in the 1880's. the fire caused extensive damage to the point where it too had to be demolished. as of this writing, both structures have been reduced to rubble.

here is where our information dries up, and we are left to imagine the fate that this family may have faced in their imminent future. hopefully they faced a future void of preilous fires like the one that has now leveled their former place of business. we may never know, but perhaps clues will become apparent in the future excavations of this site. regardless, it just goes to show how much insightful information can be gleaned from walking past a site, and having a momentary spark of interest.