edward uihlein's schiltz-tied queen anne style commerical building and flats threatened (again) from deferred maintenance and abandonment

before and after: disgraced and disfigured through intentional negclect and abandonment.

two years after awarded preliminary landmark status, edward uihlein’s schiltz-tied commercial building and flats was largely forgotten and left abandoned. consequently, the building’s exterior ornament (e.g., stamped or pressed ornamental copper) has been defaced, stripped and ultimately destroyed. with several windows punched out, the building’s structural integrity is threatened by prolonged exposure to the elements. the following images show the building shortly after it was “saved” from the wrecking ball, and again, two years later, where it sits, dying a slow death.

from a previous post i did concerning the fate of edward uihlein's schiltz-tied building:

city directories paint a hazy picture of early occupants, with earliest listings for the site going back to 1886, during which time insurance maps depict the block as relatively empty, the corner lot occupied by a long wooden structure, and a neighboring lot empty except for a rear stable. at this point in time, the (formerly numbered) 479 w. lake lot potentially contained a saloon, since fred jacobs is listed there, and it had at least one other resident, a physician named enoch bergstrom.

in 1891 the lot and building at the southwest corner of lake street and sheldon was sold from l. schreiber to e.g. uihlein, a 22 x 125 wood frame building, for $4600. l. schreiber was a druggist, suggesting that if not a saloon, perhaps the building served as a pharmacy of some sort. after the sale, in fact, the new building owner, e.g. uihlein, was a storied chicagoan, who purchased a number of buildings around the city and held various odd occupations during his lifetime. edward uihlein was born in germany and emigrated to the united states in 1864. he arrived to chicago several years later and went into the oil and spare parts business before, in 1872, he became general agent of the joseph schlitz brewing company (working alongside his three brothers). edward later took over as vice president of slot brewery. this business potentially explains the purchase of 479 w. lake street, as he was purportedly hired to expand brewery bound restaurants (and concentrated on german neighborhoods in expansion of these slot-pubs). in the 1890's, uihlein additionally served as a west chicago park commissioner. with an ardent interest in landscape architecture, uihlein used the wealth he had gained as a brewer to buy a large residence in wicker park, at 2041 west pierce avenue (since demolished). there, he amassed a huge collection of tropical palms and built a large domed conservatory to house his rare plants from around the globe. the collection included 5,000 of the world's rarest orchids, and the greenhouse structure was known as the largest private conservatory in the city. uihlein is described as having driven the expansion of urban parks while simultaneously serving as vice president of the chicago horticultural society, and entering his many plants into horticultural contests. in 1893, he even provided the horticultural hall at the world's columbian exposition with the majority of its flowers and shrubs.

uihlein must have built the existing masonry structure in the year or two following purchase of schreiber's wood frame building. the newer structure seems to have housed a man named frank shafer (a dealer of coal and wood), and a student at hammond elementary school, but otherwise little information on occupants is available. however, edward uihlein's history might suggest the street level of the building continued to be used as a saloon or restaurant.

much remains unknown about the fate of this building, which dates to the construction of the "l" along lake street. one can only hope it will be well-documented and researched before it meets an untimely demise.