two matching exceptionally rare and historically important c. 1891 ornamental cast bronze james charnley house interior door push plates were possibly fabricated by the yale & towne mfg. co., stamford, ct., or executed by the winslow bros. bronze & ornamental cast iron foundry, chicago, ills. the oversized solid bronze plates feature intricate gothic tracery along the top and bottom. the nicely aged surface patina is mostly uniform throughout. the james charnley residence is located in chicago's gold coast neighborhood, in the 1300 block of north astor street. the house is now called the charnley-persky house. an adler & sullivan design, the townhouse is the work of louis sullivan and a frank lloyd wright, who at the time was a young junior draftsman working in his office. the building was added to the national register of historic places in 1970. the gothic tracery, geometry, and detailing of louis sullivan with the earliest hint of frank lloyd wright's prairie-style planning and design makes this historic residence a true masterpiece. a compact urban townhouse that takes maximum advantage of its small city lot, it was built for james charnley, a chicago lumber dealer. the house was purchased by the architectural firm of skidmore, owings and merrill in 1986 and subsequently restored. seymour persky purchased the house in 1995 and donated it to the society of architectural historians who renamed the building to the charnley-persky house to honor their benefactor. the plain brick facade with simple ornamentation was quite different than other houses on the gold coast, but the interior is distinguished by rich ornamentation that is typical of sullivan and wrights early work. the house was built in 1891 by adler & sullivan, with frank lloyd wright. designated a chicago landmark august 20, 1972. wright later proclaimed it as "the first modern house." the building was later owned by members of the waller family, who invested in real estate. the house was purchased by the architectural firm of skidmore, owings and merrill in 1986 and subsequently restored. pieces of the balconette and hardware were acquired by urban remains and bldg. 51 through a prominent local chicago architect.