Final Reveal: The Firehouse!

It has been a busy summer! We planted over 100 species of foliage in Oak Brook, we embarked on a 5,000 square home in the Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historical District in Oak Park, and now we have put the finishing touches on a National Historic Landmark: the Firehouse.

Built in 1899 as Engine Company 86, this Landmark building is the oldest surviving framed firehouse in Chicago. Typically, firehouses in Chicago were demolished in the 1930s and replaced with brick buildings; therefore, this iconic structure is unique to Chicago. Instead of being demolished, it was decommissioned in 1932 and later converted into a residence.

It is likely that this building was originally designed by Alfred Alschuler, Argyle E. Robinson, William Carbys Zimmerman, or Paul Gerhardt Jr., renown architects of their time. These original designs accommodated period-specific details including a stable for horse-drawn equipment where our 2-car garage now stands.

Our scope for this project consisted of the restoration of the 2nd floor including hardwood flooring, the addition of 2 bedrooms, upgrade of an existing Guest Bathroom, and the addition of a luxury Master Suite. In addition, a custom steel spiral staircase was designed and installed to reinvigorate this space and acknowledge its originality. Career architects and passionate about the built environment, our clients have owned this property for 15 years. The goal of this project was to prepare this building for marketable resale – to bring this space to life while restoring its original character and charm.

The big excitement this summer was the anticipation of the custom spiral staircase - there's nothing quite like having to rely on email and phone conversations to confirm measurements...coordination like this takes hours off the end of my life...

So, we take our measurements, we discuss, we discuss again, we discuss again, we take more measurements, we confuse each other, we discuss again, then we take more photos with measuring tape in them, then we discuss, then we approve.

We wait, we wait, we wait.