Lincoln Park in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

McCormick Row House District

1884-1889

— Chicago Landmark —

McCormick Row House District Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, November 18, 2024

1. McCormick Row House District Marker

Inscription. These row houses were built as an investment by the McCormick Theological Seminary which was located here from 1863 to 1975. Designed in a simplified Queen Anne style, with a private street and park in the center of the development, these houses are a fine example of nineteenth-century residential architecture and planning.

Designated a Chicago Landmark on May 4, 1977 by the City Council of Chicago.
Michael A. Bilandic, Mayor

Erected by Commission on Chicago Historical and Architectural Landmarks; City of Chicago.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Illinois, Chicago Landmarks Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1884.

Location. 41° 55.472′ N, 87° 39.001′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Lincoln Park. It is on Chalmers Place, in the median. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 834 N Chalmers Pl, Chicago IL 60614, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

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and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Robert Berkhoff (a few steps from this marker); Original Site of The Children's Memorial Hospital (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Little Fort Road (about 600 feet away); Kaufmann Store and Flats (approx. 0.2 miles away); Richard Fassl (approx. 0.2 miles away); Fremont Row Houses (approx. 0.2 miles away); Bissell Street (approx. ¼ mile away); Arlington-Deming (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. The row houses are privately owned but are sandwiched between parts of DePaul University's campus, with the School of Music on the east and the Cortelyou Commons on the west. Chalmers Place is a private roadway also owned by the school. There are 56 homes in total—54 row houses and two free-standing

McCormick Row House District Marker and Chalmers Place alongside and behind it image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, November 18, 2024

2. McCormick Row House District Marker and Chalmers Place alongside and behind it

homes, including some along Belden south of here and along Fullerton to the north.

Regarding McCormick Row House District. The McCormick Row Houses, built by the McCormick Theological Seminary in the 1880s for use as faculty residences, remain nestled today near the campus of DePaul University as a relic of Chicago's late-19th century growth and a remarkable preservation story from the 1970s. Facing financial woes in 1974, the seminary moved out of Lincoln Park to Hyde Park on Chicago's South Side, and sought to sell these townhouses. However, many of these homes' residents, mostly families that had rented them, did not want to leave, and they created the Seminary Townhouse Association (STA) to acquire the properties and preserve them in perpetuity. Using a unique lottery system called "STA-Put," buyers for the homes were selected, and in 1975 the property was sold to the STA and then transferred to new homeowners.

Also see . . . The McCormick Row House District: Lincoln Park's Secret Enclave. (Submitted on November 19, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

McCormick Row Houses image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, November 18, 2024

3. McCormick Row Houses

A memorial to Robert Berkhoff, first president of the Seminary Townhouse Association, is in the foreground of this photo and can be found just west of the Chicago Landmark marker, which is in the background and partially obscured by a tree. The DePaul University School of Music is in the far background.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 19, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 478 times since then and 91 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 19, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.