3614 S Martin Luther King Dr
Chicago, IL 60616, USA

Martin-John Tait Roche House (Tait--Elston House) - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The Martin Roche - John Tai t House, built in 1888 a t 3614 South Grand Boulevard (now known as Marti n Luther King Drive), is situated in the middle of the bloc k on the west side of the drive, between 35 and 37 Streets. Holabird & Roche designed this house for Marti n Roche's brother-in-law, John Tait.'' Roche live d there from 1888 to 1917. Its flat, Romanesque, sandstone front stands in sharp contrast to the adjacent Queen Anne limestone rowhouses. The three-story house was converted t o a three-flat in the 1940's and was recently reconverted into a single-family residence. The exterior of the building reflects trends toward simplification of ornament while the interior epitomizes the exuberance of the Victoria n period. Tile d fireplaces, intricately carved woodwork, paneled pocket doors, tall ceilings, stipple d pain t finishes, and an ornamental stencil frieze grace the first-floor rooms with elegance. During the conversion to a three-flat, some of the original interior feature s were concealed. These were discovered during the recent rehabilitation, and in accordance with the rehabilitation goa l of following the Secretary of the Interior Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, were preserve d or restored. The exterior of the building remains unaltered.

The front facade is a juxtaposition of the heavy mass of red sandstone countered with numerous punched openings for large windows and doors. The random ashlar coursing, and rough stone face, of the sandstone produces a variegated, texture d wall surface. This surface i s broken by large single-piece stone lintel s and by flat sandstone belt courses, which delineate the floor levels. These belt courses stress the width of the building. The third floor is further differentiated by a singular composition in which overhanging stone pier s define the end of the wall, like the bartizan s of a fortification. These pier s contain a heavy frieze of stone arranged in a checkerboard pattern in which every other stone protrude s slightly from the adjacent piece. Engaged carved sandstone columns flan k the four windows ganged together below this frieze. The parapet above is capped with an ornamental copper cornice, which has weathered t o a green patina - The house has two flat roof s - one a t the front three-story portion and another a t the rea r two-story section. Both roof s drain to exposed galvanize d stee l gutter s and downspouts.

The main front entry, up a half-flight of concrete steps, was f o r the family and visitors, whereas the door to the side basement passageway was presumably for the servant s and deliverymen. The machine-tooled stone on the chamfered face around the main entry accentuate s the wide opening. A glaze d transom above the oak pane l door provide s natural light to the entry vestibule. The front entry is further elaborate d with the original ornamental wrought iron balustrade, which flank s the step s and the landing. The coil patter n of the balustrade is repeated in the exterior wrought-iron grille s o f the basement windows. There are eleven wood double-hung windows on the front facade - two at the basement level; two a t the first floor; three at the second floor; and four a t the third floor.

The side walls are of common brick. The front (eastern) half of both the north and south side s are part y wall s with the adjacent buildings. The south wall step s in to allow light to the rea r rooms. The south side has three windows a t the basement level, four a t the first floor, and four a t the second floor. The west half of the north wall benefits from a jog in the wall of residence to the north. The light well provides natural daylight to four windows a t the basement level; five a t the first floor; three at the second floor; and one a t the third floor.

The rea r (west) elevation has two segments due to the jo g on the south side wall. Both are constructed of common brick. The main portion, furthest west, is two stories high with a door and window on each of the upper floors. A new wood deck, which extends from the first floor, is accessed from the mudroom off the kitchen. The deck stair s lea d t o the backyard. A new balcony over the mudroom i s accessed from a new door in the rea r second floor bedroom. The wooden balustrade is composed of capped post s supporting the rail s and balusters. The recessed west elevation of the third floor abuts the roof of the adjacent two-story section. A new casement window provides access from the third-floor hallway to the second-floor roof. The recent addition a t the north side of the second-floor roof provides the heigh t necessary for the code-required second exit stair from the third floor. The secondary west elevation is narrow and recessed i n the south light well. I t is a full three stories high. Each of the three living space floor s has a large wood double-hung window with a segmental brick arc h and limestone sill. The basement elevation has a small double-hung window and a door to the side basement passageway.

The house is long and rectangular. The front three-story portion spans the full width of the lot, hence is two rooms wide. Roche supported this wide span of nearly thirty fee t with stee l pip e columns and stee l beams a t center span. This earl y use of steel structure in a residence is directly attributable to Roche's own experiments with stee l in his design s for commercial structures. The rea r two-story portion is narrow to accommodate the light well, hence is only one room wide. A narrow hall connects the rea r and front portions. The main staircase is compressed int o the north side of the front portion, divide d int o three flight s per floor.

The interior is accessed, via a vestibule, through a wide oak door with raise d panels. The vestibule has a marble threshold a t each door. The south wall has built-in wood cabinet s with a vertical beadboard interior. The vestibule floor is of a Greek key mosaic tile with a recessed marble slab in the center, presumably for a doormat. The first floor has an entry hall flanked by a reception room and stairway on the north and a double parlor on the south. The hall lead s west t o a dining room, which lead s int o the kitchen at the rea r of the house. The doorways off the entry hall have wood paneled pocket doors - the wood type varies with the room: Red Oak in the entry hall, Birdseye Maple in the parlor, and Oak in the dining room. Open transoms with delicate spindle s embellish the openings. The spindle s establishes a rhythm with saucers of alternating heights. The woodwork of al l the first-floor rooms is original, and has its original stain and varnish. The tongue and groove pin e flooring and 10" high baseboards are typica l throughout the house. Al l rooms are heated by original cast iron steam radiator s with feet cast as rooks.

The reception room is a small room, which has a fireplace with a cast iron surround, wood mantelshelf with carvings, and a nonoriginal ceramic tile heart h installed in the 1970s. I t is entered through an opening off the entry hall. The original construction drawings for the house include detail s of a wooden grill e with a spindle grid. Although the location for this grill e is not identified in the drawings, it may have been intended for installation a t the west wall, adjacent to the first-floor stair landing. This open gridwork may have originally been constructed here, but removed during the conversion of the home to a three-flat. No evidence of this millwork was discovered during the recent rehabilitation.

The parlor is a long rectangular open space divide d by wing walls. The originality of the wing walls, instead of pocket doors is supported by physical evidence in the framing, flooring, and decorative wall treatment. Both the east and the west parlor s have fireplace s with wood mantels, mirrored over-mantels, encaustic tile hearths, and glaze d ceramic tile surrounds. The back of the craze d ceramic tile identifies the tile maker as J- & J.G- Low of the Art Tile Works in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and the 1881 copyright. The designs of the fireplace s differ; both have some elaborately carved wood components, but are simple in massing and overall form. During the recent rehabilitation, historic stenciling was uncovered a t the ceiling cove and the wall below the picture rail. Canvas covers the ceiling and the cove above the picture rail.

The entry hall widens at the central staircase on the north wall. The original stair configuration was restored during this recent rehabilitation. The original first stair flight was moved from the reception room and rotate d 90 degrees to its original location in the stair hall. The newel post, balustrade, and side wood paneling were replicate d from extant piece s elsewhere on the stairway, and corroborate d with interior elevation s shown on the original construction drawings. An original powder room under the stair s is accessed from this area of the hall. The west portion of the parlor, and the dining room, are accessible through pocket doors in the south and west wall s of this hall, respectively.