7610 S Ridgeland Ave
Chicago, IL 60649, USA

Anton E. Hanson House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The Anton E. Hanson House, designed by Chicago architect Periey Hale, is located at 7610 S. Ridgeland in the South Shore community of Chicago. The residence was built in 1912 on a small oak savanna on a slightly elevated site. The owner and contractor, Anton Hanson, removed 18 oak trees from the property before construction could begin. Built on a large parcel of two adjoining lots platted in 1875, the Hanson House was to serve as a prototype building for the future use of concrete block by Anton B. Hanson in residential buildings in his community.

The Hanson House has a level of detail in its use of concrete block and cast stone that is rarely introduced in masonry construction. The broad Four-Square building is uniquely articulated with an abundance of cast stone trim giving elegance to the home's considerable scale along the streetscape. In addition, the Hanson House utilizes a blend of both rusticated and smooth face concrete block, the latter shaped to effectuate a continuous distinctive horizontal relief pattern.

One of the earliest homes built in the area, the Hanson House is one of only three concrete block homes constructed in the South Shore Community Area. Today, the Hanson House retains a remarkable majority of its original architectural integrity. Moreover, the basic form and original design of the Hanson House remains substantially unchanged.

The Use of Concrete in Building Construction
Concrete was in use long before the tum of the twentieth-century. The Romans used concrete in many famous buildings including the Pantheon. Nineteenth century inventors experimented with concrete and concrete block throughout America and Europe. A number of patents were issued to inventors in the second half of the nineteenth century for making concrete blocks. None of these patents let to any widespread production of concrete block. Instead, they were all isolated experiments that produced only a few buildings and was not widespread into mass production.

Nationally, the trend of using concrete block for low-cost commercial and domestic architecture became popular from 1905 to 1930, Literally thousands of buildings were constructed with the material. Two occurrences facilitated the production of concrete block. First, Hannon S. Palmer received a U.S. patent in 1900 for a machine to make hollow concrete blocks. Palmer's machine proved to be durable and practical in design, setting the pace for the industry. Second, the production of Portland cement was improved with firing and grinding techniques, creating an overall standardization of the material. By 1902, Palmer's plant had made approximately four hundred block-making machines and by 1907, nearly one hundred companies were competing with him.

By 1910, over one thousand companies were reportedly manufacturing concrete block in the United States. The popularity may have been national but the manufacturing was local. Many areas were often identified with a particular supplier, giving the material names to identify it locally. Concrete block was cheap, quick, and easy to make. A machine to manufacture concrete block could cost less than $100. All an entrepreneur needed was a good supply of sand and Portland cement to begin manufacturing block. With the rapid growth of the industry in the first two decades of the 20th century, the industry also began to organize. Industry associations worked to promote the use of concrete blocks producing such publications as Plans for Concrete Houses and Concrete Garage: The Fireproof Home for the Automobile appeared in the 1920s. The Sears catalogues also quickly spread the news about concrete block, which was promoted as a cheap, durable, fireproof material needing little care. Concrete block was advertised as requiring no paint and little repair, and would "last practically forever." The new material was popular for garages since the automobile seemed a fairly combustible machine to its many new owners.

new owners. One reason why concrete block was popular was its potential for ornament. Concrete block manufacturers could order plates for machines that produced a variety of ornamental faces for the block. The Sears Company included a whole page of ornamental plates in its catalog. The most popular ornamental plates were rockface imitating stone. Other plates included cobblestone, bush hammer edged, pressed brick, ornamental wreaths and scrolls, floral patterns, and rope moldings. By imitating quarried stone or brick that looked expensive, with a cheap and easy material to make, concrete block manufacturers rapidly sold numerous quantities of block to consumers for commercial, institutional, and residential buildings. Rockface and other ornamental concrete blocks satisfied the desire by consumers for decorative surfaces at a fraction of the cost of stone or brick. By the 1930s changes in the industry led to the decline in the local manufacture of concrete block. Large-scale manufacturers turned toward the use of cinder block with plain, smooth surfaces that was cheaper to manufacture. Builders and homeowners’ tastes turned from the use of ornamental concrete block to the use of cinder block for only foundation materials from the 1930s.

While early attempts at manufacturing artificial stone was a cause for some disappointment, and many early 20th century builders attempted to make artificial stone with unsuccessful results,^ the durability of cast stone had already been proven in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, While other building material subjected to the intense heat disintegrated or turned to powder, artificial stone remained intact and was taken up stone by stone and re-laid.^ Concrete block and cast stone manufacturers employed workers for commercial projects throughout the city like Benedict Stone Company's Doric colonnade and decorative details of Soldier Field using reinforced cast stone in 1924,'" However, a much smaller percentage of concrete block and cast stone products were utilized in residential constmction at that time.

The Development of the South Shore Neighborhood
The Hanson House was built in an early 1875 land subdivision in Hyde Park Township. James Stinton platted his land well before the Illinois Central Railroad built the South Kenwood station in 1881 and earlier than any other land subdivisions east of Stony Island Avenue, and south of 76th Street.'^ Residential development in the South Shore area essentially began with a small settlement named Bryn Mawr just south of the South Kenwood Station at 71st Street and Jeffery Boulevard. The South Shore area developed considerably during the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and after the annexation of Hyde Park Township into the City of Chicago. The close proximity of the fair just to the north in Jackson Park led to land speculation and the sale of building lots in the area. By 1920, seven years after the Hanson House was completed, South Shore was in the midst of a prosperous time of residential development. In 1920 the population of South Shore was 31,832 with the Swedish-born Anton and Anna Hanson being part of the one of the two larger nationality groups in the area. A great diversity of residential development in South Shore had occurred by 1940. More than forty percent (40%) of all dwelling units were in structures with 20 or more units. Today, the South Shore community continues to maintain a sizeable population of middle-class homeowners. While a large percentage of the community is living in poverty, a significant group of middle- and upper-class homeowners reside in the area.

The Anton E. Hanson House: History and Significance
The designer, Chicago architect Periey Hale, combined efforts with the partnership of Anton E. Hanson and George F. Barton Sr. to build the Hanson House in 1912 as the private residence for Anton E, Hanson; his wife Anna; his daughter, Alice; and son Robert, Anton Ephrain Hanson was born in 1876 in Sweden. At the age of thirty-four, Anton Hanson, his Swedish-born wife Anna; and first child, Alice was living in a flat on 6106 South Greenwood Ave. in Chicago. Hanson was working as an electrician and contractor in 1912 when he began work on the house at 7610 South Ridgeland with his partner George F. Barton Sr.'^ The partnership of Hanson and Barton owned a cement block manufacturing company located at 7012 South Chicago Avenue.'^ Both Hanson and Barton were masons and members of the Order of the Mason's Grand Crossing Lodge No. 776, This social connection may explain how the two became acquainted.

Concrete block construction was rarely used in early residential buildings in the South Shore area.'^ Hanson and Barton retained architect Periey Hale to design the only other two concrete block residences in the proximity. One month after completing the Hanson House the team began construction of a 7646 South Cregier Ave., and the following year construction started on 7650 South Cregier. Both Chicago bungalows however, while also unique in the method of construction, are far less grand than Hanson's and have had alterations that have affected their integrity.

Very little information is known of the Hanson and Barton Concrete Block Company. They did not advertise in Sweet's 1906 Indexed Catalog of Building Construction, however, Chicago's 1915 Lakeside Directory lists Hanson and Barton as contractors at their south side Chicago address." Neither is included in contemporary editions of A.N. Marquis's Who's Who in Chicago or in Chicago's Blue Book directories from the early 1900s.

Anton Hanson and his family moved into their new home in 1913. The chain of title discloses that Anton owned the house he built for 61 years until his death in 1954. His daughter, Alice, conveyed her interest to the family home to her brother Robert in 1956; Robert and his wife Fern raised their six children in the house until 1974, when the Hanson House was sold to Henry and Traci Hicks. The Hicks family moved in 1983 and the Hanson House remained unoccupied for nine years. In 1992, the present owner Carol A. Hall, purchased the Hanson House and resides there with her daughter and grandson.

Architect Periey Hale
Chicago architect Periey Hale was a native of Michigan and born in 1847. He began his study of architecture in 1866 working under the internship of architect Mr. R. Rose. In 1868 Hale established his own practice in Niles, Michigan. Four years later, he moved his office to Burlington, Iowa, where he practiced for eleven years. During his time in Iowa, he was commissioned to design and build many public buildings including schoolhouses in Iowa and Illinois, and the county courthouse in Burlington, Iowa. In 1883, Hale returned to Chicago and in 1891 maintained offices at 1019 Opera House building at the corner of Clark and Washington Streets. During this period. Hale received commission for a variety of projects including an addition to a building for Dr. Clark (1889), a three-story building for Mr. Wieil (1889), and a three-story and flat building for A. Hoffmann (1889). In 1907, Hale bad moved his offices to the Atwood Building at Clark and Madison and produced a plan book to assist contractors and builders in the selection of plans for new homes.

Hale continued to develop his practice during Chicago's period of unabated growth. Much of Hale's work throughout the city was residential with two of his homes in the Ridge Historic District ,9711 S. Winchester (1909) and 10910 S. Prospect (1912)." In addition, Hale's practice includes commercial projects like the Anheuser Busch building at 7200 South Kimbark (1908), one-half mile cast of the Hanson and Barton concrete block company where Hale may have first become acquainted with his future clients.