The History of 19th & 20th Century Vault Lights (prism glass used in sidewalks) used in Illinois Towns and Cities.

Vault Lights, also known as Sidewalk Lights (or Pavement Lights in the UK), are those old glass prisms set into sidewalks to let light into vaults and basements below. Prisms were used instead of flat glass to disperse the light, diffusing it over a large area; plain flat glass would simply form a bright spot on the floor below, not providing much useful general lighting. 

Cross-cut of Basement using Vault Lights.

Invented in 1845 by Thaddeus Hyatt, sidewalk vault lights started being used in urban areas beginning around the 1850s and continued to be popular into the 1920s. The first vault lights were engineered to have glass blocks placed into a cast-iron framework.

Later, with the introduction of Portland cement, setting them into reinforced concrete panels was more common.

These “glass blocks” provided a way to get light into the useful basement and void areas under the sidewalks. This also made the space rentable in some cases. The first attempts at vault lights proved unfruitful because the design basically allowed a single shaft of light to shine straight down into the space below.

Marshall Field Vault Lights on State Street, Chicago.

With Hyatt’s invention, the design incorporated a prism shape (“saw-tooth”) on the underside while the surface above remained smooth to walk across.

This provided a way for the light to be directed over a broader area in the dark underground.

 

The idea caught on; by the late 19th century they were common in larger cities downtown areas, especially cities like Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Their use declined as electric light became cheaper and better, and by the 1930s they were not considered in construction any longer. 

Now, they are now endangered architectural relics.

Vault lights on the second floor of the atrium of The Rookery Building, Chicago.

Chicago locations where prism glass installations were known to exist (via Google Map).

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.  

Glass Blocks; a Chicago Invention for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

Glass block, or glass brick, has an interesting history and connection to Chicago via two Chicago World's Fairs and multiple Chicago-based companies.

Gustave Falconnier
Glass Designer

The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition is known for introducing many things to the United States. One lesser-known first at the World's Fair showed the United States the first glass bricks made by Gustave Falconnier. 

Falconnier, an architect, Chicago city council member, prefect of Nyon, France, and a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, held many patents in the 1880s for various types of glass blocks of interesting geometric shapes.

At the Columbian Exposition, Falconnier exhibited his glass in buildings outside the Horticultural Building, showing their potential uses in architecture and horticulture. Falconnier was awarded by the fair commission for "a new departure in glass buildings."

Despite being shown in the horticultural pavilion, the fair commission gave him a somewhat backhanded compliment, saying, "Their adaptability for conservatories intended for plant cultivation has not yet been fully demonstrated, but for conservatory vestibules and other rural effects, they are well adapted." And finally, "In the construction of surgical, photographic, and other experimental laboratories, where extra subdued light is required, they possess great merit."

The Northern Pavillion of the Horticultural Building and Exhibit of Hot-Houses and Summer Houses.

Falconnier's glass block had a flaw that prevented it from taking hold in America. Because they were blown glass, the blocks needed a hole. Even a tiny hole eventually plugged up, leading to fogging. Once fogged, the bricks would need to be replaced. A tall order indeed for something that is meant to be permanently put into a wall.

Glass Block would get a second chance at Chicago's Century of Progress International Exposition in 1933 before it took hold in US architecture. However, other types of architectural glass that would be formative to the glass block's future were taking shape in Chicago.

The popularization of Art Deco glass block walls came via the crowd-pleasing thirteen houses of the future displayed at the 1933–34 Chicago World's Fair. Glass block walls gave builders an avant-garde 20th-Century sensibility that people really liked.

At the time, the Chicago World's Fair buildings were considered the height of American modernity and influenced United States architectural design for many years. The Century of Progress, planned before the crash of 1929, opened in the middle of a worldwide economic crisis. Despite that fact, or perhaps because of it, the Century of Progress resolutely focused on an optimistic vision of the United States yet to come, a premise that proved to be a wise move as it attracted so many visitors that organizers kept the fair open for a second year.

Owens-Illinois exhibit at the Chicago Century of Progress International Exposition, 1933-34.

Keck's design, which the Fair billed as the "House of Tomorrow," made the June 1933 cover of Popular Mechanics.

One of the Fair's most popular exhibits featured thirteen futuristic houses clustered together on the shores of Lake Michigan. Those houses, built from innovative construction materials and with several examples clearly paying homage to the European "International Style" or the colloquial "Streamline Moderne," turned out to be a crowd-pleaser. 

Few fairgoers actually contemplated living in homes like George Fred Keck's Glass House, a three-story, glass-clad, polygonal tower suspended from a central pole that clearly owed a lot to Le Corbusier's idea of the house as a "machine for living," but most attendees marveled at the technology displayed within and without. 

Keck's house controlled its own climate via central systems and sealed windows. It included a garage for the car and a hanger for the family plane. Keck's design, which the Fair billed as the "House of Tomorrow," made the June 1933 cover of Popular Mechanics. The idea of an "automatic" house that heated and cooled itself, rotated to face the sun and opened its own Venetian blinds caught the fancy of fairgoers. It likewise influenced architects throughout the United States in the subsequent years before World War II. Bits and pieces of the Fair's dramatic architecture appeared on the cultural periphery. 

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Niles Centre, Illinois (Skokie) - Founding businesses within a one-block radius from downtown's center.

A pictorial history of the intersection at Lincoln Avenue (formerly called: Main Street) and Oakton Street in Downtown Skokie (Niles Centre, Incorporated 1888; Americanized to Niles Center in 1910; Renamed to Skokie 1940).

The name Skokie comes from the Potawatomi word for "Marsh."

In 1888, the community was incorporated as Niles Centre, then in 1910, the spelling of Centre was Americanized to "Center." 

However, the name caused postal confusion with the neighboring village of Niles. A village-renaming campaign began in the 1930s. In a referendum on November 15, 1940, residents chose the Indian name "Skokie" over the name "Devonshire."

During the real estate boom of the 1920s, large parcels of land were subdivided; many two-flat and three-flat apartment buildings were built, along with "Chicago" bungalows being the dominant architectural choice.

Large-scale development ended as a result of the Great Depression of 1929. It was not until the 1940s and into the 1950s that parents of the baby boom generation moved their families out of Chicago and into the suburbs. Skokie's housing development began again at a fever pitch. Consequently, the village developed commercially. (For example, Westfield Old Orchard was turned into Old Orchard Shopping Center.)

During the night of November 27, 1934, after a gunfight in nearby Barrington, Illinois (called the Battle of Barrington) that left two FBI agents dead, two accomplices of the notorious, 25-year-old bank-robber, "Baby Face Nelson" (Lester Gillis) dumped his bullet-riddled body in a ditch along Niles Center Road adjoining the St. Peter Catholic Cemetery, a block north of Oakton Avenue in the town. 

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Some of the businesses are by the intersection of Lincoln Avenue & Oakton Street in Skokie.

St. Peter Catholic School and Church, Established in 1868. Postcard, circa 1880

St. Peter Catholic Church Postcard, circa 1900

Peter Blameuser General Merchandise [Wines, Liquors, Cigars] circa 1870

Blameuser Building. 1895

Klehm & Sons "The Cheap Store" Building circa 1896 

Klehm Bros General Store circa 1900 

Klehm Bros General Store circa 1905

Fred Schoening Wagon & Carriage Maker and Dry Goods Store circa 1900
{Phone: Niles Center 16-W}

Schoeneberger General Store Interior, circa 1900

Robert Siegel Cigar Store circa 1905

Lincoln Avenue from St-Peters Church Steeple, circa 1890

Lincoln Avenue North of Oakton, 1890

Niles Center Theater, circa 1916

Lincoln Avenue North of Oakton, circa 1905

Lincoln Avenue North of Oakton, circa 1930

Aerial Lincoln Avenue and Oakton 1930

A. Kutz [Plumbing and Gas Fitting]

Alf's Hall [Dancing & Party Venue]

Bergman General Store

Charles Luebbers, Niles Center Tavern {Tel: Niles Center 84}

Freres Brothers Bakery {Tel: Niles Center 1013}

Hermann Gerhardt Horse Shoe Shop [Horseshoers & Wagon Maker]

Johanannes Schoeneberger General Store

Ludwig Luebbers [Wagon & Buggies Maker, Blacksmithing, Horseshoers]

Niles Center Bank

Niles Center Grocery & Market

Niles Center Mercantile [Studebaker Dealer, Farm Machinery, Seed] {Tel: Niles Center 26-J}

Tony Saul Tavern

Skokie Incorporated on November 15, 1940, changing its name from Niles Center.

1st National Bank of Skokie

A&P Grocery

Able Currency Exchange

Affiliated Bank

Albert’s Pizza

Alice Beauty Shop

Barney’s Place

Community Bakery

Consumers Millinery Store

Desiree Restaurant

Dieden’s Smart Shop

Florsheim Shoes

Heinz Electrical Appliance Shop {Tel: Skokie 598}

King Realtors

Krier’s Restaurant

Niles Center Coal and Building Material Co. [Lumber Mill, Building Material] {Tel: Skokie 600}

Nunn Busch

Oakton Drug

Rodell Pontiac Dealership

Schmitz Tavern

Siegal’s Cigars

Skokie Camera

Skokie Cleaners

Skokie Jewelers

Skokie Music

Skokie Paint

Urbanis Sinclair Gas Station

Village Inn Pizza

Walgreens Drug Store

Oakton and Lincoln Avenue looking West circa 1948

The intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Oakton 1946

Lincoln Avenue North of Oakton 1957

Oakton East from Lincoln Avenue, 1960

Oakton West at Lincoln Avenue, circa 1960

Lincoln Avenue at Oakton, circa 1960

Aerial of Lincoln Avenue from St-Peter Church Steeple, circa 1965

 Aerial of Lincoln Avenue and Oakton, circa 1973

Lincoln Avenue and Oakton 1991

Aerial of Lincoln Avenue South from St-Peter Church Steeple 1994

ADDITIONAL READING: Dr. A. Louise Klehm: Niles Center (Skokie) Illinois' First Lady of Family Practice.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The Krauss Building, 209 W. High St, Freeburg, Illinois.

Located at 209 West High Street, this building was built by Andreas (Andrew) Krauss. Andrew opened a General Store in this building on November 1, 1878.

He came to Freeburg in 1852 at the age of 19, and had operated a store someplace else in Freeburg, but that location is unknown.

Andrew operated his new store on the west side of the building and the Post Office was located on the East side of the building. He lived on the second floor with his family and the third floor would be used as a meeting place for various organizations in town.

Business was good for Andrew in Freeburg and soon he wrote home (Germany) for other members of the family to come to America. His nephew, Philip Krauss arrived in Freeburg in 1865 at the age of 16, and began work in his Uncle's General Store.

Andrew retired in 1890 and turned the store over to Philip, who operated this business until 1915, when he too retired and sold the entire stock to Robert Browning & Arthur Reinheimer. They named the business The Freeburg Mercantile Company.

In January 1908, A. Rosinsky of Mascoutah, Illinois, moved his clothing business into the east side of the building after the Post Office moved to a new location in town. This business was called The St. Louis Shoe & Clothing Company. Later the name was changed to The Leader Clothing Store, and sometime later the business moved to the William Schiek building at the corner of Richland and High Street.

The space on the east side of the Krauss building was soon occupied by Gus Rauth, who on July 2, 1909, opened a saloon in the vacant space. On the west side of the building, Mr. Reinheimer had purchased the business interest of Mr. Browning and together with his sister, Mrs. Freda Reuter, operated the store. In March, 1917, a new sanitary counter was installed to ensure the keeping of meat. One of the biggest problems in the early years of grocery stores was keeping the flies and insects out of the meat cases, especially since AC was not yet invented.

In March, 1919, August G. Koesterer purchased the Krauss building from the heirs of Andrew Krauss. August was one of Freeburg's most successful retailers. After an extensive remodeling, he moved his stock of goods from his existing store into his new building and called his business The A.G. Koesterer & Company. One main changes he made to this structure was to remove the wall that divided the main floor into two sections. Sadly, in the fall of 1921, August Koesterer became seriously ill and died on November 26th from Meningitis at the age of 34. His brother Albert J. Koesterer, who had worked in the store, took over the business changing the name to A.J. Koesterer & Company.

By this time, the style of shopping had greatly changed. Instead of giving the clerk a list for your items, shelves and aisles were arranged so the customer could actually get their own product. The introduction of canned goods began to replace dry goods.

In December, 1929, A.J. announced he would be closing due to lack in sales. J.E. Atkins, manager of the Stovall Sales Company of St. Louis arrived in Freeburg to conduct a three day liquidation sale in which all stock and goods were sold.

In August, 1930, the Freeburg Commercial Club (later known as the Chamber of Commerce), purchased the building for the sum of $3,600 in an effort to attract a new business in town. In July, 1931, the George Newton Garment Factory of St. Louis moved into the building, sending George Kumbera to act as manager. He would later buy controlling interest in this company. This company first started out as a Rayon Factory but soon switched to a Dress Factory.

In June, 1935, a large addition was made to the building, adding more cutting tables, sewing machines and other machinery. At the height of this company's operation in 1938, there were more than 200 people, mostly Freeburg ladies, employed by the Freeburg plant. In May, 1940, Mr. Kumbera, manager of the Freeburg factory, sold his interest to his partner, Richard B. Croneheim of St. Louis. Mr. Croneheim soon made an announcement that the factory would be closing due to lack of sales.

Immediately the Forest City Dress Company purchased the building and business and all of its equipment, including the 130 sewing machines. A few changes were made to the structure and work continued. By 1944, a garment workers union had been formed with Ms. Angeline Zipfel serving as the first president. She was employed at the plant. Sadly, in 1956, and without much notice, the factory simply pulled out of the building. Large trucks were seen moving all of the machinery out of the building.

The Freeburg Chamber of Commerce quickly regained control of the building and in 1957, Ted Rehmer of Fayetteville, Illinois, would operate a tavern on the main floor of the building. Over the years, the Chamber would make several attempts to sell this building or to get another factory to show interest.

In September, 1964, Jacob Brinkman of Waterloo, Illinois, purchased the building for $12,000 with the intent of opening a hardware store. E. M Wiegman Company had been using much of the space for storage.

Once again, the building was extensively remodeled and a Western Auto Store moved into this structure. Jerry Miller, of Waterloo, Illinois, was the manager. Mr. Brinkman was an associate of the Western Auto Company. In 1966, the Western Auto was changed to a True Value Hardware Store still managed by Jerry Miller. This store would close in 1977.

In May, 1978, this building was purchased by Dave Favre, Ray Swyear and Howard Prater as a business venture. Nothing came out of this purchase. In June, 1979, John & Alice Rudy purchased the building and again after an extensive remodel, opened the Freeburg Bi-rite Grocery Store. Other businesses to occupy the building were: Watters Trading Post, opened in October, 1986, closed in April 1988. An arcade was operated here for a short time in a room behind the trading post.

Color & Create opened in April 1989 and is currently located in this building. Other business to operate here was Venezia Pizzeria, which opened December, 1988 and closed in June, 1999, and Jack & Jill's Cut. Freeburg Chiropractic opened in 2003 and is currently located in the east side of the building.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

The History of Chicago Sidewalk Nameplates (Stamps and Plaques).

Sidewalk stamps can be found on the streets of small and large American cities. These ubiquitous inscriptions are the proud commemorations of a job well done and a practical and long-term form of advertising. They are also explicitly required by law.

CITY OF CHICAGO RULES

RULES REGARDING CONSTRUCTION IN THE PUBLIC WAY UNDER

2‐102‐030(L); 2‐102‐040; 10‐20‐210

LAST UPDATED JANUARY 2014

Before the top or finishing of concrete walks has set, the contractor or person building the walk shall place in such walk in front of each lot or parcel of property a stamp or plate giving the name and address of the contractor or person building the walk and the year in which the work was done. The top of said plate or stamp, which must not cover more than 54 square inches of surface, shall be flush and even with the top of the finished walk, and must be of a permanent character plainly stamped or firmly bedded in the concrete in such a manner that it cannot become loose or be easily removed or defaced. Wherever one contractor or person has laid walks in front of three or more adjoining lots or parcels of property in one continuous stretch, one of the above named stamps placed in the walk at each end of said stretch of walk will be sufficient. (Prior code § 33-38; Amend Coun. J. 1-14-97, p. 37762, § 44)

The city code was adopted to hold the contractor responsible for their work should anything be defective in the concrete sidewalk they laid.

There are two different types of Nameplates, stamps, and plaques, and they serve two purposes — identification and advertisement.

The most common type of sidewalk marker is stamped into newly poured concrete. It becomes an indelible feature of the sidewalk, sharing the same space as children’s footprints and lovers’ inscriptions.

Stamps most often bear the name of the construction firm that laid the sidewalk, and the year the work was done. Additional information can include the company’s location and telephone number. Sometimes a stamp will carry broader information, such as the name of a subdivision and its developer.

The less common form is a precast brass plaque set into wet concrete. These are not “stamps” as such, although they are used similarly. 

Stamps and plaques are “permanent” in different ways. Stamps are part of the sidewalk and rarely filled in or removed. However, they are easily and often lost when a portion of the sidewalk is reconstructed. There are rare examples where an old stamp is integrated into a new sidewalk, but this is an exceptional occurrence. 

Brass plaques can be more easily removed from a sidewalk, although they are also most often removed when the sidewalk is reconstructed. They do have a better chance of surviving as individual artifacts.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Racists Miss the Point of this Billboard in Justice, Illinois; September of 1991.

A controversial billboard on the Tri-State Tollway designed to focus attention on racism on golf courses has been vandalized and will come down only six days after it was put up.

After the billboard was spray-painted with racist messages and a swastika over the weekend, artist Mark Heckman and the billboard company decided the time had come to take it down, even though it was supposed to stay a month.

"The billboard has served its purpose, and I don't want anyone getting hurt," said Heckman, who has parlayed the controversy into morning national talk show appearances for later this week. "So I don't have a problem with the sign being removed."

Tom Carroll, an official of Gannett Outdoor Chicago, the billboard company, said the sign, which advertises the fictitious Afro Country Club, "Where only the ball is white," is slated to come down barring high winds or rain. The billboard, located just north of 83rd Street in south suburban Justice, is visible to northbound tollway traffic.

Heckman, 28, of Grand Rapids, Mich., said he has produced two dozen political billboards in recent years, but this one sparked the strongest reaction by far. "I want to stimulate people with my work, but not to violence." he said.

Since the billboard was put up last Thursday, owners of the public warehouse near the sign, as well as Heckman, have received a steady stream of harassing and threatening telephone calls. Many of the complaints to the billboard company were callers who believed that the country club actually existed, Carroll said.

The vandalism apparently occurred late Saturday night or early Sunday, with the culprits perhaps providing their own ladder to climb the eight feet up to the walkway ladder that is used by workmen to mount the billboard signs, said Justice Police Chief Paul Washich.
In addition to the swastika and the letters KKK, the billboard also was spray-painted with the initials J and M.

By early Monday, work crews from Gannett Outdoor had removed the graffiti and repainted part of the sign.

"It's difficult for me to believe that this could still happen, but that was the whole point of the billboard," Heckman said. "I hope it makes some people think about racism."

Despite the complaints, Heckman and Carroll said they have received many calls from people praising the billboard. Heckman said the work was paid for by an anonymous benefactor in Michigan and placed on the Tri-State, also known as Interstate Highway 294, because a location in downtown Chicago was too expensive.

The tollway billboard cost $3,500 a month. Heckman will receive a rebate for the unused time.
Among Heckma's better known billboards was an AIDS awareness sign displayed in Chicago in 1989. That work featured 2,001 condoms dipped in paint and thrown against a canvas.

Carroll said a "generic" and noncontroversial billboard would go up in place of Heckman's.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.