"Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenges and promise of the future." -Walt Disney
Introduction
This objective of this adaptive reuse project is to repurpose historic vernacular homes in the Martin Drive E neighborhood to serve new uses and needs of the Martin Drive E neighborhood. The aim is to preserve the spirit of the past while creating a stronger community for the future. The redesign of two buildings located on 1304-1306 N 37th Place from domestic spaces into community hubs serve as case study.
The story of North 37th Place began at the turn of the century where it existed as a private lane on a Mr. Becker's land. In 1909 the Chicago Milwaukee And St Paul Rail Road line ran through the southern end of Becker's land. Becker moved, subdividing his land into 25'x150' lots, creating "Becker's Subdivision" centered around Becker's Lane. By 1910 four single family homes had been built and in 1912 Anna Keim builds four two-storied flats on the corner of Becker's Lane and Cold Spring Avenue (now renamed McKinley Avenue). Two of these flats survived until today and they are the main focus of this project. |
According to the Peter Sterns, "Only through studying history can we grasp how things change; only through history can we begin to comprehend the factors that cause change; and only through history can we understand what elements of an institution or a society persist despite change." Researching the past can also yield new ideas to apply to the future. History is important, it can hold approaches to design that are tried and tested and that can help us understand design for the present. History explains certain practices from the past that has fallen out of use in contemporary times and therefore help us understand who we are and what we have become. The past can be used to find old ideas that may be applied to new problems and in digging into the past you can discover unique identities and practices that continue into the present times.
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With the loss of the country's manufacturing jobs many working class communities fell into disrepair, the community of Martin Drive was no exception. North 37th Street saw the loss of many families through the decades from the 1950s until the turn of the next century. Five houses were torn down and another three now lay vacant. Jobs left, stores left, parks deteriorated; the neighborhood that once had everything within a walking distance was left with next to nothing, it's residents left disconnected and without identity.
The neighborhood experienced much change between the time those first workers moved in and today. In 1915 lots were combined and the street went through it's first name change, to "West 37th Street". The 1930's saw city-wide street name changing, leaving Becker's Lane with it's current name of North 37th Place. By 1951 the street was densely built, with ten flats and six dwellings. The street had shifted from being a home for workers of the nearby factories to being homes for families and children, the only constant was that they worked and played in the same neighborhood they lived.
The neighborhood experienced much change between the time those first workers moved in and today. In 1915 lots were combined and the street went through it's first name change, to "West 37th Street". The 1930's saw city-wide street name changing, leaving Becker's Lane with it's current name of North 37th Place. By 1951 the street was densely built, with ten flats and six dwellings. The street had shifted from being a home for workers of the nearby factories to being homes for families and children, the only constant was that they worked and played in the same neighborhood they lived.