By The Barry Centennial Team*
Robert S. DeGolyer’s buildings set the bar for vintage lakefront high-rise apartments. His buildings are known for elegant lobbies, livable layouts, state-of-the-art appliances, and luxurious appointments. DeGolyer buildings had multiple elevators as most were 10 to 20 floors high. A brief overview of a few of these buildings are:
2600 N. Lakeview – The Marlborough
The Marlborough, at Lakeview Avenue and Deming Street, was constructed in two phases. The Deming side was built in 1912. It featured smaller, yet eminently livable apartments. The Lakeview addition was built by Paschen Brothers between 1922-24. At the time, it had larger units than the Deming side. The over 100 luxury units featured semi-private elevator lobbies. Highly desirable units face Lincoln Park’s North Pond.
3000 N. Sheridan
3000 N. Sheridan was built in 1927 by H. Janisch and developed by W.C. Bannerman. The building is 18 stories and offered 94 apartments. The building featured a gym and many other features for the owners. The apartment building features Tudor elements, some of which originally concealed water tanks on the roof.
The Barry
3100 N. Sheridan – The Barry
3100 N. Sheridan was built in 1924-25 by Paschen Brothers and is known as The Barry. The 14-story building was designed with 65 units with semi-private elevator lobbies. The 14th floor features two-story penthouse apartments. One of its most famous residents was Chicago Mayor William Hale Thompson. The developer Thomas Collins was also the owner of the building and a resident. The four-sided structure has an open center courtyard and numerous resident amenities.
3500 N. Lakeshore Drive – The Cornelia
3500 N. Lakeshore Drive, also known as the Cornelia Apartments, is a Beaux Arts building developed in 1926 by Avery Brundage. (Brundage became chairman of the International Olympic Committee and was disgraced as an admirer of Adolf Hitler.) It has two sets of elevators, is 17 stories high, and originally had 60 apartments. The Cornelia has a distinctive mansard roof that exudes an Empire influence. It includes a two-story tall penthouse apartment.
3750 N. Lakeshore Drive
3750 Lakeshore Drive was built in 1926-27 by John A. Lundstrom and Company. The 16-story building is known for its classic Beaux-Arts architecture. The 120-apartment complex was once described by the Chicago Tribune as “the last word of luxury.” It was built as a cooperative and still is one today. It is shaped like an unequal U or an indented V. It has rounded corners and is made of red brick. It has two sets of elevators and had a swimming pool which was uncommon at the time this building was built.
Powhatan Apartments
Located at 4950 S. Chicago Beach Dr. in the Kenwood neighborhood, the Powhatan is a 22-story luxury apartment building overlooking Lake Michigan and adjacent to Burnham Park. DeGolyer was assisted by architect Charles L. Morgan (associated with Frank Lloyd Wright) who is credited with much of the Art Deco detailing. The exterior of the luxury apartment high-rise reflects Eliel Saarinen’s second place design for the Tribune Tower competition of 1922. The building’s terra-cotta ornamental panels feature conventionalized scenes based upon the culture of the Indigenous Tribes who lived in the area. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on January 12, 1993.
Julia C. Lathrop Homes – Street View
Julia C. Lathrop Homes
Named for social reformer Julia Clifford Lathrop, Lathrop Homes was one of the city’s first public housing projects. The homes were built by the Public Works Administration in 1938 and initially leased to the Chicago Housing Authority. The buildings were designed in a Prairie School, Arts and Crafts style with details in a range of styles from Art Moderne to Colonial Revival. The designers were a “dream team” led by Robert DeGolyer and included Hugh M.G. Garden, Thomas Tallmadge, Vernon Watson, E.E. Roberts, Charles White and Hubert Burnham, with landscaping by Jens Jensen.
Bordered by the neighborhoods of Bucktown and Roscoe Village, the building complex suffered from lack of maintenance and was subject to many of the same problems of increasing crime as other housing projects in Chicago, including narcotics trafficking and gang activity. In 2006, CHA announced plans to demolish the complex. Preservationists protested. A seven-year rehabilitation program on the northern portion began in 2012 when the facility was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The multi-income apartments were opened to residents in 2019. Restoration continues today on the southern section.
*The Barry Centennial Team is a group of building residents that, over the past year, have researched the architect, building history, and neighborhood history to celebrate The Barry’s 2025 Centennial.
