About The House
Writers’ Haven Evanston
Hi. I’m author and memoir coach Christine Wolf, and I run Writers’ Haven from my home in the historic Ridge District of Evanston, Illinois. I’ve reconfigured the space for local writers looking for peace and community while working on their craft.
Here’s a bit of history about the home itself!
Construction Year: 1892
Designed by architect Seth H. Warner and built by BL Judson W.H., the building permit for what is now known as the Judson Rowhouse Association was taken out on November 28, 1892. The cost to build the multi-family building of 7 units was $20,000.
Description
This multi-family residential Queen Anne building boasts 7, 3-story units with four types of decorative shingle types — fish scales, reverse fish scales, dentil type, and square — with wood fascia, decorative brackets, and a polychromatic painted brick facade (originally soft brick with render over with applied raised joints).
Historic features
The building achieved landmark status in 1984 with the National Register of Historic Places, which describes this particular structure as:
“Late Queen Anne rowhouse building type, dominant front gable and hipped gabled, bay windows, front porches some with entry pediments, upper balconies, large punched windows, main floor originally 4/1, rusticated stone sills, variety of porches with sloped roofs, each unit is different from next but in a family, Dutch gambrel gable with bay window over porch, square hipped gable over bay window over porch, Dutch gambrel gable over window bump and balcony over porch, hipped dormer over bay window over pedimented porch and Dutch gambrel over square window bump and side turret over porch.”
According to the National Register of Historic Places, to qualify for landmark status, a building must “exhibit a high quality of architectural design without regard to the time built or historic associations; exemplify an architectural style, construction technique or building type once common in the City; and exhibit an unusual, distinctive or eccentric design or construction technique, which contributes to the architectural interest of its environs as an accent or counterpoint.”
Order the book I wrote in this house:
Politics, Partnerships, & Power: The Lives of Ralph E. and Marguerite Stitt Church
by Jay Pridmore and Christine Wolf
Master Wings Publishing
Release date: December 19, 2023
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