About Us

Oakland Preservation is an association advocating the preservation of the history and architecture of the Chicago neighborhood of Oakland and its surrounding communities.

About the Oakland Landmark District

Address: 4100 block of S. Berkeley Ave., as well as surronding historic structures in an area bounded by 35th, 43rd, Cottage Grove, and the Illinois Central Railroad tracks
Year Built: 1872-1905
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: March 25, 1992

Among the earliest non-native settlers of this lakefront district were Samuel Ellis, the owner of a 1840s-era tavern near the corner of 35th and Ellis, and Charles Cleaver, who operated a slaughterhouse near 38th Street during the 1850s. Cleaver's mansion, "Oakwood Hall," formerly stood at the corner of Ellis and Oakwood.

During the 1870s and '80s, when the area became known as Oakland, it was one of the city's premier residential neighborhoods, the embodiment of an elegant Victorian-style suburb. The architectural styles of its surviving rowhouses and single-family residences include Classical Revival, Queen Anne, and Richardsonian Romanesque. The core of this district centers on a group of picturesque, Queen Anne-style cottages designed by Cicero Hine in 1886-87. The district also includes 50 nearby historic structures, some located as far north as 35th Street.

Text from Chicago Landmarks

Featured Project
Demolition Threat: The Booker Building

The Booker Building, which anchors the southwest corner of 47th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, was built in the early 1900s in a Chicago version of the Arts and Crafts style, which derived in part from the work of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. It is currently threatened with demolition.

Learn about the Booker Building and take action now.

All content © Oakland Preservation, 2007