Worthmann & Steinbach, a 25 year partnership of two German born Americans, were responsible for a great number of Lutheran and Catholic churches as well as a larger number of standard Chicago residences (worker’s cottages, two and three flats, multifamily) and storefront flats, many on the near Northwest part of the city. Often their buildings have interesting brick work designs. Check out the Worthmann & Steinbach Map for the locations of over 300 of their buildings.
John A Maher Storefront & Flats (1907) in Austin, 12/06/21. Though more famous for their church designs, Henry Worthmann and John G Steinbach also designed many West Side storefront buildings. The brickwork on this one is particularly nice.
St Hyacinth Basilica (1917) in Avondale, 11/02/23. Classical Revival in dodgy late afternoon light. One of several Catholic churches the firm designed for the Polish community along Milwaukee Avenue. Its maintenance and financial woes are the subject of a piece published last year by Block Club Chicago. The church website and Wikipedia
Albert H Langosch 2 Flat (1907) in Ukrainian Village, 10/27/23. One of more than thirty buildings in the neighborhood designed by our dynamic duo
Cottages for developer WG McIntosh (1912) in Brighton Park, 11/5/21. W & S used the same general design for their ten or so homes on the Campbell Street development.
Former Zulinsky Funeral Home (1915) in Pulalski Park, 10/27/23. Rated yellow on the Chicago Historical Resource Survey, “too altered for architectural or historic significance,” I think a professional is needed to say what is original. Zulinsky Funeral Home is listed here on Polk’s 1928 Directory and shows up in Trib obituaries all the way to 1970. The church has called it home for at least the past 15 years
St Stanislaus B & M Parish Church (1914 & 1927) in Hanson Park, 10/16/20. A departure from their usual brown and tan brick. From what I understand they built a hall in 1914 then years later built the church over it. I’ve also seen John Steinbach alone credited with the church. Possibly the work load shifted as the partnership progressed. Rated orange on the Chicago Historical Resource Survey, “possesses potentially significant architectural or historical features”
EJ Kemnitz 2 flat (1909) in North Center, 10/18/23. W & S designed a number of two flats for a development on Cullom, Hutchinson and Pensacola streets. Charles & EJ Kemnitz and August Jacobs are listed as owners for the homes built in two different styles from 1907-1911. This one took some sleuthing since some of the buildings were being built during the time Chicago renumbered the streets. Some of the permits written with the old numbers, like this one, don’t show up yet on the 1909 Plan for Re-numbering. To add to that, the old numbers descend while the new numbers ascend on this stretch. Embarrassingly, I had to write some stuff out by hand to get my head around it. While I was able to extrapolate what one or two were, there are a few permits I couldn’t place to an address. There are no doubt more in the neighborhood than the 35 I have found.
Contact CBA for a custom guided ridethat includes some of these sights and for gift certificates for the cyclists in your life.This map is one of the many layers on The Map, where you can plan your own ride, run, or walk around Chicago
