Robert DeGrazia had some questions about his Bridgeport three-flat:
Why did the garage in his backyard have such large windows on each of its sides? Why did a chimney rise from its roof? And why did it have an old phone jack?
To answer these questions, DeGrazia hired a house history researcher, someone to comb through old documents, photographs, maps and title deeds to uncover clues about his three-flat’s past.
What did the researcher find? DeGrazia’s 21/2-car garage once served as a small boarding house in the early 1900s.
“It was interesting to find that out,” says DeGrazia, a real estate agent. “My neighbors had all these stories about it, but I wasn’t sure if they were right. This way, I was able to confirm that, yes, people did once live in what I now use as a garage.”
DeGrazia isn’t alone. Many Chicagoans, especially those with a passion for history, are eager to learn about their home’s past. They want to know if a local politician once hosted dinner parties in their dining room, or if a famous architect designed that wrap-around front porch.
How can homeowners uncover their house’s history? It takes a lot of digging through old, sometimes crumbling, documents; mountains of patience in dealing with sometimes surly government employees; and a willingness to ask neighbors and local historians loads of questions. And if things get too complicated, it might also take some money: dollars homeowners can spend on a professional home history researcher.
But for those willing to put in the hours of research, a look back at old documents, maps and photos can provide a wealth of information about a home’s, and a neighborhood’s, past.
Researching a house’s history involves long hours spent squinting into microfilm machines, the frustration of searching for that one missing document and, possibly, several trips to government offices.
Why would anyone want to do this? Rick Moore, a resident of San Diego, considers himself a bit of a detective. He’s like many homeowners eager to do some sleuthing about their homes’ former lives.
What did Moore discover about his California bungalow during his dip into its past? By looking through old city directories, he found that at one time, six adults lived together in his 1,250-square-foot, two-bedroom home. That happened during World War II, when San Diego’s aircraft-construction industry kicked into overdrive. Workers poured into the city during this time, gobbling up rental units at an alarming pace. Reacting to a lack of available housing, city officials encouraged everyone to open their homes to boarders.
“The whole process was very interesting,” Moore says. “You get a nice appreciation and perspective. You learn so much more about the history of your house. You learn about the neighborhood and the city too.”
Besides, he adds, what if he had discovered that someone famous had once lived in his home?
“That would definitely have been a good marketing tool if I decided to sell,” he says.
David Bahlman, executive director of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, says it behooves homeowners to find out as much as they can about their home’s past. A bit of history makes a home seem all that more charming to potential buyers when it’s time to sell, he says.
“If the owner knows the architect, the year the home was built, who commissioned it, I’d think 90 percent of homeowners would love to have that information,” he says. “It could only enhance the property if you know something about it.”
Other homeowners research their residence’s past while they’re in the middle of a renovation or remodeling project. Having an old photo can give them an idea of what the home’s original woodwork looked like, or what type of banister once ran alongside the entry staircase. Armed with this information, they can recreate their home’s original style.
“It’s a fun way of replacing missing features on a building,” says Caroline Dyson, architectural coordinator with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. “It’s a way for homeowners to renovate their homes in as accurate a way as possible.”
Where should homeowners interested in learning about their homes’ histories start?
Grace DuMelle, owner of Heartland Historical Research Service, a Bridgeport-based provider of home history searches, recommends that homeowners start by finding the names of their homes’ previous owners.
Much of this information can be found at county Recorder of Deeds’ offices in what are known as tract books. To find a property listing in this book, homeowners will need some information from their tax bills: the names of their homes’ subdivisions and their Property Index Numbers, also known as their PINs.
Once they have this information, homeowners can use the tract books to trace the number of times their properties have been bought and sold, the names of the purchasers and sellers and the dates of the transactions.
The tract books also contain document numbers. These documents sometimes contain more detailed information about properties, information such as how far a house stands from the street. To look at these documents, homeowners should copy down the document number and ask a Recorder of Deeds’ employee to look up the papers.
DuMelle recommends that homeowners be patient, though, when dealing with government employees, especially those working at large offices such as at the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.
“Keep asking questions from different employees,” he says. “You’ll probably get different answers. I’ve found that it all depends on their moods, or the time of day. If you ask the employees at 4:30 in the afternoon, they’re likely to tell you they don’t have the information you’re looking for. They just want to go home.”
Homeowners can also pore over old city directories to find information about their house’s previous owners. These directories, which were published by various companies in Chicago from the 1840s to late 1920s, list more than the names of everyone living at city residences. They also list their occupations, where they work and their spouses’ names. Representatives from the directory companies would find this information by going door-to-door throughout the city.
Homeowners can find these directories at the Chicago Historical Society, located at Clark Street at North Avenue, and the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St. Suburban residents should check with their local libraries or historical societies.
Those homeowners who want detailed information about their house should investigate old fire insurance maps. Representatives with insurance companies would survey city properties, rating them in terms of fire risk. The maps they created detail the original outlines of buildings, their heights, the materials of which they were made and their styles. They’re also good tools for researchers interested in uncovering how their surrounding neighborhoods changed over time.
Insurance companies stopped creating these maps in the early 1970s. However, Chicagoans can access copies of them at the Chicago Historical Society and the library at the University of Illinois at Chicago, 801 S. Morgan St. Again, suburbanites can check with their own local libraries and historical societies.
Old photos are another treasure trove for property owners looking for their house’s history. However, they’re often difficult to find. Homeowners can check with their local historical societies. In addition, the Chicago Historical Society and Harold Washington Library have historic photo collections. The odds aren’t good, though, that most homeowners’ residences will be included in these collections. Unless someone famous lived in them, most residences don’t make the cut.
That doesn’t mean, though, that homeowners won’t find photos. Betsy Gurlacz, a professional home history writer based in Willowbrook, recommends that homeowners talk with all the descendants they can find of their home’s previous owners. These people often have old snapshots stored away in photo albums and shoe boxes.
“What you get from people is the stuff you’ll never find in the public record,” Gurlacz says. “Many of these people will have old photos or stories. They’re good to look for.”
Homeowners should write to descendants for information, not call them, Gurlacz says. People may be suspicious about a phone call asking for information about their parents’ or grandparents’ old houses. But when they see the same requests in writing, they’re more apt to respond positively, she says.
And homeowners shouldn’t forget one more important resource: the neighbors, especially senior citizens. Sometimes, they can provide more information than can a basketful of documents and maps.
“A lot of times, they’ll be able to tell you about seeing your house being built when they were kids,” DuMelle says. “Go to your neighbors across the street if you’re looking for old photos. A lot of times, they might have taken photos of their family, and your house will have been captured in the background. Usually, your neighbors are really happy to show you the pictures.”
But there are times when, despite their best intentions, homeowners can’t find all the information they’re seeking. In these cases, it’s time to hire a professional house history researcher, someone like Gurlacz or DuMelle.
These people will spend anywhere from three to eight weeks researching homes. They’ll do all the dirty work of poring through documents, dealing with government employees and writing letters to the descendants of a home’s previous owners.
Gurlacz charges $350 for her house research. This price guarantees a 10-page report on each property, which includes information about a house’s history and style. It also may include copies of old maps, phone books and obituaries of previous owners.
“A lot of people think they can go to one place and find all the information they want,” Gurlacz says. “They’re discouraged by how much work or research has to be done. That’s where we can help.”
DuMelle’s research services start at $350 for relatively simple requests. More complicated projects cost more.
Bridgeport resident DeGrazia used DuMelle’s services. He says he was pleased by her work, and interested in what she uncovered. He recently bought another three-flat in Bridgeport. Even though he’s using the property as a rental, he’s considering hiring DuMelle again to research that building’s history.
“I’m interested in learning about our home’s past and the history of the neighborhood,” he says. “When my wife and I have kids, I want to be able to pass this information on to them.”
One interesting fact DuMelle uncovered for DeGrazia: Back in 1932, the owner of DeGrazia’s three-flat charged his boarders $26 and $22 a month to live on the second and third floors. Today, DeGrazia charges his boarders $750 and $650 a month.
