In 1891, when this stolid red-brick Victorian cottage at 874 N. Hermitage Ave. was constructed as a two-flat, it was in the midst of a thriving community of Polish immigrants. Indeed, it was just a few blocks away from what was then known as the Polish Downtown, at Ashland Avenue and Division Street. Today, the area is known as East Ukrainian Village, although few people from Ukraine ever lived there. And it’s one of a host of communities just northwest of the Loop, including Noble Square and Wicker Park, that are rapidly gentrifying. Like dozens of other two-flats in the neighborhood, this cottage was gutted and completely renovated as a single-family home in the mid-1990s. Retained in the rehab were such vintage touches as a built-in hutch and the original woodwork. BY THE NUMBERS: The six-room, two-story house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fireplace, a backyard deck, a large garden and a two-car garage. Broker: Koenig & Strey (Katherine Brennan)
