Chicago Tribune, January 4, 1860
New Buildings The City Superintendents Figures, &c., &c.
The year 1859 was throughout characterized by a depression in financial and business matters. Less was done than in preceding years to demonstrate rapid growth in Chicago, and yet the exhibit from these very causes will even more redound to the credit of our city, as indicating a solid and substantial advance, steady and not to be checked even by the heavy hand of monetary pressure. As in the year immediately preceding, those who have engaged in these improvements have from the low ruling rates of labor and material made most advantageous in-vestments. From careful compilation, the number of new buildings erected in this city during 1859 were nearly two thousand.
These were, with few exceptions, of the medium class, for business and residence purposes. Three story brick stores, with basements, have been very numerously erected, and that throughout a very wide tract, indicating by their location, in several instances in sections of the city somewhat remote from the best business centre, the confidence of capitalists that we need very many good buildings yet, which will yield a fair rental. The improvements of this class extending southward on State and parallel streets in the South Division are of this class.
In residence buildings a large addition has been made in a most desirable direction, increasing the number of our homes for good tenants, comfortable householders in dwellings ranging in cost from twelve hundred to two thousand dollars. The marble palaces for stores and mansions have been less numerous, yet in both of these there have been some notable accessions, in various parts of the city.
A noble new Public School House has been built on Aberdeen street, in the West Division. The splendid Custom House and Post Office building has been finished externally, and will be completed throughout early the coming season. A very large amount of expenditure has been made in the repair of buildings, chiefly business blocks that hare been raised to grade, in some cases amounting to rebuilding, as is true of numerous Lake street improvements west of Lasalle.
From returns made to Capt. Kennedy, of the Police Department, the following are the actual and estimated figures of building improvements in 1859:
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